For my 2nd week of my reviews I decided to try a cheese pairing with 2 different wine types. I chose two wines that shared 4 types of cheese in the suggested pairings and then I added one for each wine that wasn't suggested for the other. My thought was to find out why a wine wouldn't go with something as simple as a cheese. It was a very educational and tasty homework assignment.
Wine #1
Wine Studied: Arneis Grape
Wine Selected: Roero Arneis - Cisterna D'Asti Italy - 2014 Arneis
Eye:
Color Depth: Pale
Color Hue: Greenish
Clarity: Clear
Nose:
Aroma Intensity: Low
Development: Youthful
Aroma: Apple
Mouth:
Dry/Sweet: Medium Sweet
Body: Medium
Acidity: Fresh
Tannins: Low
Balance: Fair
Flavor Intensity: Moderate
Flavor: Green Apple
Finish: Med (4-5 sec)
Style: Modern
Cost: $16.24 at Zupans
Wine #2
Wine Studied: Garganega Grape
Wine Selected: La Cappiccina - Verona Italy - 2013 Soave
Eye:
Color Depth: Medium
Color Hue: Yellow
Clarity: Clear
Nose:
Aroma Intensity: Moderate
Development: Youthful
Aroma: Stone Fruit
Mouth:
Dry/Sweet: Off Dry
Body: Medium
Acidity: Smooth
Tannins: Medium
Balance: Good
Flavor Intensity: Flavorful
Flavor: White Peaches
Finish: Long (5-7 sec)
Style: Modern
Cost: $10.99 at New Seasons
Food Selected: Cheese Pairings
Reference Source: Daring Parings - Pages 42 & 61
(I cannot give recipes as they are not mine to give, but this is a great book if you want to learn about pairings.)
Wine #1: This wine was very cleansing with a low acidity, slightly sweet and a dry finish. I really liked it a lot, and I am excited to try it with the suggested recipe Grilled Snapper with Root Vegetable Salad (Daring Pairings page 43).
Wine #2: This wine has fresh citric acid with a long refreshing finish. I also liked this wine, but might try a different one when I do a Grilled Branzino with it. (Daring Pairings page 62)
Food: Pictured above from left to right, back to front.
Back Row: Myzithra (in-lue of ricotta salata), Gorgonzola dolcetatte, Fontina
2nd Row: Pave d'affinois, Warm Greek mixed olives regular & spicy, Chevre
3rd Row: Spicy Sopressata, Garlic Herb Boursin
4th Row: Regular Sopressata
On the knife draw at left (back to front): Gluten Free Lemon Wafer Cookies, Gluten Free Cracker Thins both crack black pepper and regular
I love cheese, but because of some of my allergies I try to stick with non-cow varieties. I have also found really good gluten free crackers and cookies (great lemon flavor in a grown up wafer).
Why this Pairing?: Cheese and Wine just go together. It is funny though because you would never think to drink milk and eat grapes together, yuck.
This specific pairing as I stated above had two wild cards, the Myzithra is meant to go with the Arneis and the Gorgonzola dolcetatte with the Garganega.
Pairing: I think I like trying two wines at once. I was able to explore why each of these wines married so well with each of the cheeses. Both paired well with the common 4 cheeses and both brought out different flavors in each of them. Because most of these cheese are light in flavor they were picking up the flavors from the wines.
As far as the competing wine flavors, yeah they didn't play all that well together. The sweetness & acid of the Garganega really helped to tame the Gorgonzola were the Arneis just wasn't strong enough to do that. Where as the salt in the Myzithra was just obliterated by the Garganega.
I will be doing this experiment again, as it was an excellent learning tool and nice break from a single wine taste.
Rating:
(Remember this is very subjective, as each person will have their own taste)
Wine #1: ***** Wine #2: ****
Food: *****
Pairing: *****
Conclusion: I learned so much and really liked both wines. It took me over an hour and a half to eat through my cheese plate, as I tried a ton of combinations with each of the wines.
I think the best part of these first 4 tastings has been that I haven't craved to finish off my bottles of wine. I really have wanted to save them to eat with my meals. For me that is a huge swing, I am/was an open a bottle and drink it with no food kind of girl.
Cheers & Ciao
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