Dinner - Palisades (Rose Blend)

Welcome to the Palisades!

The Palisades is located in what seems like the middle of nowhere, where you turn around this one bend after a bridge and POOF... there appears this little gravel road with this tiny shop, a church and a few homes on it. As you can see from the photo above, the Palisades is located in a very old building which used to be a general store during the 1920's. I wish I had taken actual interior photos of this place, but I was distracted by the food and alcohol. 

Every Thursday, the restaurant hosts a petite wine pairing in which they pair three wines to three appetizers. I have a few friends who had already been to one of the pairings and loved it. They loved it so much, you will see them sitting next to me when I went there this past Thursday. The pairing is called Wines Around the World and the theme of this week was Rose Blends. 

Complimentary Fruit Smoothie

As soon as we ordered the pairing dinner, we were met with the chef's complimentary fruit smoothie shooter. It was a small glass of banana, coconut and lime blend and it was quite exciting and refreshing. It was yummy but in a very strange way. The flavors of the fruit did not blend together but stand out separately on their own. Oh and yes, I did just analyze my tiny free smoothie in a wine blog. I couldn't help it.

The Menu

Left to Right: Ceviche, rhubarb and beef

On to the good part. In store for us that night were three rose wines: Vera Vinho Verde 2011 from Portugal, De Morgenzan DMZ Cabernet Rose 2012 from South Africa and Lovingston Rose 2011 from Virginia. As for the appetizers, we had beef tenderloin with a spicy strawberry sauce, scallop and almond cevicge with grapefruit and abraised rhubarb with vanilla. Now I would like to point out early that I did not eat the ceviche because I am allergic to scallops, so to be sure I paired the wine three foods, I order the border spring lamb with spring pea gnocchi, baby carrots and maiitake mushrooms (See below). It was AMAZING. 

The Wines 

Left to Right: Vera Vinho Verde, DMZ Cab Rose and Lovingston Rose

Vera Vinho Verde 2011 (Portugal):

-Palisades Description

This is a fizzy lifter! Vinho Verde flaunts a touch of sparkle that makes them among the cheeriest wines in existence. But for a green wine, this is surely dark. That's because Vinhao is a teinturier, a grape with dark flesh. Despite the color, the wine is light and zippy, with dried cherries, cranberries, and even a touch of pomegranate that make this a good pair with chicken pilaf, gazpacho or the Park on a warm afternoon. Vera's white Vinho Verde has been a great favorite at Pour, and their rose is sure to follow suit!

-Personal Description

This wine is very fizzy, sharp and acidic. There are hints of berries which gives it a sweetness. Overall, it is very refreshing, crisp and delightful. A very different wine than I am used to because of how fizzy it is due to the acidity. It makes it very fun. 

With the beef tenderloin, the acidity wasn't as overbearing. It definitely calmed down. It was also a bit of a surprise how nicely it went with the beef. I guess it was because of the strawberry sauce on top that went well with the fruity aspects of the wine. With the braised rhubarb, the acidity was also softened and the contrast in sweetness between the two made the wine seem less sweet. With the lamb, one word comes to mind; beautiful. It brings out the gamy flavors of the lamb and also emphasizes the saltiness of it. 

De Morgenzon DMZ Cabernet Rose 2012 (South Africa)

-Palisades Description

This aromatic Sauvignon Blanc gives away to a zesty palate of citrus fruit backed by an herbal edge. It is a crowd pleasing rose displaying alluring aromas and juicy flavors of pomegranate, watermelon and strawberries, accented with delicate floral and spice hints. A brisk acidity combines with a graceful minerality to round out the lengthy finish. 

-Personal Description 

This wine was a bit drier than the previous one and had a nice array of fruity flavors. It was cool and refreshing, mainly due to it being chilled. There was little to no acidity evident however it seemed to possibly be a bit stronger in alcohol content. The liquid was soft on the tongue, making me think that there was a mineral component as mentioned in the Palisades description. 

With the beef, the spiciness in the strawberry sauce was brought out in a delightful way. The beef also lessened the heat from the wine. With the rhubarb, it did the same, however the fruity flavors in the wine were diminished. With the lamb, the wine greatly improved. The fruit is more evident and the mix of flavors makes it all more entertaining on the palate. 

Lovingston Rose 2011 (Virginia) 

-Palisades Description (I'm pretty sure they messed up some of their descriptions but this is what was written under this wine, sorry)

This youthful and expressive wine comes from young vines in De Morgenzon's own estate, grown on its weathered granite soils. Hand-picked, the grapes are then fermented in stainless steel, before transfer to French oak barrels for 11 months maturation. An abundance of bright and youthful plum and berry fruit is the main feature, surrounded by touches of violet, cinnamon and vanilla. Rounded and supple in texture. 

-Personal Description

This wine was semi-dry and had some flavors of big red fruits. There was also a hint of licorice. Online it says that this wine is made from 85% merlot and 15% cabernet franc. I can definitely taste some characteristics from these grapes that show up in their red wine counterpart. By far, my favorite wine of the night. 

With the beef, it improves on the flavor of the red meat. Because it has a similar taste to the red wine, it pairs with red meat like it as well. It does however overshadow the strawberry sauce. 

With the rhubarb, the wine also overshadows much of the sweet tastes imparted from the rhubarb. In fact, the two are just complete opposites and I would not recommend pairing them again. With the lamb, it was a bit strange in that it gave the lamb and odd taste. I think more of the licorice came out and lessened the lamb flavor. Definitely better with the beef than the lamb. 

Overall

 I loved the experience. Traveling out to the Palisades and enjoying a meal with friends was a lot of fun. The food there is wonderful, however I was informed they have had better wine pairing appetizers in the past. It was a little disappointed that one, I was allergic to the seafood ceviche and didn't get to try it, and two, that my nose was so stuffed up, I couldn't very well detect in aromas in the wine. I am so glad I ordered the lamb to make up the third food to pair with the wines. The rose demonstration was quite fun as well. I have only had a few roses and none of them have been anything similar to the three I tried this night. I didn't know that a rose could be very similar, if not a tamer version of a full bodied red wine. I recommend driving out to the Palisades and trying it out for yourself. 

Salude!