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Gourmet Gab

white wine

Wine Tasting Tournament with Wine Bracket

1 · Jun 12, 2017 · 1 Comment

I may not be that into sports, but if there’s one kind of tournament I am invested in, it’s a wine tasting tournament. A few weeks ago my girlfriends and I got together to celebrate our friend Erica’s 26th birthday complete with a cheese board, dessert and wine tasting. Once everyone arrived, we snacked, caught up and then headed to the table to start our Wine Bracket game!

Wine Bracket is a wine tasting party in a box. Using the kit, you can host a complete wine tasting tournament in your home. The game allows you to taste your way through eight wines in a bracket style, almost like you’re creating a bracket for March Madness. Everything from tiny sampling glasses to voting brackets to color coordinated pitchers are included in the kit, plus the game can be reused until you run out of voting brackets!

Here’s How it Works

First, I set up the table so everyone had their little station: two tasting glasses (a purple and gray), a voting bracket, a pencil and voting card. I also brought some crackers and snacks over to the table to cleanse our palates between tasting the wine.

The host (who also gets to play the game!) pairs up the wines by similar features to help guide the comparison and writes it down on the Master bracket. It was fun to evaluate what everyone brought and decide which wine should compete against the other. We didn’t set a price range so of course you know I had to throw in a Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s to see how it competed.

 One tip – be sure to decide what temperature everyone is going to bring the wine because the difference in chilled versus not did have an impact on our tasting! 

Starting with the first round of wines paired in the “North” section of the bracket, the host pours the two wines into the two color coordinated pitchers and heads to the table to pour all the guests a sample of each.

The guests taste test, write notes and pick their favorite throughout each round. The group votes on their favorite wine to determine which of the two wines moves to the next round. It gets a little competitive when you find out which of the wines wins from each pairing and it keeps the guessing going. With a process of elimination and tasting the winners each round, you end up with a final favorite wine of the group!

And the winner is…

You guys! After trying eight different wines, all reasonably priced, actual bottles that we would bring to a party or buy for ourselves – the Two Buck Chuck (technically Charles Shaw Chardonnay) WON! I still cannot believe it. Our group had some legitimate wines – Meomi is one of my favorite wines and it’s almost $20 a bottle – but still, the $4 Trader Joe’s wine pulled through as the group favorite! It’s such a great example of how the blind taste changes everything. Our runner up was a chardonnay called Sunday Funday  that I would totally buy again.

What Did They Think

My girlfriends loved the game and are already asking when we can play again with red wine. We enjoyed the challenge of thinking of ways to describe the wine. One of my favorites quotes was Erica saying, “First I thought grape, and then I thought….wine.” Ha! The game really does help you determine your preferences and may even surprise you on wines you didn’t think you would like.

Wine Bracket is a new product, a sister brand to the original Brew Bracket for beer lovers. You can purchase it here! It would be a blast for summer parties, birthdays, girls nights and more. As you can see, my girlfriends and I loved it and I am still laughing about how Trader Joe’s Two Buck Chuck made it through as the winner!

Thanks to Kira and Danielle for hosting the party, and to Kira for hand writing the adorable cheese name cards!

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Thank you to Wine Bracket for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own and I only collaborate with brands I genuinely believe in – so give this one a try.

Raspberry Goat Cheese Salad and Wine Pairing

2 · Jul 11, 2016 · Leave a Comment

gourmetgab-raspberrysalad

Last month I started a series pairing easy summer dishes with three different wines at a local winery. When my girlfriends and I did a wine tasting at Peace Water Winery in Carmel, Indiana, my friend Monica and I teamed up to put together a great spread. In the first post you saw the rosé wine paired with delicious watermelon feta bites. This time for the sauvignon blanc white wine Monica picked, I paired it with an arugula salad topped with raspberries, goat cheese and a balsamic dressing.

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Sauvignon Blanc 101

White wines are always a great choice for a light summer drink. Chardonnay and pinot grigio are popular choices, but I was so happy when Monica picked a sauvignon blanc to help us expand our palate. It is known for being dry (meaning not too sweet) and bright in flavor. Monica told me why this wine is befitting for this time of year: “Sauv blancs are usually very citrusy. Peace Water’s has a specific lemon curd tone to it that’s really delicious!” I also love that Peace Water named their sauvignon blanc Bliss. It brings to mind the sensation you will feel when drinking it.

“Sauv blancs are usually very citrusy. Peace Water’s has a specific lemon curd tone to it that’s really delicious! Sauv blancs are the perfect wine to have all summer long to refresh your pallet on hot summer days!”

When thinking of a pairing for this wine, raspberries came to mind. Berries compliment lemon flavors very well. Adding the pungent, but creamy, goat cheese to the salad completes the trio of zesty lemon curd notes from the wine and sweet raspberries as a topping.

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While Sara, Monica and I chatted we sipped our sauv blanc and savored the light summer salad. The girls hardly believed how easy the salad is to make. Gently toss peppery, fresh arugula leaves with raspberries, goat cheese crumbles and my favorite 1-minute balsamic vinaigrette. If you’re bringing the salad to a picnic, just bring the dressing in a mason jar on the side and drizzle immediately before serving.

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Raspberry and Goat Cheese Salad
 
Save Print
Prep time
5 mins
Total time
5 mins
 
Author: Gabriela Rodiles
Recipe type: Salad
Serves: 4-8
Ingredients
  • 1 pint raspberries
  • 5 ounces goat cheese
  • 1 bag arugula
  • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
  1. Prepare balsamic vinaigrette dressing first. Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to a jar and shake to mix.
  2. Add arugula, goat cheese and raspberries to a bowl. Dress with about ¼ cup balsamic dressing until coated. Adjust if more is needed. Save leftover dressing for another salad!
  3. Serve immediately.
3.5.3208

gourmet_gab-salad

I loved spending the afternoon at Peace Water with Monica and Sara! The winery allows you to bring in your own food, so packing up the watermelon feta bites I made to pair with rosé and this arugula salad for the white wine were easy and light summer dishes. The girls and I had one last course after those two and I can’t wait to until you it. I’ll save the details for the next post, but to give you a hint it includes red wine and pizza!

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Photography by Leah Trib Productions / Styled by Simply Audree Kate

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Dress 1 | Dress 2 | Wedge
simplyaudreekate_saraDress 1 | Dress 2 | Sandal
simplyaudreekate_monicaDress 1 | Dress 2 | Wedge

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Hello I’m Gabriela

Welcome! I'm Gabriela and I cook simple, healthy recipes. I love meal prep and Trader Joe's. Let's get cooking! Read More…

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