Wine & Cheese Night 2

 While on a ski trip with my parents I did my second wine & cheese night. It was interesting doing it with experienced drinkers and comparing their insights with mine. 

To the left are the three cheese and crackers I paired the wines with. The top cheese is a brie. This is my favorite cheese alone and has a very creamy texture and taste. However, with the wines I found this the worst cheese as its taste was not complimentary. The bottom left cheese is a gouda. I did use a gouda in the last pairing but this one was richer in flavor making it more salty and have bolder flavors. It paired differently than the other one due to this. The last cheese is on the bottom left and is a cheddar. This cheddar was not as sharp as the last one. The crackers were a trisket and carr. I used the carr crackers for the tasting only as they have a more neutral pallet. The triskets have a high salt content which can change the tastes of the wine. 

The cheese & cracker set up

The first of the wines was a Rombauer sauvignon blanc. This wine is much nicer and more expensive than what I usually taste. Perks of doing this with my parents. On its own I got very strong peach flavors. This is the strongest notes of peach I have gotten in any wine I have tried. Overall the wine was also fruity and very upfront. The wines flavor was like a punch in the beginning and then faded. The first cheese I tried it with is the cheddar. The sharpness of this cheese cut the fruity flavor and brought out the acidity of the wine. The wine also mellows out the sharpness of the cheddar itself. This was a very enjoyable combo and my favorite of all the cheeses with this wine. The second one I tried was the brie. The creamy texture mixed well with the wine, however, the cheese made the wine very tart and I do not believe the two complemented each other well. The last pairing was with the gouda. I also enjoyed this one. The cheese itself became less subtle and brings out nutty flavors of the wine. The gouda also brings out the acidity and some slight tartness but not to the same level as the brie. 

   The first wine, a sauvignon blanc

This second wine was also very nice and around $60. It was a Silverado vineyards cabernet sauvignon. On its own it was extremely smooth, and probably the smoothest wine I have tasted. It was not as tannic as I expected and this flavor was not overpowering. It was actually the perfect amount of tannic for my pallet. The wine was also slightly acidic and had a nice smooth finish. With the first cheese, the cheddar, it became less of a bold wine. There was less interaction between the two than other pairings. This wine also cut the sharpness of the cheddar and made the cheese creamier. The cheddar cut the wines flavor almost completely. The next cheese was again the brie. This combo again had a good texture match and worked together better than the sauvignon blanc. The brie brought out more of the tannic flavor of the wine and made it bolder. Next was the gouda. The sharpness of the gouda brought out the acidity of this wine which was enjoyable. I believe it was the saltiness of the cheese that did this. Overall, the brie was the best combo and brought out the best notes and tannic levels in the wine.

Silverado vineyards cabernet sauvignon

The last wine I tried was the Calera Pinot Noir. This was a very enjoyable wine overall. On its own it had a sweet smell with hints of grape. It was slightly tannic and acidic as well as sweet. It was also smooth although not as smooth as the second wine I tried. With the cheddar it works together and has nice sharpness. Again the sharpness of the cheddar is cut by the wines flavors. For this wine the acidity is increased as well as the tannic flavors but not as much. The next pairing was the brie. The texture was again a match. As well, it brought out the fruit flavors in the wine making it more fruit forward. It also raised the tannic and acidity of the wine. Next was the gouda and this wine brought out some sharpness in this cheese. The nutty and salty notes of the cheese complemented this wine extremely well. On that point, the nutty and fruity notes of the wine were brought out in this combo. Overall, this wine does not lose its flavor with any of the cheese combinations. 

Calera pinot noir, the third wine

Overall, this was a very enjoyable experience and I got more insight in doing it with my parents and hearing their opinions as experienced wine drinkers. In most of the pairings the cheddar became less sharp and brought out the acidity of the wine. The brie is more of a neutral tasting and the gouda brings out the nutty flavors in the wines. I think I enjoyed the gouda the most of all the cheeses and the cabernet sauvignon the most of the wines. Although this was close with the pinot noir. In this case I think the white wine paired the worst of the wines which is interesting as fruity notes in most whites go well with cheeses. I will continue to expand my pallet and gain knowledge as I continue to do activities like this.