Frist Wine Dinner at Home

 Dinner­ - Take out from Hunan King

Hunan Wang is a very famous and convenient restaurant for Chinese students.  It is located the Virginia Tech Math Emporium Mall.

My roommates and I often go here to have dinner or take take-out home. I'm taking Geography of Wine this semester, so I choose this one of my favorite restaurants to pair with three wines this week. My boyfriend helps me take those photographs.

We have three main courses today.  I'm planning to serve a different wine with each course.  I will explain why I picked the wine to go with a particular dish.  I will include which wine flavors go best with what flavors in the food.

First course – Black pepper steak stir-fried with green pepper

Wine served with Barefoot Fruitscato Blueberry

Winery Review:

Bursting with all the flavors of juicy blueberries, Barefoot Blueberry FRUITSCATO makes every day just a little bit sweeter.  This scrumptious blend of red wine and natural flavors is a perfect pairing for fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate brownies!

My Review:

I love this Barefoot Blueberry wine with this course. It’s not too sweet and definitely not dry!! It balances out the beef's greasiness perfectly.  It has light blueberry aromas without a lot of tannins.  In general, this is my favorite red wine at this dinner! It smelled extremely fruity! When I tried this wine the first sense I picked up on was blueberry and lots of them!! After the blueberry sensation went away I got subtle hints of almond. I like it with this dish. 

Second course- Fried eggs with green onions

Wine served with Marqués de Riscal Verdejo

Winery Review:

The picturesque countryside of Spain is littered with vineyards large and small, and offers up some of the best value available on the wine market today. You can consistently fine critically-acclaimed Spanish wines selling for less than their counterparts from other wine-producing countries. The Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions are most famous, and there's nowhere else in the world where you'll find as many world-class Tempranillos.

My Review:

Very good white wine from Spain. It is 100% organic Verdejo, pleasant citrus and tropical fruit notes. I can think of a lot of flavors from it--lemon, pineapple, apple, grass. Refreshing, medium acidity with prominent apple notes, banana, grapefruit, and pineapple. I think it is perfect for dinner with fish or egg. 

Third course-Braised pork ball in brown sauce

Wine served with Oliver Blueberry Moscato

Winery Review:

Deep, flavorful blueberry juice is brought to life by Moscato’s tropical character and natural bubble. Oliver Winery Blueberry Moscato’s light, low-alcohol style is a crowd-pleasing change of pace that appeals to both sweet and dry palates. For this wine and all of our award-winning Vine Series Moscatos, we source the best quality Moscato: Muscat Canelli and Muscat Alexander from the West Coast. Then we add real blueberry juice. No natural or artificial flavorings! The resulting semi-sweet wine is a guilt-free indulgence—6.8% ABV and low calorie, with fruit-forward character and just enough bubble. Sip this oh-so-refreshing pink drink chilled or over ice. By the pool, under patio lights, or anywhere in between.

My Review:

Talk about sweet and delicious! I love me a good sweet Moscato. I love the hint of blueberry it has! This full bottle got me buzzed. Definitely on the top favorites of my wine list! This wine was very sweet and on the nose all I could really pick up was just an overall sweet smell of fruits.  On the mid palate it was sweet again but the finish of this wine tasted a little like a grapefruit, not too tart but a sweet grapefruit.  I had this wine with a pork ball and with a brownie. They are all good.

Overall, this is great wine dinner experience with Hunan King take out! My boyfriend and I both enjoyed this dinner. Next time we will try a different restaurant and a different wine. Looking forward to the next wine dinner!