As my first wine and cheese experience I was left surprised. There were many traits about the cheese and wines that shocked me. My friends Ella, Andrew, and Sarah all came together for a late-night wine and cheese tasting. It was a great group experience shared with lots of laughs. The three wines we brought were: Matua Sauvignon Blanc, Friuli Grave Pinot Grigio, and Quarter Cut Bourbon Barrel Aged red blend wine. For the cheeses we had: Grana Padano, creamy goat, and asiago cheese. At first, we laid everything on the table. We ate cheese got its own plate and we each had our own wine glass. From there we started by tasting each of the wines individually. My thoughts about the smells and tastes are as follows.
Matua
Vintage year: 2023
Variety of grape: Sauvignon Blanc
Country of origin: New Zealand
Region of origin: Marlborough
Price: $13.99
Smells: notes of grapefruit, passion fruit, citrus.
Flavor: grapefruit, passion fruit, citrus. The grapefruit lingered and didn't leave my taste buds for a while.
Friuli Grave
Vintage year: 2023
Variety of grape: Pinot Grigio
Country of origin: Italy
Region of origin: Friuli Grave
Price: $4.99
Smell: Grape, apple, citrus, and hints melon. Strong smell of apple more so overpowers it. As a result, I had to swoosh my glass a few times.
Flavor: Bland, extremely dry, I honestly don't taste any flavor at all, I taste a little pear and apple. Crisp taste of apple mixed with pear.
Quarter Cut – Bourbon Barrel Aged Wine
Vintage year: 2022
Variety of grape: Zinfandel and merlot
Country of origin: USA
Region of origin: California
Price: $15.99
Super cool because this wine was aged in a bourbon barrel
Smell: Cherry, berry, raisin, earthy, smells of wood/oak.
Flavor: Sweet but with a bitter after taste, tart, flavorful, no bourbon tastes, plum.
After tasting each of the wines we moved on to tasting each of the cheeses. We tried each of them separately and cleared our palates with water after each bite. I really enjoyed this part because I love cheese! My favorite cheese was goat with a creamy texture. My least favorite cheese was the asiago because I felt it didn't reassemble other asiago cheeses ive had in the past. Overall, I thought these were a good selection for each of the wines to taste all the unique and different flavors. Below are the reviews of each of the cheeses I tried.
Grana Padano Cheese
Flavor: Tastes like parmesan, sharp, good, gritty.
Vermont Creamery Goat Cheese
Flavor: Creamy, bitter, tart, more of a tangy taste with an earthy feel.
Asiago Cheese Private Selection
Flavor: Tastes like a sister to cheddar cheese, smooth texture with a tangy note at the end, and it was very rich but the after taste shouldn't have been there with a resemblance of old sock.
Finally, as a group we paired each of the wines with the cheeses. This was the part I was most excited for, and I thought it helped solidify each of the tastes as one. Although some of the flavors did not go together, I was very happy to try each of the wines with each of the different and unique types of cheeses. I added *** by the cheeses that I thought paired the best with the wine. Below are my opinions of each of the wines paired with the cheeses.
Matua
Asiago: Strong taste of nail polish, I don't think I this asiago cheese at all and we should have gotten a different cheese. The flavors did not pair well together and it created a bitter, milky, almost old taste in my mouth.
***Goat: Mixed so well and was very light on the tongue with a great blend of grapefruit and goat. Very fresh taste and the Italy in the summer time.
Grana: This drowned out the flavor and honestly couldn't tell the difference. This wine has such a strong flavor that you can't really tell the difference and it would have been nice if it paired better.
Friuli Grave
Asiago: I think the pairing went well with this wine. It had a good balance and the cheese. However I still feel like this cheese wasn't a great pair for the wine. It had almost a small divide or barrier between flavors.
Goat: I didn't like this pairing at all together. The goat cheese and Friuli Grave almost separated in my mouth leaving behind a confusing mess. I think that this wine shouldnt be with something so creamy considering the wine is very apple and citrus flavored.
***Grana: Very good match with the flavors with it mixing very well. I think that this wine is the best paired together because of they complement the acidity and texture of each of the items. Each of the wines were so bold in flavor that they let both shine through so you can taste both of them equally.
Quarter Cut – Bourbon Barrel Aged Wine-Red Blend
Asiago: I had an immediate nail polish remover taste and hated it. I felt as if these pairings were never supposed to go together. I tried it a second time and it was a bit easier to digest but over all I think nail polish is not a good taste.
***Goat: The red blend masked the bitterness of the goat cheese and really expanded the flavors. It blended together well and brought a balance to each of them. Although many people did not agree with my decision I thought by far this was the best cheese to go with it and on a cracker with some fig spread would be even better!
Grana: Very light mixed well together but didnt have each of the flavors shine through enough. It felt like the Grana was supposed to pair with a white wine almost.
To conclude, I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to try the different wines and cheeses. I think while some of the combinations worked out great, it was nice to understand what bad flavors would have tasted like. Experimenting with each of the cheeses and wines was a fun way to explore new tastes and experiences with friends that was filled with lots of laughs and maybe a tear too!
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