Wine and Cheese Pairing Feb. 2022

Wine and Cheese Pairing

    
Me (Left) and my friend Paul (Right) at the Wine lab trying 
wine and cheese moments after meeting Prof. Boyer

                                                      Manchego, Gouda, and Goat Cheese
From left to right:




Pinot Noir

Without food, there were cherry notes, distinct berry smell, not too sweet, a little on the dry side, and it was a little acidic.

With the manchego, it was less dry and acidic which made for a more fruity/floral flavor and it seemed to pair really well.

With goat cheese, there were more earthy tones and a little nutty. It did not really pair well due to them both concealing the taste of the others.

With gouda it was really cheesy and not a lot of wine taste, especially the fruity flavor tasted like artificial cheese with the wine and was too overpowering the wine which made it not pair well.


Petit Sirah

Without food, there were notes of strawberry and other darker berries, more acidic than the Pinot Noir, dry and sweet but not too much of either.

With manchego, the acidity was diminished by a lot which made it a bit sweeter and fruitier and it paired very nicely.

With goat cheese, the cheese flavor was brought out more and didn’t cover up the taste of the wine too much, paired really well, neither the wine more cheese overpowered each other.

With gouda, made the cheese way sharper but in a great way, brought the spice out of the wine a lot and all in all paired really well, especially for the cheese.


Shiraz

With food, it was very tannic, notes of apple but mostly taste red berries and lots of spice

With manchego, it was even more tannic and acidic but in a great way. There were a lot of spices and with the combined increase of the tannins it literally opened my sinuses.

With goat cheese, it didn’t really do much for either the wine or cheese. However, the aftertaste of the cheese lingered and tasted very good.

With gouda, fruity notes come out a lot, it was less tannic and acidic, cheese tastes less sharp but not overpowered at all.

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