Wine Dinner - Salmon Wellington

Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024

Saturday, Feb. 17 several of my friends, some taking this course and others enjoying wine alongside the rest of us, and I organized a modest three-course dinner with wines to go with each course. Our friend Long had studied cooking in his native Vietnam, and offered to prepare our main dish: Salmon Wellington with Fondant Potatoes and Butternut Squash Soup on the side - fish in honor of the Lenten season. Our friend Hannah made her famous Pierogi, and Nick brought a homemade Chocolate Mousse. We all chipped in and helped out in the kitchen, and so ten of us dined well last night.

Ten friends and I at our formal wine dinner, 02/18/2024.

Appetizer - Pierogi with Riesling

Appetizer - Pierogi.

We shared two different Rieslings due to the number of people who attended, and so I enjoyed the 2022 Landkastel Mosel Riesling.

Appetizer wine - 2022 "Landkastel" Mosel Riesling.

The wine. I, surprisingly, enjoyed this white wine. Perhaps it is because I am German, and as at a previous wine tasting involving a Grüner Veltliner, this Riesling initially reminded me of Apfelschorle (sparkling apple juice), a common and delicious German refreshment during the summer. It smelled perhaps floral and fresh - refreshing is the word that I associate with the smell. Upon tasting it, cool and light as it was, I could pick out hints of pear and apple. It had a bit of bite that made me think it was sparkling - again reminding me of Apfelschorle. However, it had a light bitterness as well, and alongside its sweetness, the acid was most evident.

The pairing. To be honest, I prefer the wine on its own rather than with food, at least the Pierogi we paired it with. Both were individually delicious beyond doubt, but they felt mismatched here. The Pierogi, being flour- and potato-based, were quite bland when compared to the wine. The acidity of the Riesling sharply contrasted with the smooth, dull taste of the Pierogi. My association of the Riesling with a light summer refreshment likewise clashed with the warm savor of the Pierogi, with which I would not pair a floral or fruity wine. One of my friends agreed, and furthermore those who had tasted the other Riesling as well, which was a drier sort, came to the conclusion that it paired much better. Nevertheless, both the wine and the Pierogi could be enjoyed individually with ease.

Main Course - Salmon Wellington with Pinot Noir

Main course - Salmon Wellington, Fondant Potatoes [not shown], Butternut Squash Soup.

We again had a selection of two reds now, a Pinot Noir and a darker Italian variety. I chose to have the 2017 Carpe Diem Pinot Noir.

Main course wine - 2017 "Carpe Diem" Anderson Valley Pinot Noir.

The wine. This was not your average Pinot Noir. For a Pinot, it was surprisingly dark and tannic, I found. It had the bite and mouthfeel of a darker red than I expected, and I had trouble picking out any obvious flavors. Perhaps hints of cherry and dark fruit were evident, but my wine tasting experience was too limited to go deeper than this. Overall this was not my preferred red wine.

The pairing. The Salmon was good, but again I don't know that this pairing quite suited my tastes. As far as fish goes, which is not among my favorite dishes generally, Salmon is one of the more enjoyable kinds, so the baseline for this pairing was only moderately high in terms of whether I'd enjoy it. 

The fish had a delicate and mild mouthfeel, which I felt that the Pinot somewhat overpowered. Nevertheless, even with the wine in my mouth, the Salmon's flavors lingered well and weren't washed away entirely. I might even say that I enjoyed the food a little more as a result of the wine, and that perhaps the type of wine simply didn't match perfectly. Unfortunately the boiled egg that was layered into the Salmon Wellington didn't pair well with the wine at all, in my opinion - the flavors simply did not complement each other. The potatoes, which had more spice (especially pepper) were a better match for the dark wine, and perhaps a spicier course in general would have paired better, while a lighter red or a rose might have suited the salmon better.

Dessert - Chocolate Mousse with Port

[image of Chocolate Mousse]

We all had a small glass of 5-year-old Henriques & Henriques Doce Generoso Madeira of the Tinta Negra variety with our dessert.

5-year-old "Henriques & Henriques" Madeira.

The wine. I had never had Port wine before this, and it was certainly unlike any other! I had always wondered how the "high-sweetness, high-alcohol, high-everything" styles could possibly coexist, and I suppose the result is exactly as it's described - alcoholic, then sweet, but again alcoholic, and yet sweet! It was more similar to a dessert liquor than a wine (in this regard I've only had a Baileys over Ice on one occasion, which I quite enjoyed; otherwise I can't stand most liquor). Immediately upon sniffing and tasting, and even looking at the tawny brown color, I thought of rum. The tastes I got from this Port included molasses and a smoky vanilla. There was some flavor association I had on the tip of my tongue which I never quite articulated; perhaps rum is the closest I could get. I quite enjoy Port, slowly and in small sips, and will probably try it more often!

The pairing. The Chocolate Mousse was rich and thick. Its sweetness was well-matched with the Port's sweetness. I found that the smokiness of the wine somewhat overpowered the smooth Mousse, and the complexity in flavors the Port brought was likewise unmatched by the more uniform, creamy Mousse. This pairing was certainly the best of the three tonight, and yet I don't think it was quite to my tastes. The Mousse was delicious on its own, and I'm not sure the Port helped with that, and likewise I wonder if the wine could have used a more complex dessert, maybe chocolate truffles that bring a bit more earthiness and nip. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed my first experimentation with Port wine to finish out a night of wine tasting and matching.