Dinner - Family Dinner (Blacksburg) Cajun

"Family" Dinner

My Mom and me

I am originally from Philadelphia so this was a rare opportunity during this class that I was able to have dinner with my mother and aunt. The two of them were driving up from Florida after having stopped to help my youngest brother move out of college for the semester. I choose to eat at Boudreauxs since my aunt is originally from Mississippi and I was excited to try pairing spicier foods. Plus it was Wednesday so half off bottles, that's a no-brainer. Naturally I invited along several friends to share in the hospitality. 

My aunt Jackie and friend David googling wine Reviews

We picked two whites and one red, once we had all decided what to eat, figuring that the dishes mainly called for whites.

Wine One Santa Julia Torrontes

Name: Santa Juila
Variety: Torrontes
Year: 2012
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina

Tasting Alone: It was ok on its own. Definitely a light refreshing wine. Very floral on the nose with a tart citrus note. High acid and a medium dryness. Crisp Finish. 

Wine Two Grayson Cellars Chardonnay

Name: Grayson Cellars 
Variety: Chardonnay
Year: 2012
Region: Napa Valley, CA
Country: USA

Tasting Alone: Better than the Torrotes in my opinion. On the nose it smelled of white flowers and honey. It had a very silky mouth feel that was sweet on the front end and dried out on the finish. There was a hidden malic component that showed as the wine warmed but overpowered the overall wine once it reached room temperature. 

Wine Three Tilia Merlot

Name: Tilia 
Variety: Merlot
Year: 2012
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina

Tasting Alone: It was ok. Only a cherry jam on the nose with a very loose and low acidic body. medium tannins and a small finish. 

Once the food came out we all drank each wine with everything but I have chosen the three best pairing for the wines that we ordered. Everyone ate mostly there on dishes however there was sharing and sampling among everyone so that we all got a taste.


Po' Boy Catfish Sandwich & Fries + Santa Julia Torrontes

This pairing worked well I thought because the high acidity of the torrontes cut the spicy Cajun mayo of the fish sandwich. I Also found that the wines simplicity went well with the simplicity of the Po' Boy. Neither over powered the other. It was a "salt of the earth" pairing. It didn't bullshit you, straight and to the point but good and solid in its foundation.  

Baton Rogue Chicken & Green Bean + Grayson Cellars Chard

For this pairing I thought that the honey notes from the Chardonnay are what balanced the dish. The chicken itself had been prepared in a white wine marsala sauce with black olives and red peppers, although I neglected to ask which white wine. Regardless the honey note melded with the saucing bringing much more sweetness to the bitterness of the olives toning them down and allowing the peppers a more prominent role. I know vegetable are a hard pair but I also felt that the floral notes of the chardonnay made for a nice vegetal sensation when paired with the green beans. 

Chicken and Shrimp Entouille + Tilia Merlot

The Merlot made things tricky. It was definitely the weakest wine at the table and it didn't really bring much to pair with. The best we came up with was to put its light body and medium tannins against the spice of the Entouille and let it just get obliterated. It's hard to sell this Merlot it was just that bad. Flabby and no complexity. Even when dessert came later it did pretty poorly. Not sure what else we could have done.

Getting silly

The "Gang"

Cheese Cake + Santa Juilia Chardonnay

We got dessert in an attempt to save the Merlot pairing but to no avail. The cherry notes form the Merlot didn't do anything for the cheese cake as i thought they should. I blame the wines lack of acid. Instead the true winner was the Santa Juilia Chardonnay. The Malic component had really started to show at this point and it was sensational with the sweet cheese from the cake. Almost like apple and cheese danish or similar. Very pleasing.




It was excellent to have my mom stop by for a bit especially so close to the end of the semester. I was also happy she had time to go out with a "wine tasting" dinner on her way home. Also I should say thank you for treated all of us. You're the best.