Wine Dinner Blog - Othello's

My girlfriend and I went to the ballet and thought we would do a Wine Dinner blog post afterwards. We went to a local Italian restaurant that dabbles as a bar and wine club. Right off the bat we picked our food-
Fried calamari to start
Baked ziti for me, with marinara and parmesan and penne pasta with pesto for her
A huge piece of strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Emphasis on the huge.

As far as wine pairing, I think that I made a decision that was not going to aid my education in wine as much as this exercise could have. Othello's had recently started partnering with a winery in California and had a private line- one red and one white. It is the house wine, and they buy the entire stock as to be the only ones selling it. We decided to try both wines with our dinner, so our information was limited. The owner came and sat with us, but I was actually was disappointed by how little she was able to tell us about the wines. The white was a full chardonnay and the red was a blend (the make-up of which she was not able to tell me). So while it was a great experience to try the house wines and also an excuse to have three different glasses with dinner, I was sure that I could have gotten more out of the experience if I had picked wines that I could have compared with what I have learned thus far in this class.

Course 1-
By far the house chardonnay was my favorite drink of the night. It was crisp without overbearing my mouth, and was perfectly balanced. Honestly, the best thing to come out of the night was the discovery of this wine- I will be back to Othello's for it. The calamari was a little bland, and the texture was not what I was expecting. But it paired nicely with the wine. The wine seemed to overpower the calamari, but I think it was because the calamari was so bland and I was enjoying the chardonnay so much.

Course 2 -
The house red was nothing to write home about. My ziti was a little heavy, and the wine a little light to balance it out. There was an oaky taste in the blend, with a dark fruit that I couldn't identify. It seemed like the acid was a little out of balance. While there was a slight level of residual suger, the ziti was so heavy that I really only experienced the acidity of the wine.

Course 3-
With dessert we went for a light, crisp wine- a chilled prosecco. Comically, the only prosecco that they had left in stock was the cupcake- but I am no brand snob. The prosecco was very well balanced, and the sweetness was enjoyable without overbearing. Luckily, the cheesecake itself and the strawberry was not too strong or rich, as I was still able to enjoy the peachiness of the prosecco. The gladd did not last as long as I wanted, I thought that it was a little light to cover the size of the cheesecake. In the finish there seemed to be a little citrus, lemony bite, which next to the cheesecake threw me off just a little. But overall the prosecco was a great way to end the night.