Wine and Cheese Pairing Number 1

 Hello everyone! This past weekend my parents also came to visit me! During this time, my friends and I had a wine and cheese pairing with them that was a super enjoyable experience to share with everyone! We had a couple of wines paired with cheeses recommended by the "Wine Folly" book on page 60. These wines included a Rose Sparkling Brut, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Rioja. Their respective cheeses paired with them included a blueberry goat cheese, smoked and non-smoked Gouda, and Manchego cheese.

Firstly, the Sparkling Brut:

This Sparkling Rose was a Brut which meant it was dry and not very sweet. The grapes themselves include 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Gamey grapes from Burgundy, France. The wine is aged for 12 months before being bottled and then carbonated. The above pictures include the wine, my mom and I, and the plated blueberry goat cheese. This cheese was chosen because both sparkling and rose wine can be paired with salty, crumbly cheese (60, "Wine Folly"). Although, the goat cheese was not salty per say, it was crumbly and the blueberries balanced the mild saltiness of the cheese. Alone, this cheese is a burst of delicious fruitful flavor on a cracker, would highly recommend making a part of your cheese plate to add in some "wow" factor.

The wine smelled citrusy and had nice bubbles with light foam. My parents who have much more experience with describing wine than I do, said the wine had a light perlage and light mousse. Which is to say that the bubbles were stringy like pearls and held a distinct and uniform shape in the wine. The mousse is referring to the foam or froth from the wine. Since both of these were light and the bubbles themselves were consistent, light, and not overpowering of the flavor, I was able to greatly enjoy this wine. It did not feel like sparkling water or a soda in my mouth but softer. I tasted dry lemon, citrus, and mineral notes throughout the upfront to back end of each sip. This was truly an enjoyable celebratory wine to share with friends and family. Once with the cheese, the wine and cheese complimented each other in a whole new way. At first the wine made the cheese taste creamier and really brought out the fruitful flavors of the blueberry as the citrus interacted with these flavors. Next time, I would choose just goat cheese so the blueberry or fruit flavors don't overpower the combination of cheese and wine so much.

Natalie MacLean gave the following review and a score for this wine of 90/100: "Dry, crisp and refreshing yet with the softening aromas of fresh field strawberries. Terrific value: unbeatable for rose sparkling wine!" (https://www.nataliemaclean.com/wine-reviews/louis-bouillot-perle-daurore-brut-rose-cremant-de-bourgogne/224304).

Next, we tried the Cabernet Sauvignon with smoked and regular Gouda cheese.

This Cabernet Sauvignon is vintage 2020 and from the California based wine-brand called First & Local. They pride themselves on their vineyards being owned by family-owned farmers. Their wines are produced and bottled in Hopland, CA. This winery is north of San Francisco and more inland from the coast, wines from this region are known for their lush black fruit flavors with layers of cedar, dusty minerality, and tobacco-laced tannins (288, "Wine Folly"). We paired this wine with the Gouda cheeses because of full bodied reds ability to bring out the flavors of fruity, umami cheeses (60, "Wine Folly"). At first scent, the wine brought a spicy and dark cherry scent to the table. The initial tastings without cheeses included notes of cherry and tobacco-filled tannins on the back end with a dry but ling finish. There were also light notes of vanilla that could have been from the bourbon aging barrels this winery ages their Cabernet Sauvignon in. The last flavors included mineral notes that I couldn't quite place but were earthy.

After eating the Gouda and tasting the wine again, the Dutch Gouda tasted sweet with the wine and was creamier as well. I love Gouda so this was very enjoyable and a more fruit-like flavor was also brought out in the wine from the cheese. The tannin finish was lighter this time most likely due to the fat content in the cheese. The smoked Dutch Gouda tasted far smokier in the mouth with the wine, almost like the tobacco flavors or spicy flavors from the bourbon barrels came out far more with this cheese. It is truly spectacular how two of the same cheese can bring out such different flavors in the same wine. 

Lastly, our wine and cheese pairing led us to a Rioja with Manchego cheese. The rainy day outside helped keep us cozy inside and enjoying the wonderful conversations surrounding the delicious flavors and aromas we were tasting with the wine! This one was probably our favorite of the tasting.

This wine of La Rioja region in northeast Spain was quite delightful (280, "Wine Folly"). This bottle is vintage 2021 and is the Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España (CVNE) Viña Real Crianza wine. It is made from 90% Tempranillo grapes and 10% Garnacha and Mazuelo grapes. This wine smelled of a darker fruit and a lot of spices. Of these spices, I mainly earned notes of vanilla and nutmeg. The taste was very balanced, smooth, and tannin rich leaving a long finish and leathery feel in the mouth. The flavor was full of smokey, jammy, spicy tastes. Having the Manchego alone, this cheese was crumbly and not very creamy, more salty and much dryer. Just crumbled in my mouth. The Rioja was paired with the Manchego due to the medium body of the Rioja (60, "Wine Folly"). The flavor brought out by the wine was more spicy and smokiness than before. Less berry flavor, this was more muted with the cheese. However, I felt as though the wine dampened flavors or interacted strangely with the Manchego flavors. However, trying the Gouda with the Rioja brought out a significant smoky flavor that was quite enjoyable, but maybe I just really enjoy Gouda. This was a wonderful introduction to Spanish wine and I really hope to return again soon to this region with a Tempranillo. 

Thank you everyone and this was a great experience!