wine and cheese

 My friend Justin and I did a wine and cheese pairing this week and it went really well. The three wines we used were Purple Rain made with concord grapes, Spring Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, and La petite Pepriere Pinot Noir. The three cheeses we used were sharp cheddar, blue cheese, and Brie. 

    The first pairing we did was the Spring Creek and sharp cheddar. The sharp cheddar was very smooth and was my favorite of the three cheeses. The sharp cheddar felt and tasted like a very heavy dairy cheese. Now the Spring Creek Cabernet Sauvignon from California had a very berry and fruity aroma. The taste of the Spring creek was very earthy by itself and was a little dry. Now when we put the two together it changed the flavor of the wine. The wine tasted so much better. I believe the smooth and heavy dairy texture of the cheddar balanced out the earthiness of the wine. The wine went down very smooth and left more of a fruity flavor behind.  

    The second pairing we did was the purple rain and blue cheese. The blue cheese had some spice to it and was not as smooth as the cheddar. The blue cheese felt like it had less dairy in it than the cheddar did. The blue cheese also had a tangy taste. The purple rain had a softer berry aroma than the spring creek and had a hint of vanilla like aroma as well. The purple rain was a very unique taste to it. It tasted like an alcoholic grape juice. This wine was also sweet which surprised me because of the high alcohol volume.  This wine is from Ohio and made with concord grapes. I have never had a wine like this, but I will have it again because it was so good alone. These two together worked very well. The earthiness from the blue cheese destroys the acidity and the little bitterness of the wine making it taste like straight grape juice.

    The third pairing we did was the brie and the La petite Pepriere Pinot Noir. The brie had a very stringy creamy texture to it. The brie tased very stringy as well with a harden shell on the outside. It was not my favorite cheese. The Pinot Noir from France had a very earthy aroma and smelled like cut grass on a summer's afternoon.  It also had a berry and a hint of vanilla aroma as well. The flavor of the Pinot Noir was a dry and earthy flavor, it was also very dry. When paired together the brie helped lessen the acidity of the wine. This could be because of the creamy texture of the brie is more powerful than the earthiness of the wine. However, I am not a fan of the cheese nor the wine but the combination of the two worked. Als, even though the cheese balanced out the acidity the acidity was still strong.  

    This was a fun project to do and working with a friend helped the cost of the wine and cheese. I will do this again because I had so much fun doing this. I will have to use maybe a sparkling wine next time because those are my favorite wines. Here are some pictures from the pairing.