Wine & Cheese Night

 This Wednesday I went over to my friends place with a bottle wine, 3 cheeses, and some crackers and had a great time trying out all the combinations. 

These are the three cheeses I paired all of the wines with. The one on the left is a garlic goat cheese. It was very creamy but was had a bit too much of a garlic flavor to pair well with the wines. In the future I would do an unflavored goat cheese as it would pair better. Without the wine it was my least flavor cheese as the garlic was a bit overpowering on its own as well. The bottom right is a Vermont cheddar. I enjoyed this cheese and it was very interesting paired with the wines. On the top is the Gouda and it was my favorite cheese. Without the wine it was a more mellow flavor than the other two cheese and had hints of nutty flavors.

The three cheeses that were paired with the wines

The first of the wines was a Bay Bridge Strawberry Moscato. Obviously this had a strong taste of strawberry but I also tasted oranges, mandarins, and lemongrass. Overall this wine was very fruity. My personal preference is drier wines so the fruit was too much for my liking. This worked well with the creaminess of the goat cheese but clashed with the garlic flavor as it was overpowering the wine. I believe the garlic would have complemented the wine well if it was not so strong in the cheese. The next was the cheddar which was not the best with this wine. The cheddar created a tangy flavor when mixed with the fruitiness of the wine. The last cheese I was surprised by as I enjoyed the gouda with the Moscato. The cheese mellowed out the fruitiness of the wine and the wine brought out the nutty flavors in the gouda. The gouda was a bit creamy too which was a good mixture of texture. I would definitely have that combo again.

Bay Bridge Strawberry Moscato wine

The second wine I tried was a Sauvignon Blanc which is usually my preference as I like drier wines. I tasted honey, lemongrass and a strong sense of white peach in this wine. This was an overall enjoyable wine and on its own my favorite of the three. For the goat cheese the garlic made the wine extremely bitter and was not a good pairing. The creaminess of this cheese also did not work as well with this wine as the sweeter ones. For the cheddar the contrast between the sharpness of the cheese and acidity of the wine worked well. It enhanced both flavors without making them too strong and overpowering. The gouda was again my favorite cheese pairing with the wine. The slightly softer texture works in unison with the wine. As well the cheese was sweeter which worked with the acidity and bitterness of this white wine. This wine also brought out the caramel in the cheese with the honey flavors in the wine. 

The second wine, a Sauvignon Blanc

The last wine was a winking owl white zinfandel. Winking owl is a great brand for cheap wines as the run around $4. This wine was also sweet and I tasted hints of strawberry, peach and blackberry. I enjoyed this wine more than the strawberry Moscato as it was less sweet and fruity. This zinfandel was also smoky and had hints of hickory. For the goat cheese the garlic worked a bit better with the fruit presence in this wine over the others.  But the garlic was still overpowering. For the cheddar the sweetness, hints of blackberry and acidity cut the sharpness of the cherry more than the others. This wine was the best pairing with the cheddar in my opinion.  The tangy fruit flavors worked in this combo. Again this wine paired best with the gouda. The smoky and hickory in this wine worked in unison with the gouda again bringing out the nutty flavors of the gouda. And the texture combo was again a winner with the two. 

The final wine, a white zinfandel

Overall, this was an amazing experience that taught me a lot about wines. I enjoyed the Sauvignon Blanc on its own the best but thought the white zinfandel paired the best with the cheeses. This was surprising because I usually enjoy dry wines the best. As well, I enjoyed the gouda the best of the cheeses with the wine. When I do this again I have good insight to picking better pairings and learning more about my personal preferences.