Dinner - Palisades (Mexican Cuisine with Wines & Beers from Various Locations)

Three friends and I took a trip to the Palisades Restaurant in Eggleston, VA on Wednesday, April 23 for their "Wines Around the World with a Hop" event. This was my second time venturing to the Palisades for this event. The first time was so delicious that I had no doubt I wanted to try more of what they had to offer. I love the vintage, small-town vibe of the Palisades Restaurant, and I am happy that I've discovered it through this class. It truly is a Southwest Virginia gem, and it's a place that I've recommended to all of my friends. This time, the theme was Mexican cuisine and all of the wines and beers were from various countries. I was excited for both the fine dishes and the variety in drinks. 

The outside of the Palisades Restaurant. I love that the building is historically preserved, yet updated.

The Palisades was much more lively this time around with large groups of families eating at tables and a crowd surrounding the bar. It was a nice contrast from the last time, when the restaurant seemed more intimate. I enjoyed being able to see it in both a mellow and bustling atmosphere. The inside of the Palisades accentuates the vibe of the restaurant perfectly, and I feel that I could spend hours gazing at the vintage trinkets displayed on bookcases all around the interior. I love feeling that I am experiencing the true character of a historical small town in Southwest Virginia when I eat here. 

My friend, Page, and I excited for our food and wines.

We were seated promptly and our food and drinks were brought out soon after. The display of food was stunning once again, and I was intrigued to pair the unique dishes with each wine and beer. Similar to my last blog on my visit to the Palisades Restaurant, I will solely take note on how the wines paired with the food, but I've included which beers were paired with each course for personal reference.

Our delicious assortment of food along with beer and wine samples.
The wines and beers were sampled from left to right, and the food was sampled from
bottom left (tamale) in a clockwise order finishing with the ice cream.

Excited to pair everything together, with all of the dishes and drinks in front of me.

Our first course had the following menu:

• Food: Roasted Corn and Black Bean Tamale with Poblano Queso
• Wine: Sauvignon Blanc, Touraine (France)
• Beer: Wolters Pilsener (Germany)

The Sauvignon Blanc had the following description:

This vineyard covers the hillsides lining the Rivers Loire and Cher. This 100% Sauvignon Blanc wine is grown on clay-limestone soils. This Sauvignon Blanc is pale in color with a green tint, and is delicate and fruity and has complex aromas of broom buds and white peaches. Distinguished and delicate in the mouth, it is lively and fresh.

Personal Review:

This wine had a nose packed with various aromas. First and most impactful was a punch of apple scents. It had floral hints as well, but I couldn't distract myself from how it reminded me of sparkling apple juice. Additionally, it had subtle smells of wet rock. However, it was a crisp wet rock, not musty. It reminded me of a waterfall, such as when one reaches the top of a Cascades hike. As I tasted it, I felt that its flavors accentuated the nose perfectly. I could taste grassy characteristics immediately, with complementing hints of citrus. I then got apple flavors on the finish, which I had been expecting. 

We paired this with the roasted corn and black bean tamale, which had a lot of spices. After pairing the food and wine, I felt that the spicy food brought out a bite in the wine; all of a sudden, the wine had more heat to it. It was also more distinct and crisp with its flavors. I could still detect some hints of apple as I ate and drank the two together more.

Close-up of the tamale, unwrapped. This was a delicious dish and the wine
paired perfectly with it - it was my favorite of the three pairings.

Our second course had the following menu:

• Food: Shrimp Ceviche with Lime Cilantro and Avocado
• Wine: Mokoroa (Spain)
• Beer: Alewerks Brewing Company White Ale (Williamsburg, VA)

The Mokoroa had the following description:

Drinking Txakoli or txakolina within about a year of bottling is recommended and when served, it is traditionally poured from a height. This is done in order to decrease some of the effervescence, causing it to be soft and light on the palate. Found most often in the Basque region, this white wine is dry with a low alcohol content and high acidity.

Personal Review:

This wine had a muted nose - I almost couldn't sense anything at first. I thought the faint aromas may have been due to the glass it was served in. However, there were hints of asparagus in its nose. Overall, I wasn't gaining any qualities of the wine from its nose, so I was intrigued to taste. It tasted just like sparkling pear juice. It was fruity but not too sweet, and I couldn't taste any sort of alcohol. It seemed like a great wine to propose a toast with because of its light, sparkling body. This was paired with the shrimp ceviche which had lime and avocado flavors. I felt that those zesty flavors in the shrimp ceviche brought out the tanginess within the wine. All of a sudden, the flavors became more distinct and sour. However, I felt that the flavors in the shrimp ceviche overpowered the taste of the wine. 

The glass that our Mokoroa was served in. I wondered if the shape of the glass had
something to do with the difficulty in smelling its aromas.

Our third course had the following menu:

• Food: Cactus Pear Ice Cream with Chipotle White Chocolate and Candied Lime
• Wine: Historias (Argentina)
• Beer: Pacific Pear Fox Barrel Cider (California)

The Historias had the following description:

This naturally sweet wine comes out of an extremely complex winemaking process invented by the Phoenicians in the year 800 B.C. 100 kg of grapes are needed just to make 16 liters of wine. This golden treasure is the synthesis of the wisdom of the ancients and the technology of the New World.

Personal Review:

This wine and dessert combination was the most intriguing and flavor-packed of the three. As I sniffed the wine, I was overpowered with saturated flavors. I could smell butterscotch and caramel syrup immediately - it was almost like sniffing caramel syrup itself. Then, I could also smell warm honey aromas. I felt that I could almost taste this wine just through smelling it. It tasted intensely sweet - as is expected from a dessert wine. As I could have guessed, it tasted like caramel syrup with alcoholic components. The wine burned as it went down my throat, and I couldn't tell if that was from the spicy food we had tasted prior or from the wine itself. I could imagine myself sipping on this after a hearty meal in the wintertime since it warmed me up with its burning sensation. However, this dessert wine definitely needed something to complement the sweetness and calm down the flavors. I felt that I would have enjoyed this wine much more if I had a bigger sweet tooth. The ice cream itself tasted like a strawberry milkshake, and it brought out the fruitiness within the wine. It milk in the ice cream also helped to cut down on the bitter alcohol burning. I felt that this was a perfect pairing that I enjoyed very much.

After our dinner, we decided to stay for more and paired a Greek pizza with feta and olives with a Tempranillo wine. The two paired together well, and the food was delicious. I was very pleased with my visit to the Palisades once again, and I hope that I make it out there to enjoy their wine and cuisine once more before leaving Blacksburg.