Wine and Cheese Pairing 1
My friends get far too excited about my wine escapades I think, because I get random texts from them asking if I need to work on an assignment for this class. I said "yes please help."
On Monday I enlisted my friends Evan and Liz for aid in choosing cheeses and wines for a wine and cheese pairing night and they were THRILLED. We headed to Crest to pick out the cheeses (one each) and then back to Cellar Wine and Spirits for the wine (also one each). This time around it was all fun and games, so we didn't bother looking up what wines went with what cheese, we just picked our favorites and went to town on what we each personally liked.
At Crest, Evan picked out Havarti, Liz picked out Swiss, and I picked out muenster because I tried a sample once when I went through Crest and I LOVED it. (Evan also got some brie, but that was for himself and he did not share).
Once we got to the wine store, it was every man for himself. I went to the front desk to ask the girl if there was such a thing as a wine that was sweet and acidic, since I really love acidic/sour tasting alcohol and ciders. She initially suggested finding a Riesling, but then she said that one of the managers had picked a favorite among the Sauvignon Blancs because of its citrusy/acidic/sourness and ease of tasting. She said it wasn't very sweet, but it definitely had the acidity and tartness I would enjoy and it was also a white wine, which she said tended to be more acidic anyway and wouldn't be so dry. I happily grabbed a bottle, as turtles are my favorite animal and I tend to take suggestions quickly if I don't know what I'm doing. It was a 2016 Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and it was about $17.
Once we had grabbed our wines, we headed back to their apartment, got set up, and began tasting. Liz got a Prosecco from Cupcake vineyards in Italy for about $12, and Evan got a 2014 Lamadrid Malbec from Argentina for about $15.
As for initial tastings, I like my choice the best! I could actually taste some pineapple in it, along with a bit of apple, spice, lemon, and stomach bile (in a really good way, I promise). It was tart and very crisp, and I actually enjoyed drinking it. Fairly smooth, and not dry at all.
Liz's Prosecco tasted like peaches, sparkles (it was sparkling after all), some sort of sweet fruit like cherry or grapes (and I mean table grapes), and the color yellow. That makes zero sense, but it's really hard to taste specific things in wine for me, and it had this bright, airy, crispy flavor to it that I couldn't quite place. Also easy to drink and smooth, and not too dry.
Now onto Evan's pick. I'm telling you right now I hated it. It was dry and flat (not in a "this wine has gone bad" way, just a very level flavor way). It tasted like plywood. Like, if I were to lick a 4x4 plank of wood, that's what it tasted like. It had a rubbery taste to it as well and I guess you could say it was earthy? No fruits really came to mind, it mostly just tasted like wood and rubber, and was extra bitter.
The Turtle Bay tasted amazing with swiss! It made the swiss cheese taste a bit nutty, and both complimented each others' smoothness. This was my favorite pairing all night.
Next, I tried it with the havarti. It definitely brought out some spiciness in the cheese since there are so many herbs in it to begin with, and the Turtle Bay tasted a little sharper to me, but it wasn't too bad. Just a little extra spicy kick.
With the muenster, the wine again took on some extra smoothness and the cheese tasted extra sharp, like sharp cheddar. I liked this pairing too, but it didn't quite have a delicious nuttiness like the swiss.
Liz's Prosecco was a bit strange with each cheese since it was sparkling, but nothing awful. With the swiss, it just made it seem a little creamy and added a sharp spiciness to it, but I think that was the carbonation. With the havarti, the spiciness was even sharper, and the herbs took on a weird leafy taste, but again, nothing too terrible. It was less creamy than usual though. With the muenster, it was similar to the Turtle Bay in that it made it taste like sharp cheddar. The wine lost a bit of its flavor with each of the cheeses to me, but I attribute that to the carbonation again as I could mostly just taste the "spiciness" of the wine as I drank it after the cheeses. It was a little extra bitter, too.
Evan's wine was gross to me to begin with so I was very scared to try it with the cheese. My own personal bias against the wine probably colored my experience here. It took away some of the swiss's delicious flat smoothness and made it seem gritty. The wine stayed bitter and sad. With the muenster, I had a slightly better experience, as muenster has a less recognizable unique taste, so it almost tasted like nothing next to the bold red wine. Again, the wine kept its normal flavors, but seemed hotter to my taste. Finally, the havarti was AWFUL. Havarti is already known for its bold, herby flavor and with an already gross wine, it tasted weirdly sharp like armpit. I don't know how to describe it except for it had an interesting tang that reminds me of BO. The wine was again kinda gross but was a little extra spicy and bitter. To be fair though, none of them were exceptional with the havarti.
