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| Outside Palisades in Eggleston, VA |
After Geography on Wine on Thursday, six of my friends and
I went to the Palisade restaurant in Eggleston to celebrate my friend, Julia’s,
21
st birthday and enjoy a wine dinner. The highlighted region for the week was South
Africa. I have always been a fan of
South African wines, so I was extra excited for this experience.
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| Inside Palisades Restaurant |
The atmosphere at the Palisades was warm and
welcoming. It felt like a nice sit down
dinner at home among family and friends.
Conversation was easy, the temperature inside was comfortable, and the
staff were affable.
To start, we were graciously given a complimentary
appetizer of pita, humus, and fresh tomato.
I am not usually a huge fan of humus, but the combination of the three
together made for a delicious play on bruschetta with a nice spice.
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| Complimentary Appetizer |
The wine dinner pairing consisted of Pumpkin fitters,
biryani with beef skewers, and apricot chutney to eat, and Chenin Blanc (2010),
Petit Pinotage (2010), and Game Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (2009) to drink. All the wines were from Stellenbosch, South
Africa. It is the second oldest region
in South Africa and boasts 14% of the country’s annual wine production. We had our wine served with our meal, and
decided to try them individually and then with each component of our
plate.
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| Beef tips skewer on rice, pumpkin fritters, and chutney with three wines |
We tried the Chenin Blanc 2010 first. By itself, it had a fruity, oaky smell with
hints of pear. The taste was similarly
earthy with a little citrus and tartness.
The aftertaste was pleasant. I
tried it with the pumpkin fritter next and the flavor exploded! The spices and oils were accentuated a
lot.
Next, we tried the Petit Pinotage 2010. It smelled of dark berries, cherries, oak,
and some petrol. After swirling it a few
times, I thought I could detect a little rosemary or some other herbal scents
as well. Upon tasting, I felt the wine
had a medium body with a nice lingering heat.
It was slightly tannic with a little bitterness. I felt that trying it with the pumpkin fitter
helped break down the tannins. Adding
the chutney to the combination added to the heat, but in a good way, so that I
could feel the wine tingling in my mouth and all the way down my throat. The beef had a neutralizing effect on the
heat and helped bring out the subtle herbal flavors. With the pepper and onion, the wine tasted
more bitter at first, and then extra heat going down, which was
interesting. The rice served as a nice
neutralizer, which was pleasant and cleansing.
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| The gang at dinner |
Finally, we tried the 2009 Game Reserve Cabernet
Sauvignon. This wine had what looked
like yeast floating around in it, and smelled like dark fruit with oak and
tobacco. If felt VERY smooth and tasted
the same way it smelled. The wine was
sophisticated and full-bodied. The beef
changed the flavor the least, and did not really help bring out additional
flavors in the wine. The vegetables made
the wine taste tarter, but extended and left the flavors on and around my whole
mouth. I like the fritter the least with
this wine because it tasted more bitter and less complex.
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| Finished product |
Overall, the food was absolutely delicious and I enjoyed
all the wines as well. I wish there had
been more food, but luckily, some of the members of our party ordered pizzas,
which were ginormous, and were willing to share. The
characteristics the wines took on with food compared to how they were alone was
quite an experience. The cabernet
sauvignon was probably my favorite wine to drink alone, while the chenin blanc
was my favorite with the food. I would
definitely recommend the Palisades to others, and hopefully I will have the
opportunity to go back in the future.
