My wife and I have enjoyed the company of the same couple for 2-3 wine dinners per year for the past 10 years. Last night was another wonderful time spent together. While we enjoyed of our old stand-bys, we also tried some new recipes and wines - and the combinations were delightful. I wanted to share the evening with our cyber-friends.

 
We started with homemade guacamole and a very diverse cheese plate served with a 2006 Turley White Coat and 2008 Araujo Eisele vineyard. When pairing guacamole with wine there are a few hints that I can share to make a successful experience versus a sour or bitter failure. First, go very light on the hot pepper. While spicy guacamole is fabulous - and pairs well with cold beer or margaritas, the spicy hot pepper has an impact most while wines which makes them taste sour. There are some exceptions - sweet Rieslings for example. However, with dry wines such as the White Coat (mostly Roussanne and Viognier with some Grenache Blanc), you must honor the exotic aromas. Mildly peppered 'guac' is fine - as the wine has very well acidic structure (your second success factor). Well structured wines can provide balance to foods such as guacamole, which contain fats from the avocados. The acids work to cleanse the palate. In addition, with the fruit forward structure from this wine there is a sense of sweetness on the palate (although it is a dry wine). The apparent sweetness works well as a balancing act.
 
The cheese plate was diverse - Hard aged goat cheese (Naked Goat), Rosemary Goat, Manchego, Aged Pecorino and White Cheddar. The White Coat and Araujo Sauvignon Blanc both provide enough structure to balance all of these cheeses nicely, although in some cases I would not choose these pairings as ideal.
 
The next two courses were an Asian soup scented with ginger and accompanied by vegetables - and Seared Tuna lightly seasoned with blackening spices and served two ways - with a sweet pineapple salsa and with Shanghai bok choy chopped and sautéed with garlic and finished with coconut milk and yellow curry. Go light on the curry to enable the blackened seasoning to shine. These dishes were served with the Harvest Moon Sparkling Gewürztraminer, an unusual wine that we were very much looking forward to enjoying. The winery describes the wine as showcasing "bright green and spicy red apple undertones". We very much enjoyed the bright, crisp texture. however, unfortunately we all found barnyard aromas that seriously obstructed any sense of fruit and left us questioning if this wine was corked. Next time that I try this wine I will add another post with hopefully a different experience.
 
Our main course was marinated grilled lamb and beef tenderloin. We served the main course with roasted zucchini and yellow squash that was prepared with garlic, rosemary, and Pecorino Romano and mashed cheesy Manchego potatoes. The main course was paired with a 1986 Chateau Meyney and a 2007 Seghesio "Defiant". The Meyney strengthened my love for 20+ year old Bordeaux. Showing a bricked color, it showed silky smooth textures with not a hint of remaining tannins and deep hints of dark fruits such as black cherry and plum.  The Seghesio offered sharp contrast from the Bordeaux. Soft and lush, this wine was a nice surprise. The wine is produced from Aglianico (one of Italy's noble grapes), Syrah, and Cabernet. The wine offered scents of black fruits and a bit of smokiness and was very nice with the grilled meats.
 
Our final course was coconut ice cream topped with caramelized apples cooked with a bit of lime juice, cinnamon and a couple of tablespoons of Grand Marnier to add to the caramelization. We served a 2003 Ch. Lafaurite Peyraguey sauternes with dessert. The 'sticky' wine was a great compliment to wrapping us a fabulous evening.
 
We hope that we will enjoy many wine dinners with our friends in the future - and hope that many of you enjoy similar enjoyment. So...when is dinner at your house coming up?
 
 
Enjoy!