Wine and Cheese Pairing #1

 

Intro

    A few friends and I wanted to do the wine and cheese pairing, so we made a charcuterie board. We got three kinds of cheese and three wines to go with those cheeses. The cheese we had was extra sharp cheddar, triple cream brie, and Robusto gouda. The wines were all recommended to us at The Vintage Cellar. We also made sure to try each pairing before enjoying the board as a whole

Cheese 1 - Triple Cream Brie and Opera Prima Brut

    On its own, this sparkling wine was decent. I wouldn't say it was amazing, but I enjoyed it enough. There were flavours of apples, pears, and pineapple. But, they were very light. The wine was also very dry. The brie helped immensely in bringing out the flavours of this wine. The fruity notes were strengthened by the creaminess of the brie. It reminded me of how fruit jams pair very well with brie. Any dryness in the wine was lost and the sweetness was accentuated.

Cheese 2 - Robusto Gouda and Santa Bella Colli Piacentini Malvasia 2020

    This malvasia from the Colli Piacentini region of Italy was a sweet/dessert wine. The aroma of wine was distinctly like that of apple butter. When drinking it, I could pick up flavours of apple juice, pears, honey, and some floral notes. But, overall the wine was just a little bit too sweet for me. I know its a sweet wine, but it was a little too strong for me in this case. So, when it was paired with the gouda, it was perfect. The smokey and nutty flavours of the gouda helped mask the sweetness of the wine. The fruity notes of the wine also were masked making the honey, floral, and earthy tones of the wine come out. It led to the wine almost tasting like mead. 

Cheese 3 - Extra Sharp Cheddar and Saltram S2 Shiraz 2019

    The one red wine of the night was this Australian Shiraz. Overall this wine was good, but it isn't what I have come to expect from Shiraz. There wasn't any jamminess and it was a little bit tart, but it would be a good Shiraz for someone looking to try it for the first time at a cheaper price. This wine was only 5 or 6 dollars. I would expect something of this quality to be closer to $15. Upon smelling this wine the main things I could pick up were smoke, burnt wood, blackberries, cherries, raspberries, and leather. The flavours of the wine were in line with what it smelled like. Cherry and smoke were the strongest notes with a little bit of pleasant bitterness. The wine had a light to medium body. It was also dry, but it had a short finish. This wine probably changed the least when paired with cheese compared to the other two. The biggest change was the loss of that hint of bitterness. The cherry and blackberry flavours were a bit stronger, and the smokey notes were held back a little. 

    

Wine Dinner #2

 

Intro

    This wine dinner was actually done a few weeks ago, but I missed the deadline to post about it. The first course was Vietnamese pizza, also known as bánh tráng nướng,. We then had chicken jhol. Then the third course was Vietnamese pork chops. We also had a dessert course. However, I was too full and ended up skipping it. For our wines we went to the Vintage Cellar and asked for recommendations.

Course 1 - Vietnamese Pizza and Tabali Pedregoso Viognier Gran Reserva

    The Viognier wine was one of the lightest wines I had ever tasted. The aroma was like a whisper of pear and citrus. Flavour wise there were notes of nectarine and pear. The wine also had a very short finish. Once it was paired with the Vietnamese pizza, the flavours of the wine were forced to shine. Every part of the wine became more bold. The pear and nectarine notes were joined by a strong tartness and fuller body. All of the boldness stayed longer as the flavours of the wine lingered longer once paired with the dish.

Course 2 - Chicken Jhol and Chateau de La Chaize Brouilly 2019

    For the chicken jhol we were recommended a brouilly to pair with the stronger, spicy flavours of the dish. I hadn't tried a brouilly wine yet, so I was excited to experience it. The wine smelled very fruity with cherries, berries, and oranges. There was also a slight hint of spices coming from the wine. When drank the wine was soft and fruity, true to its smell, with more berry flavours coming through. At first I thought it would be completely taken over by chicken jhol, but instead, they complemented each other very well. The wine actually made the food taste sweeter, and the food actually made the wine taste stronger. The jhol brought out the tannins of the wine, and that made the flavours of the wine become more pronounced.

Course 3 - Vietnamese Porkchops and Matua Pinot Noir 2020

    For the last course I ate, we had a pinot noir by Matua. This wine was from New Zealand, and it ended up being my favourite from the night. On the nose, this wine displayed aromas of smoke, strawberries, and slight hints of grass. Once drank, the wine had notes of cherry, wood, smoke, grass, earthiness, and berries. The wine was bitter, and had a light body and medium finish. Paired with Porkchop, the wine lost some of its bitterness, and those fruity flavours took a backseat to the earthy and grassy tones. The wine started to taste like alcoholic green tea, which made it a refreshing pairing with the pork chops.

