Wine Dinner- Spring Break Cruise

Over spring break my boyfriend and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas. We left out of Baltimore, MD so we had a few days at sea at the start of our cruise. There are several "excursions" which are pretty much ways that Carnival can steal more of your money, which totally works by the way. One of these excursions was a wine and food pairing with Sommelier Ivan (sweet name I know). It was $25 dollars so we thought what the heck and did this instead of lunch one day. It was at the nicer restaurant which you had to pay more for instead of the dining room which was included in the cruise fee. The place was awesome, it was at the highest point of the ship so the view was beautiful and there were murals and mirrors surrounding everything. Our guide Ivan was adorable and very informative. He told us we were going to see how food can change the tastes of the wines. They filled our 5 glasses with generous portions of five different wines and brought out a plate for each of us with various items so we could taste them with the wines. The only gave us the countries where the wines were from by the way, not the regions.

Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zeland
This wine was very pale in color. It tasted very acidic and had hints of citrus and green apple and I found it to be very earthy. We paired it with green apple. After taking a bite of the apple and then sipping the wine, it changed the taste of the wine to be less acidic and more mellow, which I found to be much more enjoyable afterwards.

Zonin Pinot Grigio from Italy 
This wine was a light gold color, darker than the Clifford Bay. It had a less strong scent than the first wine. I found it to have not much taste and to be a little bitter. Another person at the tasting said it reminded her of "fresh cut grass" which doesn't sound very appealing. This wine was paired with salmon. After the fish it seemed to express more flavors and seemed a little lighter. Next we tried it with a bite of lemon with some salt on it. This taste of wine after was even more different and was sweeter and fruiter.

Robert Mondavi Chardonnay from USA 
Of the white wines this had the darkest, strongest gold color. It had an oaky smell kind of like fresh wood. This wine was very heavy and had a creamy taste and I got a lot of oak out of it. This was paired with a marmalade and afterwards it tasted lighter, less oaky, and seemed to have a lighter body.

Then our guide told us about tears when swirling the wine in your glass. When the tears are close together and slow it means there is a higher alcohol content.

Mirassou Pinot Noir from USA
This had a light red color and its scent was very pungent of red berries and spice even outside of the glass as we swirled it. The taste was nice because it was dry but also very light. This was paired with filet mignon that was DELICIOUS however when tried with the wine I really only got the steak taste because the wine was so light. He told us this was a bad pairing. Then we tasted with strawberries and it was a good pairing because it gave the wine more depth and became light and fruity.

Black Swan Shiraz from Australia
The guide referred to Shiraz as "a cowboy in a tuxedo." This was of a much darker color than the Pinot Noir. The scent was strong and spicy with more pepper than the previous red. It tasted of burnt oak and darker berries like currants. The tears of this wine fell very fast, but the alcohol percentage was 14% so I was not surprised. He also said for this type of wine they allow the grapes to be over ripened. First we paired this with green apple as the bad pairing example. It tasted really strange with an awkward bitter taste that I couldn't really put my finger on ... but it was NOT GOOD.

Our guide gave us more of all the wines and let us finish up our food at the end and told us to try everything together to see what we liked. He said that Brie cheese was the best pairing for most all wines because it just makes the wine tastes better by smoothing and softening the taste so that it is more rounded and easier on the palate. I had to agree! He also gave us some more tips. He said that when eating sweet foods you should drink a sweeter wine so that the taste is not overpowered, hence desert wines. He also told us that when in doubt when choosing a wine to pair with food just use a Champagne! He also told us that we should match the body of the wine with the food for the best pairing. All in all it was a great time! The steak and fish were very good and we got nice size portions of all the wines so I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Now for some pics.
Heres the wines! I took notes on that paper they were sitting on.

Here's my food plate. We got extra plates of the meats. 

Here's how it ended! 

My flash broke on the trip which is the reason for the awkward lighting. 

