Wine Cheese Pairing

Last week, a few of my friends and I were hanging out and decided to do a wine cheese pairing.  We bought three wines for about $20 from the Vintage Cellar, and about six cheeses from Natural Foods for about the same price!

The first wine:  Omo Ze Bel Merlot

This Merlot had tobacco and pepper aromas.  On the palate it was very spicy, with a kind of leather finish.  It was full bodied, rough on the palate, and tannic with a medium finish.

The second wine:  Cantina Casteggio Pinot Grigio

The Pinot Grigio had a slight tart nose that I could not really pick up exactly what the scent was.  It was possibly asparagus, but I do not think it was exact.  On the palate it was smooth and buttery, with a slight tobacco finish that was short.

The third wine:  James Goddard Barossa Shiraz

The Shiraz had leather aromas with a hint of chocolate and spices.  On the palate it was spicy, but sweet with dark berries.  It was also very smoky and earthy tasting, and reminded me of a barbeque.  It was harsh initially but the sweetness balanced it out, and dry on the finish.

The six cheeses:  (starting with the circular white one and moving clockwise) goat cheese, manchego, gouda, brie with walnuts, pepper jack, and muenster

The Merlot and the Cheeses:

Gouda:  The Merlot was sweet, with almost on spiciness.  The entire pepper and leather flavor was gone.

Manchego:  The wine was spicy on the finish, and very harsh and tart with no sweetness.

Muenster:  It was more sweet than spicy.  The cheese was soft but not overwhelming so it absorbed a lot of the tannins, a very good pairing. 

Brie:  The Merlot was much more sweeter than it was alone.  Like the Gouda, it had almost no spice.

Goat Cheese:  It was very spicy and rough compared to the way the wine tasted with the brie.  Overall it was an awful pairing.  The cheese was much too soft and tangy for the wine.

Pepper jack:  The spiciness of the wine was well-accented by the peppers in the cheese.

The Pinot Grigio and the Cheese:

Gouda:  The smokiness of the cheese completely overwhelmed the wine.  I could barely taste anything except the cheese.

Manchego:  The acids of the wine were accented.  The cheese was much more tart, and together they were very harsh.

Muenster:  The wine was much more mild (less acidic).  However, they really did nothing to improve or remove from each other.

Brie:  The brie overwhelmed this wine.  

Goat Cheese:  The goat cheese made the wine much sweeter.  It was a great pairing, the tanginess of the cheese seemed to bring out the sweeter notes of the wine.

Pepper jack:  The wine was super spicy, and the cheese brought out the smokiness and tobacco tastes.

The Shiraz and the Cheeses:

Gouda:  This cheese took away the entire smokiness of the wine and down played the spices.  I thought it was a great pairing.

Manchego:  The wine was less spicy, smoother, and had a longer finish.

Muenster:  The wine was spicy and smooth on the finish.  The pepper flavors were greatly accented.

Brie:  The Shiraz was dry.  The brie really overwhelmed the wine, and it was an awful pairing.

Goat Cheese:  The goat cheese made the wine very spicy, acidic, and harsh.  Similar to the Merlot, the cheese was much too soft and tangy for the wine.

Pepper jack:  Similar to the Merlot, the spices in the wine were accentuated on the finish from the pepper in the cheese.

Overall, I think brie and goat were the hardest to pair with because they were a little too tangy.  The manchego and muenster were very flavorless and it was easy for them to absorb any harsh tannins and make the wine smooth on the finish.

Selfie Sunday with my Merlot