Myself and a few friends grabbed some wine and cheese this past weekend for an evening of tastings. None of us being wine and cheese pairing experts, we chose some very different and interesting cheeses (from Eats Natural Foods) to pair with whatever wine happened to catch our eye at Kroger. We also made sure to pick up some palate cleansers: crackers and bread (as pictured below).
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| Crackers and bread to clean palate between wines and cheeses |
First we tasted the cheese separately. Nittany Valley Organics Organic Smoked Cheddar was a hard, smoky, and dry cheese. We thought this may pair well with the red wines.
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| Smoked cheddar |
Wensleydale Cheese with Cranberries tasted pleasantly like cream cheese, but with a slightly more crumbly texture, and subtle cranberry flavors from cranberry pieces. This was my favorite cheese to eat on its own.
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| Wensleydale Cheese with Cranberries |
Cypress Grove Chevre, Purple Haze (goat milk cheese) was the most unique cheese. It was extremely soft, quite pungent, and had a strong flavor of lavender. This was my least favorite cheese on its own. I honestly thought it was pretty gross, and I'm a huge cheese fan.
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| Goat milk cheese |
The first wine we tasted was Thor's Well Sprouting Horn, Pinot Gris 2014. Originally priced at $17, this wine came from Oregon state and was made with 100% pinot gris grape variety. It was an extremely light gold color. My nose burned from the alcohol, but otherwise it had a floral bouquet. Overall not the most enjoyable smelling experience. It was hot on the palate from the alcohol, and acidic. Citrus and fruity flavors came through the heat, and apple was apparent.
When paired with the smoked cheddar cheese, the wine seemed even more acidic. Actually, it ended up being the worst pairing of the evening. The texture and flavor did not at all compliment the wine. We all quickly cleaned our palate with water, bread, and crackers.
The goat cheese surprisingly made the wine taste sweeter and brought out a little more of the apple flavor. However, I did not enjoy its mushy texture with the wine, and the lavender in the cheese was still off-putting.
The cheese with cranberries was the most complimentary. The cheese and wine balanced each other out well, and the texture was a happy medium between the previous two cheeses. The wine seemed slightly more sweet, but overall the flavors and heat were fairly consistent as when the wine was tried alone.
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| Thor's Well Pinot Gris 2014 |
The second wine was El Pensador Tempranillo 2013. This wine cost $9 and is from the Aragon region in Spain. It was made with 100% tempranillo grape variety. A deep red color and a hint of purple. It smelled spicy, with black pepper, and black cherry also came through on the nose. I was expecting a full-bodied wine based off the nose but was surprised by its light body. It did not have the bite I anticipated, and I enjoyed that surprise. Although still a dry wine, I liked its lightness and it tasted of cherry with a hint of plum.
The smoked cheddar cheese was the best pairing. It muted the smokiness of the cheese and any tannin that was in the wine.
Unfortunately, the lavender in the goat cheese was enhanced by this wine. However, the cheese also made the wine smoother and balanced it surprisingly well. The texture of this cheese is the opposite of the smoked cheddar, but I actually enjoyed both the hard and soft textures with this wine.
The cheese with cranberries was the worst pairing of the three cheeses. It brought out acidity and the alcohol was more pronounced. I also did not like the crumbly texture with this wine.
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| El Pensador Tempranillo 2013 |
The final wine was Tarima Monastrell 2013. This bottle cost $9 and is from the Alicante region of Spain. It was made with 100% monastrell grape variety. I had never tried, or heard of, this type of wine. A medium-red color, it had a bold nose. Smells of black pepper and spices as well as dried figs. The taste was similarly spicy, with a hint of black licorice flavor and black currant on the palate. Medium bodied and very smooth. I was not a fan of these big, bold flavors but I liked that it was smooth nonetheless.
The smoked cheddar further enhanced the flavors of the wine as well as the cheese. It had the best texture to add some more dynamics to the wine. I thought it was a good compliment even though the wine flavors were enhanced. Its pairing with the cheese seemed to make the bold wine flavors more manageable.
The lavender in the goat cheese brought out the spices in the wine, which was not a characteristic I particularly wanted to bring out.
The cheese with cranberries was a nice pairing because it made the wine seem a little sweeter, but I would not choose to pair these two. The texture was too soft and it seemed to get separated with the wine.
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| Tarima Monastrell 2013 |
Overall, I enjoyed this wine pairing experience. It was interesting to finally start pairing the wines with food to understand how the wines transform with different flavors and textures. It was also neat to experience how the cheeses changed as well, depending on the wine! Here's a picture of the group (minus myself, the photographer) during this entertaining night~
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A picture of the group, mid-tasting
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