Wine and Cheese

Wine and Cheese pairing

Aged White Cheddar and Malbec:

Wine: Wellsley Farms Malbec

Variety: Malbec

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Year: 2021

Price: $14.97

Cheese: Kerrygold Aged White Cheddar

Kerrygold White
Cheddar Cheese

After sniffing the wine, I got a pepper and smoky scent. Once I took a sip, these aromas held strong and the wine tasted like pepper to me. This aligns with the description on the back of the bottle because they describe their wine to be a "powerful yet balanced red with hints of smoke, spice, and vanilla". The aged white cheddar was rich in flavor and creamy. The Wine Folly textbook suggests that you pair fruity, umami cheeses (like cheddar) with full-bodied reds like this Malbec (page 69). When paired together, the cheese feels creamier since the Malbec is tannic, and it almost feels like eating butter. I felt that the wine started to taste more sour when I ate more cheese. Because of that, I found myself craving the cheese after each sip because the wine was smoky and dry. The wine masked the saltiness of the cheese, while the cheese enhanced the smoky and peppery flavors of the wine. I think the wine overpowered the cheese a bit with its flavor. I would rate the wine a 5/10, it was too smoky and had too many spices for me. I would rate the pairing a 7/10, I loved the cheese and I liked that it made the wine less tannic, but the wine wasn't that good.

Here's me tasting both together

Dinner Blog 1

1st Wine Pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon and Mushroom Risotto

Bri and I with our (mostly eaten)
dinner and wine!

Wine: Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2021

Price: $13.99

Food: Mushroom Risotto

This is me while trying this pairing. 
The risotto was gone soon after
this picture was taken.

The first pairing we had was mushroom risotto with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Before tasting anything, I smelled the wine to see what scents I picked up. This particular wine smelled very fruity, specifically, cherries and raspberries. I also smelled a hint of sugar in this wine. My sense of smell was pretty on-point, as the bottle describes the wine to be Bourbon Whiskey barrel aged with deep flavors of black cherry and blackberry. The Bourbon Whiskey barrel delivers hints of vanilla, brown sugar, and toasted oak to the blend. As far as taste, this wine was tannic and tasted strong alcohol-wise. Again, this makes sense since it was barrel-aged in Bourbon Whiskey. This wine was good and I could taste the fruity accents, however, I didn't like how tannic it was. Paired with this wine was a mushroom risotto (we just bought a package from the store to make it easier). All we had to do was boil the risotto for about 15 minutes and stir it often. Once it was done cooking, I added some butter and a little bit of parmesan to mine which was recommended on the package. I think this pairing complemented each other very well. Wine Folly mentions that mushrooms are a great pairing for medium-bodied red wines (page 73). The creamy risotto made the wine less tannic. The wine brought out the mushroom flavor and saltiness in the risotto and the risotto brought out the smoky/bourbon flavor in the wine. I don't think they overpowered each other, however, since the risotto brought out the bourbon flavor for me, the wine tasted stronger in terms of its alcohol content. Also, since the risotto was pretty heavy, I think it made the wine feel lighter even though it had a fuller body. As I stated already, I really enjoyed this pairing, they balanced each other out perfectly. I would rate this wine a 7.5/10, I liked the wine but it was too tannic for me and had a strong alcohol taste that I didn't love. For the pairing, I would rate it a 10/10, I loved the way they complimented each other and balanced out the flavors. This was my favorite pairing of the night and I am definitely going to have this pairing again.

Tasting - Sauvignon Blanc

Wine: William Hill Sauvignon Blanc

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2022

Price: $11.99

Online Review: This crisp, fruit-forward wine with refreshing tropical notes. Lively aromas of honeysuckle and lemongrass with a crip-clean finish. The palate echoes the nose with zesty fruit characteristics followed by a lovely touch of minerality. This Sauvignon Blanc is completely unoaked, which finishes bright with natural acidity and refreshes the palate.

My Review: I'm a bigger fan of white wines over reds, however, this one was a little too tart for me. I prefer my wines to be sweet, but this was a little sour. Even though I didn't love the sour lemon taste, I still enjoyed drinking this wine. I could smell and taste hints of lemon and also melon. I did appreciate that it wasn't high in tannins. I didn't eat any food with this wine. Overall, I would rate it an 8/10.

