wine and cheese 1

I went in completely blind with this assignment since I don't have a lot of experience with cheese (and I'm incredibly lactose intolerant :( ) but I buckled up and grabbed a handful of lactaid before joining my friends for my first cheese night ever.

Our first pairing for the night was a sharp irish cheddar cheese (Murrays Irish Cheddar) with Ilauri - Rose Spumante Brut, a sweet sparking rose. 

Murrays Irish Cheddar

Murrays Irish Cheddar

The wine on its own was the best sparking wine that I have tried thus far! It had a strong floral and vegetal (grassy) note when first smelling the glass. In terms of appearance and viscosity, I did notice that the wine formed pillars after swirling which I found interesting (I tried my hardest to take a picture of it but the clear liquid with low lighting didn't do me any favors. It was a sweeter wine, with some acidity that I enjoyed. The carbonation was a little overwhelming though and it was hard to taste anything other than the notes I smelt previously.

Ilauri - Rose Spumante Brut

Ilauri - Rose Spumante Brut

The cheese on its own was like any other sharp cheddar that I've tried. It was distinctly sharp and quite creamy, and I really did enjoy this cheese and its kick! However together, the creaminess was a little overwhelming. It made the wine feel flat and dull. Neither the wine nor cheese complimented each other and the wine felt like it was almost hidden by the creaminess of the cheese. 

The second pairing was a brie with August Kesseler Riesling Rheingau - a riesling. 

Brie

August Kesseler Riesling Rheingau

The riesling was definitely my favorite one of its kind! It had strong lime and apple notes. It was quite sweet (even though it was described to be on the drier side) and acidic when I first tasted it, but as I gradually progressed through my glass, it tasted more like a capri sun or an apple juice.

August Kesseler Riesling Rheingau

The brie was quite salty and creamy and I really enjoyed it! This was the first brie I've ever had (at least knowingly) so it was a new experience for me. I tried it with a couple of crackers I had on hand and it honestly was a great combination.

The brie and riesling had the same issues as the rose and cheddar - the cheese was too salty and creamy and completely swallowed the wine. It was virtually impossible to get any sort of sense of the wine when trying it with the brie. This would definitely work better with a drier riesling in hindsight, or a wine with a fuller body like a pinot grigio. 

The last pairing for the night was a Manchego with Monte guelfo - a chianti wine. The wine was instantly jammy, and had strong notes of black fruit and plum. It was the driest of the group, but not overwhelmingly so, and it honestly was one of the better big and bold reds that I tried. It was mildly sour and very well balanced, and did not feel like a punch of flavor in my mouth like some of the cabs I've tried in the past.

Manchego Cheese

Monte guelfo

The machego was a little nutty and a flavorful cheese. To be completely honest, I wasn't a huge fan of the cheese on its own - it was good, but I would have picked something else if I was given a cheese board. But the wine and cheese combination really brought it all together! The creaminess of the cheese accentuated the dryness of the wine and made it more enjoyable (which was a surprise to me because I thought I preferred sweeter reds!) The cheese really enhanced the plumminess and the dried fruit notes in the wine, and the wine brought out the nuttiness of the cheese and I honestly thought this was the perfect combination of the night!

Monte guelfo

While I don't think consuming wine and cheese is going to become a regular snack for me just yet, I do have a better appreciation for the pairing and I'm excited to give it another go to find new surprising favorite combinations!