Wine and Cheese 2

Wine photos:   

 

Cheese photo:  

Photo of me:  

Pairing 1:  Wente Cabernet Sauvignon w/ Gorgonzola

• Wine alone
• Hints of raspberry and blackberry in the aroma, with a potential hint of plum.  It has a very jammy and fruity flavor; mild tannins and a medium body.  A hint of tobacco in the aftertaste.
• With cheese
• The thick gorgonzola almost melts with the wine, creating an even further jammy texture.  The tannins are nearly completely absorbed and the fruitiness sings well with the rich cheese.  I then tried the pairing with a cracker, and the cheese immediately lost some of its biting intensity.  The resulting pairing had flavors of grilled cheese, jam, toast, and other starchy and cheesy foods.  This pairing was incredible, largely due to the smoothness of the cheese merging so well with the Cabernet.

Pairing 2:  Mark West Pinot Noir w/ Havarti

• Wine alone
• Instant aromas of smoky campfire and oak.  Low tannins, medium-light body.  The aftertaste was a blast of an oaky and jammy flavor.
• With cheese
• The cheese was light and somewhat fruity.  The oaky flavors of the wine were just as present, but there was a slight fruitiness on top of the existing flavors.  Overall the pairing was interesting, but not as smooth and balanced as the Merlot and cheddar and not as rich of a texture and flavor combination as the Cabernet and gorgonzola.

Pairing 3:  Sterling Vintner's Collection Merlot w/ Orange Mild Cheddar

• Wine alone
• A hint of coffee or dark chocolate aroma.  The flavor is rather mild, not too many distinct flavors.  This is what I would imagine is the average and common taste for the most popular red wine.  Medium-high body, medium tannins, somewhat bitter, not sweet at all.
• With cheese
• The wine was not exactly enhanced or worsened.  Both flavors were perfectly represented and and the fattiness of the cheese absorbed any of the tannins in the Merlot that was already low in tannins.  The overall balance of the flavors was very pleasant, giving some texture of chocolate or some kind of other milky solid.  Overall this is the kind of wine I would drink with a dinner, and I understand why it is the most popular.