Cheese and Wine Pairing #1

A group of me and my friends were excited to try some cheese and wine pairings to start off our weekend. For our first pairing we had Parmesan cheese and Prosecco. We were unsure which Prosecco to pair with our parmesan so we went to the Vintage Cellar and Randall helped us pick out Bellafina Prosecco, which was a sparkling white wine the varietal of grape was not specified. This Prosecco's wine notes say that it "is a soft and light wine, displaying fresh aromas and flavors of peach and orange blossom, perfect for all cuisine, or accompaniment to any occasion." The Prosecco was from Italy though the bottle did not specify the region or the vintage.

The Bellafina Prosecco we paired with our Parmesan

Before tasting the wine I took a sniff of the Prosecco and could detect hints of citrus and pear and I could detect an acidic smell. When I tasted the Prosecco on its own I could taste hints of citrus. It was surprisingly dry and the carbonation was light, which I was not expecting. The taste almost reminded me of Pinot Grigio and not a Prosecco.

We bought a wedge of parmesan from Kroger 

I was not a fan of the Prosecco and Parmesan. The Prosecco brought out the salty flavor in the Parmesan, however, it was an overwhelming taste. The Prosecco did not complement the cheese it did not cut through the richness of the Parmesan instead it just intensified the flavor. I really think that the Parmesan overpowered the taste of the wine, I could only taste the cheese when the two were paired. The cheese overpowered the light carbonation in the Prosecco. The cheese did not make the wine more fruity instead it decreased the hints of citrus and made the Prosecco even lighter. The wine did not overpower the cheese it just intensified the saltiness of the cheese.

The Pinto Grigio from Italy

Our second pairing was fresh Mozzarella and Pinot Grigio. Again we did not know what Pinot Grigio to pair with our Mozzarella. Randall from the Vintage Cellar recommend we tried Trattoria Busa Alla Torre Dalele Pinot Grigio. It is an exclusive Pinot Grigio that is the house wine of the Venetian restaurant of the same name, the only place that the wine is shipped to in the United States is Springfield, Virginia which is where I am from. The wine is from the region of Murano in Italy and is the 2016 Vintage. The wine notes say that this Pinot Grigio "with the traditional yellow gold color, perfect acidity and flavors of citrus is a wonderful reminder of leaches on warm summer days in Venice!" The wine gets its unique dark yellow color because it came in contact with the grape skins for a little a little bit during the fermentation process.

Before I tasted the wine I smelled it the smell reminded me of fire, specifically of a wood fire pizza oven, it had a strong smoky smell. When I tasted the wine on its own I was surprised that it did not have a very strong flavor. I had to take a second sip before I could tell what flavors were in it. I could make out a light citrus flavor and the wine was very smooth in my mouth.

The package of our fresh mozzarella

The Mozzarella and the Pinot Grigio were an okay paring, but not my favorite. The wine did not bring out any flavors in the Mozzarella, it honestly tasted the same to me with or without the wine. Mozzarella is a rich and creamy cheese and the acidity in the wine did make it taste a bit less creamy then it did before. This was actually kind of disappointing because I like the creaminess of Mozzarella. The Mozzarella actually brought out the flavor of the wine, rather then the wine impacting the flavor of the Mozzarella. It intensified the flavor of the wine and I could taste the citrus of the wine more. The wine did over power the cheese in my opinion and I could taste the wine more then I could taste the cheese. The cheese did not over power the wine, it actually enhanced the flavor of the wine. The cheese made the wine more fruity and it made it heavier and more flavorful.

Our Final Wine Cabernet Sauvignon 

For our final pairing we had gouda cheese and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet Sauvignon we bought was from Costal Estates and Randall at the Vintage Cellar helped us pick this out too. The Cabernet Sauvignon was from Sonoma, California and was the 2016 vintage. According to the tasting notes this Cabernet Sauvignon "has a lush, velvety blackberry, dark cherry and toasty oak flavor which pair well with hearty foods, such as steak, lamb or pasta."

Before I tried it I smelled it and could detect hints of cherry as well as a slight oaky smell. When I tried the wine on its own it had a big flavor. It was very tannic and had a strong cherry and oaky flavor as well as hints of tobacco. It left a dry mouthfeel.

  

Our Gouda in and out of the wrapper 

This was my favorite pairing. The Cabernet Sauvignon enhanced the flavor of the gouda and brought of the smoky flavor of the cheese. This Cabernet Sauvignon was a big wine and gouda is big cheese so they perfectly balanced one another. The wine had low acid so it did not cut through the richness of the cheese, but it did taste creamier and better. The wine brought out the salt and fattiness of the cheese and enhanced it by bringing out the flavors of the cheese. The wine and the cheese did not over power each other they both perfectly balanced one another. The cheese made the wine taste less tannic. I think that the cheese made the wine less fruity and tannic it made it gave it an almost muted flavor then when it was tasted on its own. Neither the cheese or the wine were too sweet for one another and they perfectly balanced each other.

Me and my friends enjoying our wine