Palo Wine Pairing Menu--and dessert wine

[Uncleromulus]

We did the Palo wine tasting menu this trip--was OK but next time we'll do the regular menu I think.

The 25 day aged Sirloin was a tough as any steak I've had in years.

And for the dessert wine they served Grappa--not as a palate refresher but as the actual dessert wine.

Wine lovers don't get mad, but it tasted like Exxon 89 Octane!! Awful.

Grappa might be an acquired taste, but MRS U and I both agreed there are much better dessert wins out there that would have been more appropriate for a wine pairing menu.

 

[OKW Lover]

Interesting. I've never thought Grappa was supposed to be a palate refresher. My wife and I do like our wine, but never cared for grappa.

 

[Flossbolna]

I love grappa, but I agree that it is an acquired taste. But there are huge differences between products. Here in Germany it is regularly served as an after dinner drink in better Italian restaurants.

However, I would never call it a "dessert wine", it is a distilled spirit that is made from the pomace (the stuff that is left over from wine making when the grape juice has ben extracted). And I would not drink it with dessert, but instead after the meal is finished, maybe with a cup of espresso (there is also a variation where you pour the grappa into the espresso, which is called a caffè corretto).

I guess one can argue both ways whether it is a good fit for a wine tasting menu. On the one hand it is most definitely not a wine. However, it is made from grapes and definitely is part of the large wine industry in Italy. So it does fit into a menu featuring Italian wines.

However, if the steak they serve is lousy, there is no reason to get that wine tasting menu for an additional upcharge!!

 

[Gigi22]

I love grappa, but I agree that it is an acquired taste. But there are huge differences between products. Here in Germany it is regularly served as an after dinner drink in better Italian restaurants.

However, I would never call it a "dessert wine", it is a distilled spirit that is made from the pomace (the stuff that is left over from wine making when the grape juice has ben extracted). And I would not drink it with dessert, but instead after the meal is finished, maybe with a cup of espresso (there is also a variation where you pour the grappa into the espresso, which is called a caffè corretto).

I guess on can argue both ways whether it is a good fit for a wine tasting menu. On the one hand it is most definitely not a wine. However, it is made from grapes and definitely is part of the large wine industry in Italy. So it does fit into a menu featuring Italian wines.

However, if the steak they serve is lousy, there is no reason to get that wine tasting menu for an additional upcharge!!

Agreed on the wine. Was there any chance to substitute something else for the grappa? Icewine, or port perhaps?

 

[Uncleromulus]

I SHOULD have thought of that--but didn't.

Especially when they "poured" the Grappa from a metal can with a spigot!!!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Interesting. I've never thought Grappa was supposed to be a palate refresher. My wife and I do like our wine, but never cared for grappa.

Maybe not a refresher, but as a digestive?? Either way, horrible stuff!!!