Last night the Fayetteville Wine Society met at Morgan's Chop House (previously Trio Cafe and then The Vineyard) to taste dessert wines with some desserts.
I didn't take good notes--was listening to conversations and eating, etc. but here is a list of what we tried and what desserts were offered (small portions per person as we shared a single dessert among about four people.)
We had a non-vintage Gruet Brut sparkling wine to start (New Mexico.) Yeasty nose with "pain grille" flavors. This was in a flight with the Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Noirs NV (sparkling wine from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes.)
We had a plate of candy from The Chocolate Lady (a shop in downtown Fayetteville) and it was suggested that we pair the white chocolate candy with dried apricot and a touch of ginger with the Gruet and a white chocolate-covered strawberry with the Ste. Michelle. Both combinations were great!
Next flight was a Marenco "Pineto" Brachetto D'Acqui DOGC (Italy) and a 2007 Santa Julia "Tardio" Torrontes (from Argentina--I mistakenly thought it was from Spain.) I have had a couple Brachettos before (most often from Banfi) but always find them joyful and fun to drink. It is a sparkling rose' wine from the Brachetto grape and has strawberry, raspberry or watermelon like flavors. It paired especially well with the white-chocolate covered strawberries. The Torrontes is a white grape from Argentina and in this case a "late harvest" riper version. It was flowery in aroma and very nice on the palate. I may order a bottle or two of the Brachetto and Torrontes for sharing with friends since they are are good intro to wine for the novice. I believe the Torrontes was under $11.
The restaurant prepared the following desserts to be shared among about four people:
Stilton cheese
Bananas Foster
Creme Brulee with whipped cream and a strawberry
Cheese cake with rolled pastry sticks (are they profiterole if they don't have any chocolate?)
The third flight of dessert wines consisted of a 2005 Chateau Clos Dady Sauternes (France) and a 2003 Legends Cabernet Franc Ice Wine (Niagara, Canada).
The presenters suggested pairing the Stilton cheese with the Sauternes (as well as a Port to come later.)
I found it hard to pin down the flavors of the Sauternes from the small pour we each had. I would state the primary flavor to be nougat with some vanilla? and maybe orange? in the background.
The Canadian ice wine from Cabernet Franc had strawberry on the nose and palate. I had an Inniskillen Cabernet Franc Ice Wine that I purchased at a Pinehurst Wine Festival but it was opened at the church fundraiser last fall. It was suggested that we pair the Cabernet Franc with a dark chocolate truffle from The Chocolate Lady and that worked fairly well. I think I prefer dark chocolate with Banyuls or Maury however. Some Port and chocolates work okay together.
We also enjoyed a Gould-Campbell 10-year old Tawny Port. I have seen this in other restaurants around town. It was light amber in color and nice by itself (if not mind-blowing) but didn't do as well with the Stilton as some other Ports might. I may buy a bottle if I find it to be much cheaper than the Cockburn 10-year Tawny. I liked the Port better with the Bananas Foster (with walnut pieces) and the creme brulee than with the cheese.
We finished with a "real" Champagne to cleanse our palate (after opening the evening with a sparkling wine from New Mexico.) Paul Laurent Brut NV
It was open a while before I got my pour and it was not very bubbly in my glass. Nice palate cleanser however. Some brioche but less yeasty than the Gruet Brut.
Both wines and desserts made for a terrific evening. All of the meetings have been enjoyable but they seemed to raise the bar with the December super Tuscans and this January event.
February's event will feature different styles of Zinfandel and another month may have cooking with truffle oil and sampling Spanish wines.