Wine and Cheese Pairing 1

Me with my precious wine

Thursday night I decided to have a wine and cheese pairing with some friends! I wanted to share my new found knowledge from class and enlighten them. The best part is we get to act classy as hell! Okay I'm just kidding. We don't have to act. Anyway, the planning was all on my shoulders and everyone was along for the ride. It gave me freedom in being able to pick the wines and the cheeses without having to really accommodate anyone. Since it was up to me I decided to pick wines that hadn't had previously. I settled on trying a Riesling and a Viognier and having a red wine that wouldn't offend so I went with a Pinot Noir. 

The wonderful spread of wine and cheese

As for the cheeses, I did some research into what paired best with which wine. I came across a lot of options but ultimately went with cheeses that were generally known and liked. I picked Brie, Asiago, and Gouda. I originally picked Gruyere but the price point was more expensive than any of the wines I selected so Asiago was the alternative. So now with the wine and the cheese picked out it was time to leave Kroger and go to the house.

The first wine pairing was a 2013 Chateau Ste. Michelle from Columbia Valley, Washington with Brie. The Riesling smelled fruity with pear, melon, apricot, citrusy notes. The Brie didn't really have a smell to it at all. I tasted the wine on its own at first. It had a melon, peach, citrusy taste but lime was dominate. It was off dry so not too sweet. The Brie itself had a weird taste that was distinctly Brie. But after tasting the wine again after the cheese I did notice a difference. The Riesling tasted sweeter. I thought it paired well. Neither overpowered the other. It was mild on the palate. I liked this pairing.

The next wine pairing was Turning Leaf Pinot Noir from California and Aged Asiago. The Pinot smelled earthy with blackberries, raspberries, just black fruit smells. The Asiago was a bit smelly. It had roasted, nutty quality to the smell. It was actually quite nice. The wine had a slight tannic quality. Not too much just enough to give that red wine feel. I tasted black fruit and cherries. It was a good value wine. The Asiago was very mild tasting not overpowering in any way just a taste modifier really. After tasting the wine again I noticed a difference. The cheese cut through what little acidity the Pinot had and made it a smoother drink. It really helped the wine. This was actually my favorite pairing of the night. It just worked really well. 

The final pairing of the night was a 2014 Como Sur Bicicleta Viognier from Chile with Smoked Gouda. The Viognier smelled very fruity with pear, melon, apricot, peach notes. A delightful smell to be had. The Gouda smelled straight smokey and like deli meat. It smelled as if someone dumped a bottle of Liquid Smoke over the cheese and served it to me. I liked the smell in small amounts. The wine tasted citrusy with some melon but the dominating fruit was surprisingly orange which I hadn't tasted in a wine before so that was interesting. Now tasting the Gouda was a lot like the smell. All I tasted was that smokiness. It was just overpowering how much smoke was packed into that block of cheese. Now tasting the wine again I only noticed a slight difference. The cheese actually shortened the finish of the wine. But that was the only quality I noticed. Despite the overpowering smokiness of the cheese the Viognier actually overpowered the cheese. This wasn't a great pairing but it wasn't bad either. 

How long were we drinking?

Three empty bottles of wine and a seemingly neverending supply of stories later it was finally time to call it a night. The wine and cheese pairing was a complete success! Thanks are in order for our host and our designated driver. It was a fun night and the wines and cheeses were exceptional especially for their value. It was nice to try new wines and get the most out of them. Until the next one!