On Monday I enlisted my friends Evan and Liz for aid in choosing cheeses and wines for a wine and cheese pairing night and they were THRILLED. We headed to Crest to pick out the cheeses (one each) and then back to Cellar Wine and Spirits for the wine (also one each). This time around it was all fun and games, so we didn't bother looking up what wines went with what cheese, we just picked our favorites and went to town on what we each personally liked.
At Crest, Evan picked out Havarti, Liz picked out Swiss, and I picked out muenster because I tried a sample once when I went through Crest and I LOVED it. (Evan also got some brie, but that was for himself and he did not share).
Once we got to the wine store, it was every man for himself. I went to the front desk to ask the girl if there was such a thing as a wine that was sweet and acidic, since I really love acidic/sour tasting alcohol and ciders. She initially suggested finding a Riesling, but then she said that one of the managers had picked a favorite among the Sauvignon Blancs because of its citrusy/acidic/sourness and ease of tasting. She said it wasn't very sweet, but it definitely had the acidity and tartness I would enjoy and it was also a white wine, which she said tended to be more acidic anyway and wouldn't be so dry. I happily grabbed a bottle, as turtles are my favorite animal and I tend to take suggestions quickly if I don't know what I'm doing. It was a 2016 Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and it was about $17.
Once we had grabbed our wines, we headed back to their apartment, got set up, and began tasting. Liz got a Prosecco from Cupcake vineyards in Italy for about $12, and Evan got a 2014 Lamadrid Malbec from Argentina for about $15.
As for initial tastings, I like my choice the best! I could actually taste some pineapple in it, along with a bit of apple, spice, lemon, and stomach bile (in a really good way, I promise). It was tart and very crisp, and I actually enjoyed drinking it. Fairly smooth, and not dry at all.
Liz's Prosecco tasted like peaches, sparkles (it was sparkling after all), some sort of sweet fruit like cherry or grapes (and I mean table grapes), and the color yellow. That makes zero sense, but it's really hard to taste specific things in wine for me, and it had this bright, airy, crispy flavor to it that I couldn't quite place. Also easy to drink and smooth, and not too dry.
Now onto Evan's pick. I'm telling you right now I hated it. It was dry and flat (not in a "this wine has gone bad" way, just a very level flavor way). It tasted like plywood. Like, if I were to lick a 4x4 plank of wood, that's what it tasted like. It had a rubbery taste to it as well and I guess you could say it was earthy? No fruits really came to mind, it mostly just tasted like wood and rubber, and was extra bitter.
The Turtle Bay tasted amazing with swiss! It made the swiss cheese taste a bit nutty, and both complimented each others' smoothness. This was my favorite pairing all night.
Next, I tried it with the havarti. It definitely brought out some spiciness in the cheese since there are so many herbs in it to begin with, and the Turtle Bay tasted a little sharper to me, but it wasn't too bad. Just a little extra spicy kick.
With the muenster, the wine again took on some extra smoothness and the cheese tasted extra sharp, like sharp cheddar. I liked this pairing too, but it didn't quite have a delicious nuttiness like the swiss.
Liz's Prosecco was a bit strange with each cheese since it was sparkling, but nothing awful. With the swiss, it just made it seem a little creamy and added a sharp spiciness to it, but I think that was the carbonation. With the havarti, the spiciness was even sharper, and the herbs took on a weird leafy taste, but again, nothing too terrible. It was less creamy than usual though. With the muenster, it was similar to the Turtle Bay in that it made it taste like sharp cheddar. The wine lost a bit of its flavor with each of the cheeses to me, but I attribute that to the carbonation again as I could mostly just taste the "spiciness" of the wine as I drank it after the cheeses. It was a little extra bitter, too.
Evan's wine was gross to me to begin with so I was very scared to try it with the cheese. My own personal bias against the wine probably colored my experience here. It took away some of the swiss's delicious flat smoothness and made it seem gritty. The wine stayed bitter and sad. With the muenster, I had a slightly better experience, as muenster has a less recognizable unique taste, so it almost tasted like nothing next to the bold red wine. Again, the wine kept its normal flavors, but seemed hotter to my taste. Finally, the havarti was AWFUL. Havarti is already known for its bold, herby flavor and with an already gross wine, it tasted weirdly sharp like armpit. I don't know how to describe it except for it had an interesting tang that reminds me of BO. The wine was again kinda gross but was a little extra spicy and bitter. To be fair though, none of them were exceptional with the havarti.
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