Dinner- Zeppolis (Italy)

Captain's Log: April 1, 2012

So first of all this little wine/dinner thing was awesome for twelve bucks. There was a plethora of munchies to go along with the wine: cheese and crackers, cheesy bread, bruschetta bread,  salad, pasta with veggies, cheesy pasta, and pasta with meat sauce. Pretty legit for all you can eat also. I made my boyfriend go with me. We had gone to a wine tasting on the cruise we went on for spring break and it was also pretty sweet so he wanted to try it again. We sat at an awkwardly small table with a stranger who turned out to be awesome! I can't remember her name but she was really friendly and gave us a lot of insight into the wines actually because she had been a waitress for the past like six years or something. She actually was allergic to red wines, so they gave her a full glass of Dr. Loosen Reisling which she let me try. It was 8.5% alcohol and the perfect amount of sweet match with a fruity balance. I liked it so much I bought a bottle when we left with our 10% wine discount for going. 

Now into the wines.
I really liked our wine guide. He mixed up the wines to see if we could tell if one or the other was more expensive. I was usually wrong in this aspect but I am kind of a wine novice so I did not expect much of myself. What was really funny was trying to get my boyfriend to describe the wines... he was awful but he doesn't know anything about wine except that he likes Pinot Noir which we randomly picked out one time.
WHITES
Fossi Bianco White table wine: Only $6.99 and alcohol content of 11.5%
This wine was really crisp, acidic, and citrusy. The body was  very light and there were nice hints of green apple. I thought it was great for the price but not the greatest wine I have ever tasted.
La Fiera 2010 Pinot Grigio Veneto: $7.99 and 12% alcohol
This wine was a little less acidic than the previous one with what seemed like hints of pear. It seemed to be a little more balanced and more dry. This wine was supposed to go nicely with salads so I tried it with mine and I agreed. Went nicely with the balsamic vinaigrette.
Nals Margried 2010 Pinot Grigio Alto Adige: $14.99 and 13.5% alcohol
This wine was slightly more oaky than the other Pinot Grigio and seemed to be thicker. It seemed to have a lemony bite to it as well.
Lodali 2011 Moscato D'Asti: $12.99
This was AWESOME. It was like that Welches sparkling grape juice. My family always drank that at Thanksgiving and Christmas because they do not drink alcohol so it reminded me of that but more fun because it was alcoholic! The only thing is the alcohol content was 5.5%, so its like drinking a beer pretty much. Actually it kind of tasted like a Woodchuck cider, especially since it was carbonated. Definitely would like to have a go at this one again. As I said in the beginning the Reisling we bought tasted similar to this one, except had a higher alcohol content and had a more "wine" taste than this Moscato.
REDS
Luca Primativa del Salento Puglia
This one smelled very spicy. It tasted very rich, but not as dry as some other red wines can be. I definitely got some spice, dark cherry, and a very dark and robust fruity taste. This one tasted the best with the meat pasta I thought.
SUD Primativo Puglia
This wine was very dark and rich in color. The spice in the smell of this one was a little lighter than the previous primativo and was also complemented with a vanilla-y smell. This was also a little more minerally than the previuos in taste. I also got the dark fruit taste (like cherry or plum) with a little more herbs this time.
Morli Neri 2009 Chianti DOCG
The first Chianti I ever had was at my best friend's 21st birthday dinner that we went to at an awesome Italian restaurant in Arlington, VA where we got to eat at the Chef's table in the kitchen, which seems kind of weird but it was awesome. Our wine guide told us that this one was DOCG certified meaning it passed all of the wine laws to make a Chianti so I had high hopes. I found it to be very pleasant, but not as awesome as the first Chianti that I mentioned (probably because of the circumstance). I got more of a cherry or raspberry jam taste and but I thought the body was very nice being not too full or light.
Bibi Graetz 2010 Casamata Toscana
Our wine guide told us that this wine was known as a "Super Tuscan." This one tasted very rich and seemed to be very tannic. I got some licorice and like red beet taste almost.
Lodali 2009 Nebbiolo D'Alba Sant Ambrogrio
This wine was the most expensive wine Zeppolis has allowed at a tasting yet at $17.99 a bottle. So naturally when he told us this I had high expectations. I found it to be very pleasant and it balanced all of its elements well. Probably the most well rounded wine I have ever tasted. It had a nice fruit taste as well as balancing in some spice.

I definitely want to go to another one. Well worth the money and very insightful to the wine world. Plus they give you coupons and wine discounts!

Here's the bottle of Reisling that I bought!