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| Wine and Cheese Pairing, Senior year |
The Lineup: Wines
The Vintage Cellar
Wine #1:
Name - Zonin Primo Amore: Juliet White Blend 2010
Region: Vino Da Tavola, Italy
Varietal - White blend (70% Gargangea, 30% Moscato)
Aroma - honey and pear, picked up on many "white flesh" fruits like lychee and apple.
Color - light straw
Taste: This white blend balanced the sweet apple with notes of citrus and other notes of acidity.
Wine #2:
Name - CalNaturale Organically Grown 2009
Region - Paso Robles, California
Varietal - Cabernet Sauvignon
Aroma - This wine surprised me with its strawberry and blackberry aroma, and provided an interesting mouthfeel.
Color - Deep red/purple
Taste - I could feel more sediment than usual, probably because of the organic process, but did not mind it. I though it's body complimented it's dryness and smokiness well.
Wine #3:
Name - Pascual Toso Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Region - Mendoza, Argentina
Varietal - Sauvignon Blanc
Aroma - Definitely noticed the "cat piss" on this one, as well as lemongrass. Started to second guess my purchase immediately.
Color - Very yellow
Taste - So awful. It was unbalanced, bitter and hot (14% alcohol). This was the only wine that could not be saved, and the only one left at the end of the night.
The Lineup: Cheeses
Eats Natural Foods on Main St.
Cheese 1: Guggisberg Baby Swiss - delicate and smooth
Cheese 2: Guggisberg Pepperjack - sharp and spicy
Cheese 3: Miceli's Part-Skim Mozzarella - light and creamy flavor
Cheese 4: Arla Dofino Creamy Havarti - fatty and flavorful
Cheese 5: Laubscher Natural Monterey Jack - sharp and a quick finish
Cheese 6: Les Chateaux Brie (with honey) - sweet and goey
The Pairings
First, I paired Wine 1 with Cheese 1, this pairing made the fruity wine's savory elements come to light and made it more appealing to me because of that. I then ate an apple, which surprisingly brought out the wine's citrus components more than anything. I enjoyed this first pairing.
Next, I paire Wine 1 with Cheese 5, this disappointed me compared to the first pairing and I didn't find that the flavors enhanced each other, and instead competed. This sharp cheese needed a dryer wine. Cheese 4 was next, and I found that the motz made the light Juliet wine have an added almond-milk characteristic. This was pleasant, and the first time I noticed how different wine can taste between cheese's.
The last cheese I paired with Wine 1 was the pepperjack. The spiciness of the cheese completely overpowered any flavor in the wine, and consumed my palate for the next minute. I did notice that I could detect the wine's acidity easier with this cheese though.
Next, The Sauvignon Blanc was passed around. This was was so so bad. I noticed that pairing it with motz helped bring sweetness to the forefront, but ultimately the wine's lemongrass and herb aftertastes controlled my palate. This occurred with cheese's 5, 4, 6, and then I finally gave up. The best pairing was with the Brie because it's sweetness helped balance the wine's acidity and it's texture helped encourage a creamy mouthfeel.
The last wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, was a lovely red with a dry and smokey finish. I was excited to try this wine with the monterey jack, and it was my favorite pairing for this wine. I enjoyed how the dry finish of the wine complimented the sharpness of the cheese and encouraged a complexity of flavors. I also noticed this with cheese 2, and 4. However, with more delicate cheese's like the motz, this wine stole the spotlight. Not that I minded.
Favorites:
- Wine 1 with Cheese 1
- Wine 1 with Cheese 4
- Wine 3 with Cheese 5
- Apple and Brie with Honey
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| Too many hours later. Had a great time! |
