Dinner- Olive Garden (Italy)

Wine Dinner Blog Report #1

Olive Garden

First of all, I would like to note that this was by far the best homework experience I have ever had. My husband wanted to take me out for a date night so we decided to go to Olive Garden. Once we got there I explained to my waitress what I was having to do and she was so excited to help. She suggested food and wines for me to taste and even brought out the bottles so I could take pictures of them. She also brought over her manager and he wished me luck on my assignment. Overall, I had a great experience and would highly recommend any students to go to Olive Garden for this assignment.

For my appetizer, I had the chicken gnocchi soup and I paired it with the Cavit: Pinot Grigio

In my opinion, I did not think that these two paired well together. I thought the Pinot Grigio tasted and smelled like your typical Pinot Grigio. Nothing about the wine stood out from any other Pinot Grigio I have had before. I thought it was acidic and I thought that the creaminess of the soup would work well with the acidity, floral nature of the wine but I was wrong. The soup was nice after taking a sip but together, they tasted awful. Overall, I would eat the soup again but I would find a different wine to pair it with.

For my meal, I had the Seafood Alfredo and I paired it with the Starborough: Sauvignon Blanc

This pairing was actually a suggestion on the menu and I know why. These two went together so well, it was delicious! The wine had a pear, apple flavor which made it super light and crisp. The wine itself was so easy to drink but once it was paired with the shrimp and pasta it became even better. The wine had barely any noticeable acidity, but the little that it did have was completely washed away by the Alfredo sauce. This wine would be great with any creamy sauce, either on steak or on pasta. I think this wine was amazing just by itself, but I honestly think it was even better with the food. 

For dessert, I had strawberry cheesecake and I paired it with the Prosecco

At this point in the process, I was feeling a bit tipsy, but you know had to keep chugging along for the assignment lol. Anyways, the cheesecake was good, the wine was good, but the wine and cheesecake were not good. The wine tasted like peach to me, but I am also a sucker for any sparkling wine. And of course the cheesecake was amazing. I think the problem here was that they each had a good flavor, but when paired together it actually ending up taking away important flavors from the wine and cheesecake. I would recommend the wine but I would find another dessert to pair it with.