An Italian Feast

Last weekend the wife and I, along with two old friends from high school, attended a five course fixed menu Italian dinner at a local Italian import store. They put these dinners on twice a month, and we had heard alot of good things about them. The meal was a BYO, and since I have very little of my own wine left, I decided to throw caution to the wind and bring along a wine I had never tasted before. I chose an Orvieto Classico from Ruffino Vineyards. The grape for this wine is grown in the Chianti region of Italy, and is apparently a popular white wine in Italy. I found it to be a good wine, with a refreshing and not too complex taste. It paired well with our first two courses: pureed scallop and shrimp cake served with a lobster and fregola grain butter sauce (so good!), and the creamy cabbage and sweet Italian sausage risotto (even better!). My high school friend, who really knows his wine, brought a Freeman pinot noir. I didn't catch the variety, as their are three different pinots from Freeman, but it was an excellent choice. The wine had a very fruity flavor that hit you first, followed by smoky, woody flavors; the two were balanced perfectly. This wine went well with the meat course; a choice of parmesan-encrusted rack of lamb, or peppercorn-encrusted beef tenderloin. It was a wonderful night of food and wine, and we plan to do it again real soon.