Wine Dinner - "Homemade Smörgåsbord Dinner in Richmond"

This weekend I did a lot of traveling and made a pit stop overnight in Richmond to visit my sister and  brother-in-law.  Conveniently, they were already planning to have a wine & dinner night with some friends so I brought a bottle and the party and pairings got started!

Since there were so many people coming and everyone was bringing something, our dinner turned into a Smörgåsbord of many appetizers (I focused on cheese!), a main dish of buffalo chicken croissant, and a delicious yellow cake with chocolate icing and sprinkles for dessert!

The dinner table setup before all of the other food and wine showed up!

For my first wine, I started off with:

Name: Villa Cerrina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 

Variety:  100% Montepulciano 

Region: Abruzzi

Country: Italy

Year: 2012

Price: $5

Winery Review: Dark ruby color with plums and strawberry components.

Before I paired this wine with my cheese, I tried it by itself.  On the nose, I smelled mostly red fruits.  On the palate, the red fruits came through but also with some pepper.  There were very little tannins and it was a bit acidic at the end.

(Left to Right) Wisconsin Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Vermont Cheddar, Aged Asiago, and Havarti
Appetizer

Even though I did end up trying all of the cheeses with wines later into the night, I have tried most of them before with wine. I decided to focus on pairing the Pepper Jack cheese appetizer with the Villa Cerrina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.  This Pepper Jack cheese definitely had a bite to it before trying it with the wine, so I was interested to see how they would pair.  At first with the wine, the cheese had a bite more of a bite but then it seemed to level off as I had more pieces of it with the wine.  After a while, I noticed the wine became less acidic due to the cheese.  Overall, I don't think Pepper Jack was the best choice for this wine, if any.  I think the softer wines I tried a bit later seemed to suit this wine much better.

Next on the wine list:

Name: Sterling Vintner's Collection Meritage

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon 60%; Merlot 25%; Cabernet Franc 8%; Petit Verdot 5%, Malbec 2%

Region: Central Coast, California

Country: USA

Year: 2010

Price: $10

Winery Review: Big flavors of blackberry jam, black cherry, and chocolate accented by a spicy finish.

Before I tried this wine with the main dish of buffalo chicken croissant, I sampled it by itself.  I first noticed that this wine was more or a purple color than the wine I had with my appetizer.  I tasted black cherries and noticed it was overall light in my mouth.  It did have a bit of a spicy kick on the end though!

Buffalo Chicken Croissant - absolute yum!
Main Dish

For our main dish, we had the delicious buffalo chicken croissant above! This dish is made up of chicken, cream cheese, Monterey jack cheese, and a little bit of hot sauce.  I was interested to see how the spiciness of this dish would pair after I figured out the Sterling Vitner's Collection Merritage had some spiciness at the end.  I actually thought these two complemented each other pretty well. Maybe their spiciness canceled each other out!  I also found that the dish helped cut out some of the wine's acidity as well and made it a bit smoother.  I would definitely pair again!

The last wine on this list: 

Name: Cavit Moscato

Variety: 100% Moscato

Region: Trentino

Country: Italy

Year: 2013

Price: $10

Winery Review: With notes of apricot, white peach and sage, a wonderful sweetness, and its vibrant and refreshing quality, it's no wonder America loves Cavit Moscato.

Before I had my dessert, I tried this Moscato by itself.  On the nose, I detected tropical fruits and melons.  On the palate, these tropical fruits were evident and I found the wine to feel fizzy and carbonated.  Overall, it was light and crisp.

A delicious yellow cake with milk chocolate frosting and sprinkles!
Dessert

As my final course for this wine dinner, I paired this Yellow Cake & Milk Chocolate Frosting with the Cavit Moscato.  I found that the wine seemed to go pretty well with the chocolates, but it was almost a little too sweet for my liking (and I like sweet!!).  This pairing could be a bit better if the frosting were a dark chocolate instead.

Overall, this Homemade Smörgåsbord Dinner with wine pairings was a success in my book!  We had a great time talking about all of the wines together.  It was wonderful to hear what other people thoughts of the pairings and what new pairings they found themselves!