Wine and Cheese Pairing #2

This week, my group tried some new wine and cheese pairings. We didn't look for specific pairings like last time, instead just getting a plate of cheeses and three wines we wanted to try. The cheese plate can be seen below. We tried the wines with muenster, sharp cheddar, and gruyere - we did not try them with the pepper jack since we thought it probably wouldn't go well with anything.

Our selections of wine and cheese

Mille Prosecco

This cute bottle of prosecco presented a light apple and citrus aroma and was incredibly light-bodied, but I did not note much taste due to the bubbles.

Muenster: I noted a higher acidity or bite in the wine with the muenster - I did not like this pairing.

Sharp Cheddar: It did not affect the wine very much, they went well together but nothing special.

Gruyere: In my notes, I simply wrote, "It did something, and I liked it." I couldn't place what exactly changed, but it was a little sweeter and lighter.

Josh Chardonnay

This Chardonnay presented a sweet aroma of apple and pear. When trying it by itself, I was disappointed to find that it was much drier and acidic than the aroma let on. It did leave a creamy aftertaste, which I liked.

Muenster: I found that the aftertaste was more creamy - I liked this pairing.

Sharp Cheddar: The wine became much more acidic and the cheese more bitter - not a good pairing, but not the worst.

Gruyere: Not good at all. Not worth trying.

Taylor Port

My group and I were excited to try Port after hearing so much about it throughout the lectures, but we were extremely disappointed with this bottle. It had a rich and sweet cherry aroma, but tasted like cherry NyQuil - not good.

Muenster: It brought out the sugar in the wine, but not in a good way.

Sharp Cheddar: The cheddar became sharper, but the wine was just as bad.

Gruyere: I disliked this pairing the most - it just did not taste good at all, so I swallowed it as quickly as possible because I try not to waste.

Our tasting group!