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It made for a pleasant, relaxing evening, and went much smoother this time than the first time. All of us definitely had more to say about the flavors, aromas, and pairings this time around. Here's what I had to say...THE CHEESE:
The second cheese I tastes was goat cheese. I was quite excited about this cheese, as I tend to like goat cheese's milder, creamier taste...I'm not that into cheese. However, I was quite disappointed to find that this cheese was super sharp and tangy, like swiss cheese. In fact, I could have sworn it was swiss cheese that was labeled wrong. I did not like this cheese at all on its own.
The third cheese I tried was gouda. I was expecting this cheese to be overly strong and pungent like the last smoked gouda (with bacon) I had, however this was surprisingly and pleasantly not the case. This particular gouda was very mild and did not have much flavor. To some that may be a negative, but to me it was not. I don't like strong cheeses, so this was much like eating a normal brick of craft cheddar cheese.
THE WINE:
The cheese was served with four different wines. Each of us chose three for cheese pairings. Each wine was first tasted on its own and then again with each of the cheeses for comparison regarding both the taste of the wine and the cheese.
Wine #1 - Malbec
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| Bodega Elena de Mendoza Malbec 2013 (Mendoza, Argentina) |
On Its Own: On the nose this wine displayed berries, and slight hints of smoke and flowers. On the palate this wine was smooth with slight heat (but not in a bad way). It tasted of dark berries and chocolate. I'm not sure where the smoky scent came from, but for the most part I completely agree with the winemaker's notes.
With Gruyere: This wine was purposely bought to pair with this wine after looking at this website: http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/meal-ideas/13-can-t-go-wrong-wine-and-cheese-pairings. The pairing did not disappoint and was definitely complimentary. Both flavors from the wine and the cheese were very present. I didn't see much change however. In other words, I didn't get a new flavor from either the wine or the cheese with the pairing. It was a good solid pairing though, and the two definitely went well together.
With Goat: This pairing was mediocre. A Malbec is definitely not meant to pair with this type of cheese, in the way that is masks the cheese flavor completely. See I wasn't a fan of this goat cheese (I swear it's swiss cheese), I didn't mind how the wine masked it. It made the cheese much more bearable to get down. No bad flavors came of this pairing, but I would not recommend it.
With Gouda: On the contrary to the goat cheese pairing, the gouda masked the Malbec. Again, there was nothing "bad" about this pairing, but it definitely wasn't "meant to be." I did like this cheese, so I didn't mind tasting it, but I did miss the wine flavor....cause I love that more! Nothing bad, nothing good, just another mediocre pairing.
Wine #2 - Tuscarora Red
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| Rockbridge Tuscarora Red (Virginia) |
Winemaker's Notes: "Our Tuscarora Red a clear, ruby-red color, with a deeply fruited bouquet of cherries and fresh red fruit entwined with spicy, peppery notes. This wine is lively and fresh on the palate, with soft, rounded tannins followed by a long, fine finish. The fresh, well-structured character of this wine makes it an ideal complement to all types of Italian food." (http://www.rockbridgevineyard.com/wines.php)
On Its Own: This wine had a little something funky going on! On the nose, this wine displayed an overwhelming aroma of acetone, like nail polish remover. To taste, it was very closed off, tasted very tart, and had a lot of heat. It was kinda gross, to be blunt. Our group later found out from John Boyer that acetone is not a wine aroma, and that the wine was flawed! Wish I knew that before I kept tasting it! All of the pairings turned out to be bad. It's hard to tell whether that was because of the flawed wine, or just bad pairings.
With Gruyere: This pairing was not desirable. The two flavors completely contrasted each other. The wine was already bad on its own, but this pairing added a very sour component.
With Goat: The goat cheese proved to be another bad pairing. This pairing exemplified how bad the wine was, making it more acidic and sharp. This pairing was definitely hard to get through, and I just had a sip and one tiny bite of cheese. No good!
With Gouda: As expected, the gouda was another bad pairing...perhaps the worst of the bunch. Why? Well beyond, the contrasting flavors just mixing to make nastiness, it physically made my tongue tingle. It was super tangy and sharp. I'd definitely advise against this pairing.
Wine #3 - Riesling
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| Manfred Breit Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett (Mosel, Germany) |
Winemaker's Notes: "Riesling is without question Germany's favorite grape. Widely planted, though once derided, Riesling is the superstar of the white wine world at the moment. There is a lot of scope for versatility with this sweet, viscous wine, though you can expect to get hints of tropical fruit, nectarine, melon and pineapple from a solid Riesling."
On Its Own: This Riesling tasted like...a Riesling. What I mean is that all the flavors and aromas characteristic of Riesling were present. On the nose this wine was very tropical. On the palate it was sweet, although not sickeningly so, and sharp. It tasting of pineapple, green apple, and pears.
With Gruyere: I really can't say much about this pairing other than it WAS SO BAD. I literally wanted to throw up. Everything about this pairing was negative and the two flavors contrasted in a huge way. Don't ever pair these together.
With Goat: The Riesling and the goat cheese (aka "swiss") was actually very complimentary. The sweetness of the wine softened the tangy and sharp components of the cheese, making it smoother to taste. This was the only time I didn't hate the taste of the goat ("swiss") cheese.
With Gouda: Although not as bad as the Gruyere pairing, this was not that great. While the two did not necessarily contrast each other, the Riesling brought out a smoky flavor in the cheese that I didn't like. Not horrible, but I personally was not a fan. If you only want to taste the smokiness of the cheese, I would pair this for you.
Even though many of my wine and cheese pairings were not desirable, it still made for a good night. This wine pairing was definitely a learning experience, and really made me see how much the wine and cheese pairings can affect each others tastes. While I would have preferred to learn this lesson with great tasting pairings, tasting the bad pairing definitely got the point across.
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