Battle of the Prawns : Wine and Food Pairing #1

With the temperature reaching past 100 degrees outside, tonight seemed like the perfect night to stay in and try a few new recipes and wine pairing.  Normally red would be my default choice, however summer seems as good as any to venture out and try the whites and roses of the world...


The first dish of the night was a light risotto,  topped with buttery prawns and a side of lightly tossed fennel salad.  The wine of choice was a 09 Toasted Head Chardonnay from California, which I had decide to try based a few recent recommendations.  At first taste, the wine was not as crisp as typical of Chardonnays but actually slightly creamy, which seems to have suggested that it was aged in oak instead of steel barrels.  When mixed with the dish, the creaminess of the risotto further revealed that characteristic of the wine, making the dish a rich yet still delicate meal.

The next course could not have been any more different as the prawn was slightly sauteed in a sherry sauce with shallots and poblano chile. For this dish, I've decided to pair with a Sangiovese Blend, the Barone Riscasoli Aliba Toscana to be exact.  The Sangiovese grape, the dominate grape of Tuscany is typically delicate and high in acidity and this wine proved to be no exception. The wine was fruity yet tart, which I hoped to complement the spicy nature of the dish.  Unfortunately the chiles lacked any significant heat to truly bring out the sweetness of the rose wine, making the pairing slightly lackluster.

Overall, my first wine and food pairing wasn't too bad I guess, no real catastrophic events, and I managed to finish with all my fingers in one piece.... (for those of you that came to my first dinner party you'll understand exactly what is meant by this! )