Wine and Cheese Pairing #2

 As the weather gets warmer and it starts feeling more like Spring, I decided to do an outdoor wine and cheese board with some of my friends to start setting the seasonal mood. 

Wine List:

For our three wines, we chose a Barefoot California Riesling, an Andre Brut Champagne and a Dark Hose California Pinot Noir.

Cheese List:

To pair with our wine, we chose a 12 month aged Wisconsin Sharp White Cheddar, a classic Sartori brand Parmesan, and a smoked Gouda.

My favorite wine of the bunch was the Barefoot Riesling, it was very sweet and went down easily.  For pairing with the cheeses, the Riesling worked better with the saltiness of the Parmesan and Gouda better than the Cheddar.  The parmesan especially had the salt and nutty tones to perfectly contrast with the sweet and acidic Riesling.

The second of my favorite wines was the Champagne, the champagne on it's own provided a nice flavor and aromas but was nothing spectacular.  My research stated that Champagne usually pairs better in regards to the saltiness level of the cheese, but my experience turned out to be the opposite.  The Gouda and Parmesan both were too bitter in my opinion to be an effective pairing, it was not until I paired it with the cheddar that the sharp earthy taste worked in great unison with the citrus of the champagne.

When I first think of pairing wine with cheese, I usually think of red wines.  The red wine chosen for this pairing was the Dark Horse Pinot Noir made in California as apart of the 2020 vintage.  For a pinot noir the wine disappointingly was lacking in many distinct flavor profiles.  The wine also seemed to be very low in acid and having a medium dose of tannins.  For pure taste as a wine, the Dark Horse was my least favorite, but it proved to be the best wine when paired with the cheeses.  The fruit nodes I was able to taste from the wine paired well with the earthy and bitter tones of the cheeses, especially the cheddar.

Tasting Andre California Champagne

 

Name:  Andre Brut California Champagne

Varietal:  Champagne

Region: Modesto, California

Year:  N/A

Price: $8.99

Review from other source:  Amanda B. from influenster.com states "This is another favorite of mine! This flavor is a little more dry and stronger than the Spumante flavor, but I can drink either. This one has a high alcohol content than the others, so just be aware of that."

 

Winefolly.com:  https://winefolly.com/wines/champagne/

 

Winefolly describes Champagne as the most iconic sparkling wine in the world, a title I feel is very deserved. It is a blend of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier.  The primary flavors associated with champagne are citrus, yellow apple and cream.   Champagne is very high in acidity which counters its light body and low tannins.

 

My review:  Champagne is my personal favorite wine so I was excited to give the Andre Brut version a try.  The smell was a sharp and pungent citrus scent.  The first taste of the wine was like pear and citrus mixed, while the aftertaste had more sweet tones.    I drank this wine along with the dinner I had made for the nights.  Chicken and a broccoli cheddar bake paired very well with the wine.  The flavors in the wine that were not present in the food created a positive contrast that brought out more of the flavors in the wine.  Overall, this champagne tasted fine but was not anything special, for the price point though it is a very good value champagne wine.

Tasting Franzia Sunset Blush

 

Name:  Franzia Sunset Blush 

Varietal:  Rose

Region:  California

Country:  US

Year: 2021

Price:  $12.99

Review from other source:  Anita S. of influenster.com says that "This wine is light and crisp; it kinda reminds me of Pinot Grigio. It has a slight after taste, but it’s not too bad. I would drink it again, but it would not be my first choice. The price was reasonable."

Wine Folly: https://winefolly.com/wines/provence-rose/

 Rose is primarily described as having primary flavors consisting of different fruits such as Strawberry, Honeydew melon,  and watermelon.  The taste profile is described has primarily having medium acidity.  It is very low in tannins and has an overall light body.

My Review:  Going in to this wine tasting, I had preconceived notions on Franzia wine and it definitely was clouding my judgment going in.  The scent of the wine brought me back to early parties freshman year where the scent of wine mixed with sweat covers the floors and walls. The initial scent is strong and fruity and the pungent scent hits your brain almost instantly.  The taste of the wine was sweet and lasting.  I paired the wine with a grilled cheese sandwich, the sandwich helped fill in some of the missing tastes, but overall the taste of my sandwich did not make up for the lack of quality in the wine.  Overall, the Franzia Sunset Blush Rose was not good and not worthy of buying again, except for times where you are trying to buy as much wine physically possible for as many people at once.

Tasting Bay Bridge Vineyards Chardonnay

 Bay Bridge Vineyards Chardonnay

Grape variety:  Chardonnay

Country of Origin: USA

Region of Origin:  Livermore and Ripon, California

Vintage Year:  N/A

Price:  $3.49

    A review taken from the professional's on tasting.com describes the Bay Bridge Chardonnay as

"Straw color. Aromas of ripe pear, yellow plum, vanilla-caramel, and fried sage with a satiny, crisp, fruity light-to-medium body and an even, interesting, breezy marshmallow and lemon jellies finish with a suggestion of oak flavor. A solid New World Chardonnay with balanced acid and autumnal flavors."

 

    On winefolly.com, Chardonnay is described as being a wine with the primary flavors of yellow apple, starfruit, and pineapple.  Chardonnay should be served in an aroma collecting glass in order to preserve the buttery and vanilla aromas featured prominently in chardonnays frequently.

 

    I poured myself my first glass of the chardonnay and swirled it before taking my first sniff.  The initial aroma I detected was a pungent fruity smell that reminded me of pears and apples.  The actual taste of the body of the wine contained the same fruity taste but added earthy tones.  For a wine of such a low price, the flavors were surprisingly subdued while still providing ample flavor.  I did not have any food to pair with the wine, I think this hurt my overall experience as there could have been good flavor profiles to match with it, despite this shortcoming it was still an enjoyable wine tasting.  Overall, the Bay Bridge Chardonnay is a value wine when considering it's low price, but the taste and smell vastly exceeds that of typical $3 wine.

Wine and Cheese Pairing Report #1

 

Wine and Cheese Taste Pairing Report 1

 

 

 For the first wine and cheese pairing report, my friends Gavin, Drew and Clay got together for some wine, cheese and cured meats.

 

    Our wine selections were the Juggernaut Cabernet Sauvignon and the Rascal Pinot Noir.  First off, I'm going to review the Juggernaut wine and how it paired with the different cheeses.