Dinner - Palisades (Italy)

Palisades Restaurant

On Wednesday, my roommate and I went to the Palisades Restaurant in Eggleston, Virginia. The theme of the wine pairings this week was Italy - I may be attending grad school in Italy next fall, so I was particularly excited about this. My roommate is also in Geography of Wine with me, so both of us were eager to compare notes on how we thought the wines tasted with the food. Our pallets are very different, so we expected our reactions to the food/wine would be pretty different as well.

 The town where the restaurant is located is tiny - it took my roommate and I all of 2 minutes to walk its length. Despite the size of the town, the restaurant itself was pretty busy, so we spent our time waiting to be seated exploring outside. This building apparently used to be an ice cream parlor, according to a local who stopped to talk to us. He was quite friendly, and in addition to telling us a little about the history of the town he also told us local ghost lore! 






















Eventually, we were seated. The inside decor of the restaurant is lovely, so I couldn't help but take a picture of our table. 

 

The menu was Ricotta with Smoked Almonds & Lemon Honey, Mushroom Brushetta, Shrimp Fra Davolo, and Venison Bolognese with Rigatoni. My roommate is a vegetarian, and I am allergic to shrimp, so we asked for our portions to be switched - I ended up with double venison and she had double shrimp. I was particularly excited to try the venison, as I had never eaten it before.





The wines for the night:

Centorri Moscato Provincia di Pavia, 2016
Pale yellow in color, this moscato has aromas of peaches, rose petals and ginger. The palate is lightly sweet and sparkling with a modest acidity and finishes with notes of fresh apricots.

Montepulciano D’ Abruzzo Masciarelli, 2014

This wine offers subdued aromas of red berries, cherry, red currants, violets, and a hint of tobacco. The palate is straightforward and enjoyable with hints of tart cherry, baking spice, taut tannins and licorice with bright acidity.

Bellamico Falanghina Beneventano, 2014

Named after the town, Benevento, in eastern Campania. The wine from the Falanghina grape is flower and stone-fruited. It offers flavors of rich fruit such as peach and apricot and has a clean, zesty finish.

Volpare Valpolicella La Giaretta, 2015

A warm, velvety full-bodied wine that has aromas of cherry jam, baked plums and sweet/spicy notes. The palate offers red berries and ripe plums that are complemented by a discreet freshness and has a spicy finish.

The first wine, the Moscato, smelled like peaches. At first taste it was sweet and light, and I could taste apricots and something floral. After trying it with the first dish, the Ricotta with smoked almonds and lemon-honey, I could taste a bit of smokiness in the back of my mouth. I thought it paired very well, and the wine brought out the taste of the almonds in the dish. The wine was very smooth, and the flavors of the wine and the dish complemented each other as they brought out stronger tastes for both.

The second wine, the 2014 Masciarelli, was a purple-red wine that was very dry and big on tannins, and felt almost heavy on the tongue. When paired with the mushroom bruschetta, the wine highlighted the buttery garlic taste of the mushrooms, probably because the wine itself was so dry.

The third wine was supposed to be paired with the shrimp, but because I am allergic to shrimp I tried it with the venison instead. The Beneventano smelled like flowers and was a very nice golden color, in contrast to the pale Moscato we tried first. It was heavier and smoother in both look and taste, and it tasted fresh. It paired interestingly with venison, but I didn't notice anything particular about how they interacted, other than it tasted more acidic after eating the food.

The fourth wine, the 2015 Volpare Valpolicella La Giaretta, was a ruby colored wine that smelled like bricks and smoke, and was sweeter and fuller than the other red. The taste of cherries and plums was present, and when paired with the venison, the cherry taste stood out even more.

In comparing notes with my roommate, I discovered that her personal favorite was the Moscato - no surprise to me, as I know she prefers sweet wines and dislikes reds in general. Meanwhile, my favorite dish and wine pairing was the 2014 Montepulciano D’ Abruzzo Masciarelli with the Mushroom Bruschetta. I thought the two contrasted in a way that brought out the best flavors in each other, and I liked that. 

White Peach Penna Cotta

After dinner, we decided to get dessert because we just weren't finished with the Palisades. I had a little of the Beneventano left over, so I tried it with my dessert - a White Peach Penna Cotta - and found that I liked that pairing much better than with the venison (which, given that it was never intended to be paired with venison, makes sense). The sweet dessert brought out a much sweeter and fruitier taste in the Beneventano, and so I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Somehow only remembered to take one selfie.
Samantha (left) and me (right)