Ringing in the New Year with a Great Wine Dinner

Wine dinners are a perfect way to get the full dining experience. It takes the guess work out of which wines to pair with what entrees. It's also a lot easier for groups. No one has to decide what one bottle of wine to order with all of the different entrees the group is ordering. Wine dinners usually consist of 3+ courses with paired wine with each course. The pricing is simple too; it's a set price per person. No more figuring out the bill as to who got what and everyone still has options for each course.


My most recent wine dinner was on New Year's Eve at Domaso Trattoria in Rosslyn. Tucked away on the 4th floor of the Hotel Palomar, this italian restaurant laid out all the stops for a fantastic New Years!  Perfect for our group of 9, the 4 course dinner with paired wine flights pleased everyone. Each course offered a few different selections and a glass of wine to pair with each of your selections.

For starters, I ordered the duck confit appetizer which was paired with a glass of Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. The duck had tremendous flavor and was atop a fresh salad. I was impressed with not only the quality but the portion size. They definitely didn't skimp on the appetizers. The crisp sauvignon blanc paired perfectly with the flavor of the dish.

For the pasta course, I had to get the risotto. Risotto is one of my favorite dishes of all time. I see it on the menu, I always gravitate towards it! This risotto was a triple squash risotto. Great flavor and again a great portion size, this dish was paired with Erath Pinot Blanc. Again, the crispness of the pinot blanc help cut the weight of the risotto.

On to the entree! I ordered the grilled filet mignon paired with my favorite, a California Cabernet. This particular Cab was from Rutherford Hill and perfectly complimented the medium rare filet. My mouth waters as I reminisce.

I'm not particularly a sweet person but this dessert was amazing. Chocolate banana mousse cake paired with Villa Monticelli moscato passito. The dessert wine wasn't overly sweet but was acidic enough to help cut the sweetness of the cake.

All in all, wine dinners are always a favorite of mine. No fuss with deciding what wines to order, no fuss over the bill at the end, and no fuss over whether to order an appetizer or dessert! Any chance you get, definitely give it a try and you'll become a firm believer like me!

Cheers :)