Tasting - Ste Chateau Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

 

Name: Ste Chateau Michelle

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Vintage: 2018

Country: USA

Region: Columbia Valley, Washington

Price: $17.99

Critic Review: The aromas are unmistakably Cabernet, bringing full-on notes of black currant along with dried herb and a kiss of spice. The flavors are ripe, luxurious and remarkably fruit forward, with the oak pleasantly dialed back. It shows plenty of richness in the middle. 9/1/2021 - 91

Wine Folly: pg. 88 The book says that cabernet sauvignon tends to have a rich flavour high in tannins. Notes of black cherry, black currant, and baking spices should come through. It's recommended to decant for 60 minutes.

My Review: It was amazing! The wine had a strong aroma with hints of grape juice, wood, spices, and berries. Flavour-wise what I picked up was that the wine was fruit-forward. Berries were what I recognized first which was then followed by the oaky flavours and baking spices. I enjoyed this wine with some lasagna soup I made. While cooking I deglazed the pan using this wine. The heartiness and strong flavours of the soup paired very nicely with the wine.

Tasting - Starling Castle Gewurztraminer

 

Name: Starling Castle Gewurztraminer
Variety: 100% Gewurztraminer

Country: Germany

Region: Pfalz

Price: $8.99

Winery Critic Review: There's a simple nose of tangy orange marmalade on this medium-gold colored wine. Similar flavors follow through on the palate with zingy lime-sherbet notes. Sweet but racy enough to compensate. Still, this is a bit one-dimensional and lacking depth of flavor. Pleasant and easy-drinking, with moderate length. (3/1/2011) - 86

Wine Folly: pg. 115 Gewurztraminer have sweet floral aromatics and ginger-like spices. It is best drank young. It is said to be good with spicy foods, so I might try that next time I drink this.

My Review: Very easy to drink wine. Pleasant in all stages of tasting. The nose has heavy notes of citrus and tropical fruit. I didn't get many floral notes. The wine was strong in tannins and low in acidity which gave it this juicy feeling. Lychee flavours come through very strongly. Then pear and honey notes which are followed by light notes of banana. The wine also does not overstay its welcome and has a medium finish. Would love to try this again with some spicy food!

Wine Dinner #1

Intro

    A couple friends and I decided to do a wine dinner with three courses this past Friday. We started with a bruschetta as an appetizer. Our main course was shrimp scampi. Which was then followed by blueberry blondies for dessert. For our wines we went to the Vintage Cellar. We asked for recommendations based on the dishes we are preparing.

Appetizer - Bruschetta and Zinfandel Conte Di Campiano Riserva 2018

    We started with a zinfandel to pair with the bruschetta. On its own the wine was amazing. The nose was very fruity and dark. The taste had had hints of spice and smoke but it was mostly fruit forward and extremely jammy. The bruschetta was prepared with fresh mozarella and diced tomatoes served on toastsed italian bread and glazed with balsamic vinegar. When we paired the two together, the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar mellowed out the fruity tones of the wine, and the spicy and smoky notes grew stronger. Which paired nicely with the sweet tomatoes and earthy notes of the mozzarella

Main Course - Shrimp Scampi and Raza Vinho Verde

    We were recommended the Portuguese Raza Vinho Verde to pair with the shrimp scampi. The nose was very apple forward. It was almost like artificial green apple, but more fresh and citrusy. The flavours also followed that theme with citrus and apple being the star. When the Raza was paired with the scampi it was like a match made in heaven. The crisp finish of the Raza was smoother likely due to the butter in the dish, and the acidity in both the wine and the scampi balanced each other out to make the flavours of both the wine and scampi become more pronounced.

Dessert - Blueberry Blondies and Birbet Taliano Michele

    For our dessert course a birbet was recommended to us. The wine on its own was very sweet and fruity juice-like. The low ABV let the sweetness come through heavily. However, when it was paired with the blondie the sweetness of both canceled each other out and let the fruit come forward into the spotlight providing more tartness in both the blondie and birbet.

My Experience With Wine

     The First time I had wine was the sacramental wine given to you at church. As a child, I was so excited about it the few times it would be given. How could they be allowing children to taste wine? Isn't that for adults? Then when it would finally hit my lips and touch my tongue I would feel a mixture of disappointment and confusion. Wine did not taste good. It was bitter and it gave you a weird feeling in your mouth. Like you just swallowed cotton balls. Why would anyone drink this?

    As I grew older, I learned that with age comes different tastes. I no longer loved sugary sodas and sweets. Although I would occasionally still indulge in them, it would leave me feeling worse than I did before. Eventually, I was able to drink alcohol. The first thing given to me was beer, and it was disgusting. It tasted like bread soaked in water. Why would anyone drink this? The answer I got from people was that it was to get drunk. I wasn't satisfied with that. I kept trying beers until I learned to like them. I eventually learned to like whiskey as well, but wine was still that gross thing from church to me.

    From this class, I hope to learn how to appreciate wine. I think one of the biggest reasons I don't like it is because I don't understand it. Maybe if I learn why the sacramental wine tasted bitter, and why it left that feeling in my mouth I will appreciate what goes into making a good wine. I don't even know if I have had a glass of good wine. I've tried to drink wine, but every time it isn't something very fruity or light it is hard for me to stomach. So I'm excited to jump into something new, and learn as much as I can!