Wine and Cheese Pairing

My favorite wine and cheese pairing we had was Mt. Tam cheese with a sweet Rose wine. Best. Cheese. Ever!!! I loved it! I was definitely able to taste a mushroom flavor when I had this cheese, especially as an aftertaste. The cheese was super creamy, which I also really enjoyed because I am not really a fan of when cheese is crumbly. The rind on this cheese was also tasty. It had an even stronger mushroom flavor, which I liked because mushrooms are one of my favorite foods.



The wine on the other hand.. Yuck! Worst wine I've tried so far this semester. The wine we tried was a St. James Winery Pink Catawba Sweet Rose Wine. This wine was made in Missouri and has 8.4% residual sugar. I am wondering if maybe I do not like sweet wines because to me this one tasted like syrup! When I smelled this wine it had a flowery scent along with some type of fruit, possibly strawberry. I was unable to detect any alcohol type scent. When I first tasted the wine it tasted like peach. After swirling the wine, it was a little less sweet and I felt like it came together to be more of a complete wine taste. I was still able to detect a peach flavor, but the fruitiness flavor did go down some. This wine is definitely not my preferred wine, but if someone was to offer it to me I would drink it, although would not be excited. The more I drank of this wine the less I liked it. It seemed to taste more syrupy the more I had.


When pairing the Rose wine and the Mt. Tam cheese together I thought the wine hid some of the cheese flavor, but did bring out the mushroom aftertaste. After researching more, I think a sparkling Rose may have gone better with this cheese than the still wine I bought.

Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese was the most expensive cheese we got. The cheese tasted somewhat grainy to me, but it also dissolved in my mouth. When I tried this cheese in the store I liked it much better than when I ate it at home. I think one reason may be because I did not realize you are supposed to let cheese sit out for 30 minutes or longer before eating it. I did not like the cheese rind. It tasted strong and bitter to me, so I started eating around the cheese rind and just the cheese in the inside of it.
 

We had Pinot Noir with Pleasant Ridge Reserve Cheese. We accidentally had a glass of the Pinot Noir with the Lamb Chopper as well because we mixed up which cheese went with which wine, but that's ok; Now I can compare! With the Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese, I thought this wine went PERFECT! It made the cheese taste a lot less grainy and also gave a semi-sweet after taste for the cheese.

When I first smelled the Prophecy Pinot Noir, I detected some fruitiness and an alcohol scent. I had never tried Pinot Noir before so I was pretty skeptical about it. Amazing! I was very surprised to find that this may have been one of my favorite wines I have ever had. I liked this wine best alone, but it still tasted great with the cheeses. After researching this California Pinot Noir, I have found that it does have some residual sugar, but I would not have guessed it was a sweet wine. When I tasted the wine I thought it was very smooth and it had a spicy aftertaste. When I swirled this wine I surprisingly did not think it made it taste stronger like most wines, but was smoother. 

With the Lamb Chopper cheese- the accidental wine pairing- the Pinot Noir made this crumbly cheese very strong and unsatisfying. However, I already disliked the Lamb Chopper cheese. This was my least favorite cheese. Lamb Chopper was very crumbly and dry tasting, as well as a very strong cheese finish. With the Pinot Noir, however, the cheese actually tasted better. It was more refreshing and there was not as big of an after taste as with just having the cheese alone. When drinking the wine before and if the cheese was in smaller pieces, it made the cheese taste a little bit creamier. I was shocked that when I tried the Lamb Chopper cheese with the Sauvignon Blanc, the wine that it was actually supposed to be paired with, I actually liked it less than when I paired it with the Pinot Noir. Regardless, after having the cheese then tasting the Sauvignon Blanc it tasted incredible! The Sauvignon Blanc gave the cheese a more subtle taste. I also found that by the time we tried the Lamb Chopper the second time (with the Sauvignon Blanc) the cheese was creamier. My guess for this would be because it had been sitting out longer. 

To the left is a picture of us when we were trying the Lamb Chopper with the Pinot Noir. We accidentally forgot (or I may have accidentally deleted) the pictures with the Sauvignon Blanc and cheese. I think by our fourth glass we were starting to get a little forgetful, as we were pouring our glasses generously. I am very disappointed I did not get a picture of the Sauvignon Blanc though because it was delightful. I was not sure exactly what it smelled like, but when I smelled it I knew I would like it. I am usually pretty good at telling if I will like a wine by the scent of it, but have not mastered actually deciphering what I am actually smelling. The flavor of the Sauvignon Blanc was a little bit stronger than other Sauvignon Blanc's I have had, but it was good. When I swirled it, I thought that the flavor was weaker and was more refreshing. I am thinking there might have been a slight apple flavor, but am unsure because I do not usually like apple flavored stuff and I really liked this wine. My guess for this wine is that it is a little sweet. So far, I have liked every Sauvignon Blanc I have tried.