Dinner - Homemade Chicken and Vegetables

Tonight, I thought that it would be fun to cook my own dinner to pair with wines. For the main course, I made Chicken Bryan (inspired by the menu item from Carrabba's Italian Grill) which is chicken breast with a white wine sauce, sundried tomatoes, and goat cheese that I paired with a 2018 Chardonnay by The Federalist. I sauteed spinach in olive oil with garlic as the first side which I paired with 2020 white blend by Apothic. For my last side, I prepared asparagus in butter with oregano and parsley that I paired with a 2020 Pinot Grigio by 14 Hands Winery.

For the 2018 Chardonnay, I began by sniffing and swirling to detect floral and strong oaky vanilla notes. I then tasted it alone and was greeted with more floral and oaky attributes, but I also got some smokey flavors as well. The wine also had high malic acid content and some tannin structure as the wine was barrel aged. When tasted with the Chicken Bryan, I immediately noticed how well the acidy of the wine cut through the salinity of the goat cheese. As a result, the floral notes of the wine are allowed to shine through. I also love that the acidity of the wine compliments the acidity of the sundried tomato. The combination also seemed to make the wine less dry. I loved this pairing and will definitely do it again.

For the 2020 white blend, I sniffed and swirled to reveal scents of strong flowers and another unidentifiable smell that I found rather unpleasant. Upon tasting the wine alone, I got super sweet honey flavors that overpowered anything else that may have been there. It also had a malic acid structure that was fairly pleasant. I then tasted it with the spinach, and it only took one taste together for me to know that this was not a good pairing. The garlic in the spinach conflicted too harshly with the sweetness of the wine to create an unpleasant combined taste. I would not try this pairing again, but I may try the spinach with garlic again with a more acidic and dry Cabernet Sauvignon.

For the 2020 Pinot Grigio, I swirled and sniffed to get strong floral notes and some other scents of pear, dragon fruit, and wood. I then tasted it alone to get tart floral flavors and a pleasant malic acid structure. I then combined it with the asparagus, and it was a great combination. The acidity of the wine cut through the butter that the asparagus absorbed from cooking. It made the asparagus and the wine taste better!

Overall, I had a lot of fun cooking and trying my wine pairings. I think that I did much better this time with matching food and wine. Two of my combinations were ones that I would definitely make again.