Our collection of wines and cheeses.
Last week, two of my friends and I got together and experienced our very first wine and cheese pairing. It was an interesting and fun experience that I've always wanted to try. We sampled 3 different wines and 3 different cheeses, unfortunately without much knowledge of what pairs together best. Each of us contributed one bottle and one type of cheese. Our collection included two red wines and a rose.
My initial thoughts were that red wines might go well with spicy, more flavorful cheeses, whereas a rose would pair best with a cheese that's creamy or has white rinds. Even with that knowledge, though, I already had a Merlot sitting around that I hadn't opened yet, so I decided to make that my wine contribution. At the same time I was in the mood to eat some Brie cheese, despite learning that it would probably pair better with a white wine. (Guess I'll save that combination for the next wine and cheese pairing!) My other two friends contributed Cabernet and Rose along with cheddar and pepper jack cheeses.
Close-up of the wines, all purchased from The Vintage Cellar at college-student-friendly prices.
For each combination of wine and cheese, we first tasted the wine by itself, then the cheese by itself, then both of them together. After each tasting we analyzed our thoughts about it.
First up was the
Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon. Upon pouring it in the glass, it gave off a dark maroon, brownish color, leaving a numerous amount of fairly long legs along the side of the glass after swirling it. My first whiff of it had a strong alcoholic smell that tingled my nose. It seemed peppery, like spicy cloves. Its flavor was fairly robust and had strong tannins. Surprisingly it had a smooth finish and was not bitter, but it did linger on the tongue in a slightly unpleasant way. We decided to pair this one with the cheddar cheese.
The
Cheddar had almost no scent, so it was not stinky (like more cheese) and was bright orange in color. It had sharp flavor, was a little salty, and had the perfect chewy texture. It was delicious on its own.
Together, these two didn't pair very well in our eyes (or mouth, rather). The flavors didn't seem to blend well, they more so created a messy mix of flavors. The presence of the cheese made the wine taste pretty bad - it was more acidic, no yummy elements were brought out, and the pleasant taste of the cheddar was masked. Overall, this wine and cheese clashed with each other. It might have been a result of the somewhat low-quality brands that we chose, but we had indeed heard that Cabernet and Cheddar go together well.
Close-up of the cheeses, which were kind of chosen at random.
Next up we tried the Bricco Del Tati Rose. It had a deep pink color and distinct scent that I can't quite describe. It was both floral and sweet, but I couldn't figure out what types of fruits I was tasting. The scent was also spicy at the same time. This wine had a nice light flavor, perfect to enjoy a warm sunny day. It had an interesting aftertaste and a tangy finish.
We paired this wine with Brie cheese. It smelled a lot like plastic. It was yellowish in color with a white waxy rind coating it. It was soft and very creamy - it easily melted in my mouth. For some reason it tasted like some kind of vegetable, possibly lettuce or a leaf vegetable of some sort. I tried it cold because I wasn't sure if this was the kind of brie that should be heated and drizzled with honey.
When putting these two together, the cheese again made the wine taste stronger and more alcoholic. The rose brought out more of the vegetable flavor in the brie, reminding me of canola oil or Crisco shortening. At this point, I had a realization that I didn't really enjoy wine with cheese, or that we must have gone wrong with our combinations, because this experience wasn't yielding the best results. It was kind of like we were just mashing flavors together that didn't complement each other. But I remain hopeful since it was only our first one and we have yet to learn about better pairings.
All of us at the table!
Our last wine selection was a Canyon Road Merlot. This one was a gorgeous deep, dark red. It didn't have too strong of an aroma, but it did reminded me of pepper and spices. There were also hints of vinegar. The wine showed off short, rather spaced out legs on the side of the glass. It was medium-bodied with an even flavor throughout the mouthfeel, tasting like berries, with a nice smooth finish. I really enjoyed this wine on its own. It was actually recommended to me by an employee at The Vintage Cellar when I was looking for something similar in taste to a wine that I tried during one of our weekly tastings. It was also extremely affordable, so I'm thankful that they were able to introduce it to me!
We paired this merlot with Pepper Jack. It's a white cheese with noticeable specs of red and green peppers throughout. It smelled spicy and delicious. This cheese is extremely flavorful. It does not need anything added to it, it was simply enjoyable by itself. Not too salty and not too overpowering. One of my favorite cheeses!
This was the best combination out of the three. The wine brought out even more of the spiciness in the cheese in a delightful way. I could also taste more berry characteristics from the wine. It gave the merlot a hot finish which was quite good, and together the wine and cheese left behind a hint of spice on the throat. This pairing was just bursting with flavor. It was exciting, powerful, and tasty.
Us opening the cheese and wine. We're getting a hang of using our $6.00 wine opener.
Overall, this wine and cheese pairing was a fun experience. As we develop our palates and learn more about what goes best with what, I'm sure we will get better at it. Though two out of our three pairings weren't very enjoyable to our current tastes, the third one made up for it! We're excited to try again soon, hopefully with more knowledge and expertise.
