Wine Dinner in Morristown, TN

This weekend, I drove down to Morristown, TN to meet up with my mom and grandmother. It didn't take much convincing on my part to get them on board with a wine dinner. My mom and I planned the menu and I hit up the Vintage Cellar before I left town.

Menu

Pear and Goat Cheese Salad

Le Grand Caillou Sauvignon Blanc, '13

Rack of Lamb, with hasselback potatoes

and roasted asparagus

Familie Perrin Cotes du Rhone Villages, '13

Raspberry Pavlova

Romerhof Beerenauslese, '09

The older generations started their afternoon with a chocolate liqueur while I made the merengue for the pavlova.

   

The wines were all purchased from the Vintage Cellar, with the help of Randall the wine guy. I originally had a South African Sauvignon Blanc in mind, but he steered me over to France instead. In his opinion, South Africa is better known for Chenin Blanc, and its Sauvignon Blanc's leave much to be desired.

I had tasted a Chateauneuf du Pape last month that was very herby and savory, and it reminded me of lamb while I drank it. So, I chose to pursue another Bordeaux for our lamb course. The Chateauneuf du Pape's at the VC were out of my price range, so I chose a moderately priced Cotes du Rhone instead.

The entire dinner began around the Pavlova, and I read online that a beerenauslese would pair well with the merengue dessert. Lucky for me, the VC had a killer one for an affordable price!

  

My mom prepared the main course, while I took care of the salad and dessert. We set the table with my great grandmother's china and tucked into our feast!

Course 1: Pear and Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic dressing

Le Grand Caillou Sauvignon Blanc, '13

The wine on its own smelled very funky and peaty, with hints of cheese and lactic acid. It tasted very crisp and acidic, with savory notes of metal, stone, and peaches. As I continued to drink it, I picked up on hints of blueberry. It tasted EXCELLENT with the salad, it paired nicely with the goat cheese. It also balanced out the balsamic dressing well.

Course 2: Rack of Lamb, with hasselback potatoes and roasted asparagus

Familie Perrin Cotes du Rhone Villages, '13

This is a big, tannic, fruity bordeaux. I felt it needed many more years on it to let the jamminess mellow out and let more of the subtle flavors shine. We had decanted it for a couple hours, but I suppose it needed more time. With the lamb, I felt it brought out some goat cheese flavors, which was odd. The wine tasted much better after we had finished the course and needed to kill the decanter. 

Course 3: Raspberry Pavlova

Romerhof Beerenauslese, '09

This golden honey wine tasted beautiful, like it was drained straight from a honeycomb. It was very well balanced and not too sweet or sugary. The pavlova was very sticky and sweet (my bad), and the wine complimented it nicely. Neither was too cloyingly sweet.

Overall, the dinner was a great success! We ate and drank, my mom and I drunkenly bickered about my boyfriend, and my grandmother sat with a smile on her face. All was good with the world.

+PARENTS BONUS POINTS!