Wine and Food Pairing #1

 For my wine and food pairing of this month me and my friend Masan paired Champagne, Prosecco Rose, and Merlot with Brussel sprouts, spaghetti and lemon chicken. The merlot is by Bay Bridge Vineyards and was bought a Kroger for about $3 - crazy. The Prosecco rose is by LaMarca which is a brand I have had before and was the Piccolo sized bottle and I am unsure of the price. The champagne was the brand Andre which I think is a popular brand, especially by the college kids in this area. We also used white wine in the cooking of the chicken in the sauce. 

On the Brussel sprouts, we used honey and balsamic vinegar to give a nice sweet taste and I found that the Merlot did not go well with that dish in particular. I also was not a fan of the wine in general. It was a very distinct smell and taste, very earthy and toasted and I think it was definitely put in an oak barrel. The sweetness of the sprouts did not match that earthy taste and the wine just overwhelmed the taste and that was all I tasted and the food was forgotten. I also think the Merlot was quite bitter so that with the sweetness of the sprouts did not match well. The rose matched well with everything I think. It wasn't my friends favorite but I preferred it over the Merlot. I think the slight sweetness of it and the lightness of it contributed a lot because it was a lighter meal so the drink didn't over power any of the food or make you feel heavy. 

The champagne matched really well with everything because it was a very basic, sweet champagne by Andre and I learned from the lectures that champagne matches with most food because it is so basic. The lemon chicken dish went well with the Prosecco rose and champagne, more the Champagne than anything, but the rose was a little sweet but not too strong of a rose flavor profile so it worked well with the citrus from the lemon but the meatiness of the chicken. The acidity of the Champagne and rose which is popular in sparkling wines, paired well with the lemon chicken because the lemon had a matched acidity.  My personal rankings of the wine from best to worst go champagne, Prosecco rose, and then the merlot but I just don't think red wine is my flavor profile. 

Overall, since a white wine was used in the cooking, I would assume that a white wine would go well with this meal over a red, but we wanted to see how that bitter red was able to affect the taste and profiles we got from the meal. The Merlot had the strongest effect for sure, cutting the taste almost completely from the Brussel sprouts and just being off with the chicken.









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