Wine and Cheese Pairing Report: 4/8

 

Wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, Prosecco

Cheeses: Irish Aged Cheddar, Raclette, Port Salut

Wine #1: J. Lohr Paso Roble Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 

Impression: This wine was fruity with strong tastes of darker undercurrents of black berry, cherry, and similarly dark fruits. There was nice and deep tannins present as well as undertones of lighter spices such as vanilla and peppercorns which added to the mouthfeel and made it one of my better Cabernet Sauvignons

Combination #1: Cabernet Sauvignon and Irish Aged Cheddar

Impression: When tasted with the cheese, there is a strong and fast cancellation of the immediate flavorings occurring within

the cheese. However, the tannins began to linger far longer when intermingling with the saltiness of the aged cheddar. It was an interesting combination, but the tastes of the two seemed to cancel each other out taking away from the overall experience.

Wine #2: Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio 2022

Impression: The wine was very nice and light with a strong acidic force pulling it along as a prominent feature. It emanated citrus flavors like lime and lemon, along with some lighter fruits such as peach to create a more comfortable flavor profile though, it was not very sweet as the balance leaned more towards an acidic style. This Pinot Grigio was also far better than my previous experience with the same varietal which was quite nice. 

Combination #2: Pinot Grigio and Raclette cheese

Impression: The raclette by itself was an interesting cheese as besides having a salty profile, it was also ever so slightly bitter, which was likely due to the particular fermentation process to develop this kind of cheese. However, when tasted with the acidic and slightly bitter pinot grigio, the matching was fantastic with it resulting in an overall salty aftertaste that lasted longer than either the cheese or the wine by itself which was actually quite pleasant as they complimented each other well.

Wine #3: Lamarca Prosecco 2022

Impression: This was my first foray into sparkling wine and I was rather pleased by it. It was light and slightly bitter with a hint of apple and other lighter fruits like peach and maybe even blue berry. In addtion, the mouthfeel of the carbonation was quite nice as I am a fan of carbonated soft drinks. However, 

As much as I did like it, there aren't many more descriptors I can appropriately apply to it. The fact of the matter was that for a palate like mine, the intense carbonation masked most of the hidden flavorings and whispers more evident in reds especially, but even in whites. Instead, I was spearheaded with the brunt of bubbles in my mouth which only left the most palpable tastes to roam free and for me to recognize. I still rather enjoyed it though.

Combination #3: Prosecco and Port Salut Cheese

Impression: When tasting prosecco with the very salty and soft port salut cheese, the carbonation immediately masked the flavor almost in its entirety. However, upon swallowing, there was a very strong amplification of the salt and bitter flavorings hidden in both items as they began to harmonize and create a strong and unique after taste that you could feel on the tongue.

As interesting as this combination was however, it was unfortunately not for me. This was a unique scenario where I believe that they combination did in fact mesh well and I am certain that others would have enjoyed the combination, but I personally did not. For me, it tasted almost sour and bitter which simply was not of my preference, despite how well it may mix in a vacuum.

My thoughts: I very much so enjoyed this tasting experiment. The last cheese and wine tasting I did, involved purchasing random cheeses and later pairing them up with a wine based on what I felt would probably go best. This time however, I tried to better match ahead of time and picked out cheeses that, for the most part (there was limited stock), matched with the wines chosen. As a result, two of the three combinations worked very well in my opinion, though one of the two was not of my personal preference. Of the wines themselves, I was extremely satisfied with my purchases as I had made, as I had not enjoyed my previous pinot grigio purchase and my Cabernet Sauvignon purchases had left me a mixed back of emotions regarding the wine. But these two that I picked were some of the better ones in my opinion and I enjoyed them both. I also thoroughly enjoyed the prosecco and I will definitely be picking up more sparkling wine in the future. For the combinations, my least favorite was probably the Cabernet Sauvignon and the cheddar as I felt that it wasn't the potential of both fantastic ingredients and made them both almost functionally inert to the taste buds. My second favorite was the Prosecco and the port salut as it wasn't fantastic in my personal preferences, although the matching did work, and my favorite was the Pinot Grigio and the raclette which was an unexpected contender and created a unique harmonization in the form of the aftertaste. I have discovered from this taste experiment and my previous, that I thoroughly enjoy pairing cheeses and other snacks with wines to see what sticks, what misses, and what combinations leave me in a state of surprise and has encouraged me to continue this kind of shopping to see what other matches that I can gift my taste buds.