Vino for Veinte

This past Wednesday my roommate and I celebrated our birthday with a wine and food pairing at our apartment. The girls were told to come over and each bring a bottle of wine and some type of goodie so that we could all go around and taste what went best with what. As college students we clearly don't have the money to be too fancy but we did our best. I'd call it a sophisticated farewell to our teen years.

The result: 13 bottles and plenty of hors d'oeuvres to go around. We had multiple Sutter Home White Zinfandels and Moscatos, Barefoot and Bohemian Highway Chardonnays, Belmondo Pinot Grigio, Gallo Family Pinot Noir, Vendange Cabernet Sauvignon, and my absolute favorite of the night: Moselland Ars Vitis Riesling from Germany. Props to Kelly for that mildly citrus, slightly effervescent and refreshingly sweet bottle of wine.

For my Geography of Wine class I have to write about the tasting and the descriptors of the wines.
As far as pairings go, the Pinot Noir went with almost everything- from our cheese and crackers (sharp provolone, sharp cheddar, pepper jack and herbed goat cheese) to our stuffed mushrooms and even the chocolatey desserts. The Pinot also had the most significant aromas with dark berry and a unique burnt-woodchip smell on the nose. On the palette was an obvious flavor of blueberries and cherries. It was just sweet enough, very well rounded and full bodied with not a lot of mouth-puckering tannins.
The Riesling was unique and sweet enough to drink by itself and not let it get overpowered by the bitter cheeses.
Most of the Chardonnays tasted like typical sweet/fruity and slightly dry Chards, but the Bohemian had a significant pear flavor.
The Cabernet Sauv was very dry and full bodied but also very high in tannins to the point of bitterness. It had an oaky, vanilla flavor accented by dark cherries.

The night was finished with some Tiramisu. A once easily prepared dessert became harder than creme brulee to make because i forgot i live in the boonies here. First stop- Food lion.
"Do you have Marscapone cheese here? I can't find it anywhere."
"Marsca-whaaa!? What in the world is that?"
"It's an Italian whipped cheese kind of like cream cheese- it's for a Tiramisu. Wait, have you ever had Tiramisu?"
"I mean i've had it but I AIN'T NEVER made it!"
"Nevermind, thanks."

Next stop- Kroger.
They finally have it but it's $5 a container and i need 3 containers....womp. I take 2 and plan on cutting the recipe in half. Now for the ladyfingers- the crisp italian cookies that you soak in coffee and then line the pan with them (the whipped topping goes in between).
Someone points me to the cake section where i find spongecake ladyfingers- not what i wanted at all (now they'll get too soggy after dipping into coffee instead of going from crisp to moist). I give up trying to make a good tiramisu and settle for decent. Which is exactly how it came out...decent.
Next time i'll have to get my ingredients shipped. Address: Bumblef___, America.