Wine and Cheese Tasting 1

 

I did this wine and cheese tasting with some members of my wonderful wine group. My (blurry) picture to the right shows everyone who was at this tasting except for two who eluded my camera. We tried an Asti, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Shiraz, and paired them with sharp cheddar, gouda, and brie. Without further ado, let's get into the details of the tasting!

We started off the tasting with Martini & Rossi's Asti. It was a sparkling white wine with a very fruity smell dominated by green apple and pear. The flavor was rather sweet and peachy,  and it paired best with the brie cheese. The brie brought out a bit of lemony tartness in the wine that nicely balanced the sweetness. The next cheese I tried was the sharp cheddar. Though I didn't expect the sharp cheddar to pair well with this wine, I was still disappointed. The cheddar and wine clashed badly, bringing out a very unpleasant saltiness in the cheese while overpowering all of the wine's sweetness. The last cheese I tried was the gouda.  Though I tasted the flavors of the wine and gouda at the same time, they didn't seem to interact much. Overall for the Asti, the brie was a clear winner, with the cheddar being a bad pairing, and the gouda being neutral.

The second wine we tried was the Smith Hook Cabernet Sauvignon. It had a tart, fruity smell, like an unripe plum. It was fairly dry on the palette, with notes of blackberry and mocha, and a hint of tartness. The brie got overpowered a bit, and it brought out a bit too much bitterness in the wine. The cheddar was a much better pairing, covering some of the wine's harsher flavors and letting the sweetness shine through. The gouda was mostly overpowered, like the brie, though it didn't bring out any unpleasant flavors. The cheddar was definitely the best pairing for this wine, and the other two seemed to lack enough boldness to compete with the wine's flavor.

The last wine we opened was the Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Shiraz. It had an acidic, dark fruity smell, so I was surprised by the sweet cherry and spicy notes I tasted. The brie was also a strong pairing with this wine. The creaminess of the brie really complemented the wine's texture. The cheddar didn't blend much, but it also didn't clash like it did with the Asti. The one thing it did do was bring out a touch of bitterness in the wine. I was expecting the gouda to be completely overpowered by this wine, which it surprisingly was not. Besides that, it was an unremarkable pairing, similar to the Asti.

 

The brie was the best pairing for two of the wines, but I thought the sharp cheddar with the Cabernet Sauvignon was the best pairing out of all three wines and cheeses. I thought it was interesting how it simultaneously covered up some flavors of the wine and brought out others. Overall, this tasting was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the next one!