Wine Folly: As stated in the Wine Folly textbook, Sauvignon Blanc should be served cold and you don't need to decant it before drinking (page 181). Before drinking, I did not chill it, so I drank it at room temp. but that didn't bother me for this wine. The textbook also points out that Sauvignon Blanc is very high on the acidity level and low in tannins, both of which I recognized during this tasting. It is common for Californian Sauvignon Blancs to have lemongrass, peach, matcha, and buttered bread flavors incorporated in the wine (page 183). The wine I tried did have aromas of lemongrass but not any of the other flavors I just stated.

Tasting - Yellow Tail Chardonnay

Wine: Yellow Tail Chardonnay

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: South Eastern, Australia

Country: Australia

Year: 2023 

Price: $13.99

Online Review: Yellow Tail Chardonnay is a dry wine that boasts a full body and bright acidity, making it an excellent pairing for a wide range of dishes. With its distinct notes of fresh peach, melon flavors, and a hint of vanilla, this wine offers a complex yet approachable flavor profile that is sure to delight the palate.

My Review: I wasn't a huge fan of this wine, it was a little too acidic for me. Before tasting, it smelled like lemon to me. I didn't get the hints of vanilla or peach. I would've enjoyed the fruity notes, but I just couldn't taste it. I enjoyed that it was a full body and the fact that it wasn't that tannic. I did not have anything to eat with this wine. I would rate it a 7/10.

Wine Folly: The textbook recommends that you drink Chardonnay at 45-55 degrees Fahrenheit, but since I didn't chill it in the freezer, I put a couple of ice cubes in it to make it cold (page 110). I didn't decant it before drinking, the textbook says you don't need to. Also, Wine Folly recommends that you spend less than $40 on Chardonnay, which I did. However, I think next time I will spend a little more on a better wine. Chardonnay from California is often made riper, with tropical fruit and apple flavors (page 113). Although the bottle stated there are hints of melon and peach, it tasted more like lemon to me.

Tasting - Menage a Trois

Name: Menage a Trois California Red Blend

Variety: Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2021

Price: $9.50

Online Review: This wine exposes the fresh, ripe, jam-like fruit that is the calling card of California wine. Add pink to your cheeks with bold blackberry, ripe raspberry flavors, and firm tannins. A blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. To add complexity and retain character, each variety was fermented separately and then blended together before bottling.

My Review: This was the first blended wine I've had and it was better than expected. I liked that it wasn't too sweet, but also not too dry. As far as my first impression, I got hints of strawberry and blackberry. This wine had a lighter body and a silky finish. This was definitely one of the better red wines I've had. I didn't have food with this wine. Overall, I would rate this red blend an 8/10.

Wine Folly: I couldn't find a red blend in the textbook, so I read about the region this wine is from. California is famous for its bodacious, fruit-forward wine that focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir (page 399). This wine was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (also Zinfandel), and I could taste the fruity flavor. A lot of Californian Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel wines have notes of blackberry, which this wine had (page 402). In terms of wine, California is known for bold Cabernet Sauvignon and sweet Zinfandel.

Tasting - Merlot by Josh Cellars

 Name: Josh Cellars Merlot

Variety: Merlot

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2021

Price: $14.39

Online Review: Our Merlot is soft and inviting with balanced flavors of blueberry, raspberry, and milk chocolate and scents of fragrant violets and vanilla.

My Review: I mentioned in my initial blog post that I'm not a huge fan of red wine, so this one didn't taste that great to me. Before tasting, I smelt raspberry and chocolate. This wine was more tannic than sweet and it had a long finish. I didn't have food with this wine. I would rate this Merlot a 7/10.

Wine Folly: As stated in the Wine Folly textbook, I could taste the chocolaty finish and I could feel the tannins (page 192). The book recommended that you drink Merlot in an oversized glass at room temp. Unfortunately, I didn't have an oversized glass but I did drink it at room temp., and I cupped the glass so that my body heat could heat up the wine a bit. I spent under $15 which is what the book recommended, however, I didn't attempt to decant the wine for 30 minutes before tasting it.