Wine Blog Posting:
Wine Dinner Report—Blue Apron Restaurant, Salem, Virginia
My wife and I enjoyed dinner on at the Blue Apron Restaurant in Salem on January 30 for the purposes of enjoying a night out together, taste some wine selections, and to complete a wine blog dinner report. My wife reports that this has been one of her favorite assignments to help me with, as she normally has to be content with editing various papers that I write from time to time.
The Blue Apron is located on East Main St. in downtown Salem. The restaurant is situated in a restored downtown building that most probably dates to the 1930s (most buildings in downtown dates to this era.) The inside is attractively restored with high ceilings and hardwood floors. The atmosphere is pleasant, but a bit loud at full capacity as all seating is open with no booths.
We told the waitress of the nature of our visit. She and the
staff went out of their way to make our visit enjoyable and were also very
helpful concerning the academic pursuits involved. The waitress offered to
bring us to additional wines to taste in addition to our dinner selection.
My wife and I ordered a bottle Dr. L (Loosen Brothers) 2010
Riesling to enjoy with our meal. This
wine has a nose of citrusy fruits. The
wine has a pleasant taste with suitable crispness and a flavor of apples. There is a hint of carbonation in the newly
opened bottle. The following is some additional information concerning this
wine:
Name: Loosen
Brothers Dr. L Riesling (Loosen Brothers Limited, Salem, Oregon)
Variety: Riesling
Region: Mosel
Valley
County:
Grapes produced in Germany
Year: 2011
Price: $20
(at table in restaurant)
Notes from
the bottle: Dr. L. embodies the elegant and racy style of Riesling from the
steep, slate-soil of the Mosel Valley.
It is fruity, with a refreshingly crisp taste that cools the palate,
making it an excellent wine for spicy foods.
I tried out
the winemaker’s assertion by having a bowl of Spicy Gumbo with Creole crayfish
for an appetizer. The wine was a nice complement, and I would rate the winemaker’s
statement relative to the Reisling cooling the palate after this nice spicy
soup to be true. My wife had a bowl of
curried sweet potato soup for her appetizer.
She reported that both the soup and the wine complement to it were very
good.
My wife
chose the Crisp Duck Confit with parsnip potato puree and whole grained mustard
brussel sprouts and poached pear gastrique for her entrée. I went with the Wild
Rockfish with creamy saffron polenta, citrus fennel salad, and cherry-bacon marmalade. Both the meals and the accompanying salads
were great, and the Riesling a nice complement to both meals.
During our
meal, we sampled this wine as well:
Name:
Terredora Aglianico Campania
Variety:
Aglianico
Region:
Campania
Country:
Italy
Year: 2010
Price: (on
line reference, not restaurant, it was not on their wine list that night): ~$17
Winemaker’s
Notes: A medium-bodied dense ruby/purple red wine that makes attractive drinking
as a young wine. In the glass, the wine
is a bright dark cherry red with spicy aromas of ripe red berries, violets and a
slight gamey character. A young, easy to drink style of wine it has soft berry
flavors and soft subtle oak characters. It has a delightful finish.
My tasting
notes: Very dark in the glass. It has a somewhat spicy aroma with definite nose
of berries or cherries. Somewhat tart, good complement to my rockfish meal.
We wife had
a portion of crème burlee for desert. I
had had quite enough food at that point.
Overall,
this was a very pleasant experience. A
bit pricey (about $100 including wine, dinner, and tip), but this is what we
normally pay for a special night out in the Roanoke area with dinner, drinks,
and gratuities. We only go on these
dates about twice a year! I also
consider this experience to be a good value for the money—I’ve been less
satisfied with some pricier restaurants on the Roanoke City Market over the
years.
