Wine and Cheese Pair Nicely With Staying Indoors

My two good friends and I decided that although the cold weather can hold us indoors, it doesn't have to stop our fun on a weekend night.  We came together and paired three different wines with three different cheeses.  The wines were as follows:

•Name: Rubus
•Variety: Rosado Prieto Picudo
•Region: Tierra de Lion
•Country: Spain
•Year: N/V
•Price: $3.95
•Review: "Bright clean strawberry rose color.　In the nose it is intense and fresh, with strawberry aromas and slight citric hints. In the mouth it is fresh, strong and tasty, emphasizing a delightful tingle due to its carbonic residuals. The name Prieto Picudo means "tight & pointy" (more or less). This is due to the tightly formed bunches and the slightly oval/pointy shape of the grapes. The bunch shape is reminiscent of Tempranillo; the berries are thick skinned, and dark blue-black in color. Prieto Picudo is well adapted to the difficult growing conditions in Castilla y León province - not a lot of rain, very cold winters and scorching hot summers. The vines tend to relatively low yields, with lots of color, concentration and good acidity. Also, it's the same grape as Alfrocheiro Preto in Portugal. Alfrocheiro is an important variety in Dão region of Portugal." - Vintage Cellar

•Name: San Elias Carmenere
•Variety: Carmenere
•Region: Valle Central
•Country: Chile
•Year: 2014
•Price: $6.95
•Review: "This medium-bodied red offers roasted plum, kirsch, sage and game notes, with light tannins supporting the spicy finish." - Vintage Cellar

•Name: Canyon Road Pinot Nior
•Variety; Pinot Nior
•Region: California
•Country: USA
•Year: N/V
•Price: $6.95
• Review: "Rich, fruit forward cherry flavors, soft tannins, a medium body and a smooth velvety finish. Pairs well with creamy soups, salmon, and savory pork dishes." - Vintage Cellar

Rachel begins the palate experience

The first wine up was the Rubus. Blue cheese and honey on cracker paied with the Rubus was interesting... The honey was too sweet with the rose and the blue cheese overpowered the wine.  The rubus was way too sweet to even try to pair with anything.  The best thing that paired with it was the dried cranberries, but these only helped as a chaser.  I was disappointed in this wine for this project, but I know next time I need to stick to mainly red wines. It couldn't hold up against any of the taste profiles of the cheese.

Danny found the Pinot to be best with the goat cheese.

The Carmenere on its own was a bit acidic, but after a little time it opened up and brought out more floral notes and hints of plum.  I tasted ripe cherries and a hint of red delicious apple. The bright violet red color in the glass resembled a bouquet of exotic flowers and set the tone of expectation for this wine.  The gouda and the Carmenere were so creamy together that it was like a seven dollar wine had became a twenty dollar bottle. The cheese gets creamier and the wine lost its acidity (which is great).  The blue cheese with honey on a cracker with the Carmenere was the next combination.  It cut the initial taste but didn't break the acidity down to what I would like.  Goat cheese and Carmenere followed with an amazing texture on the tongue.  The velvety smoothness washed over my palate and balanced the tannins out very nicely.

The cheese went quicker than we thought. The pizza saved it. 

Canyon Road Pinot Noir was the next wine to pair with the cheeses.  It had been open for a few days and upon tasting it unpaired, it has opened up tremendously which offered a boost of confidence for what came next.  The first cheese that it was paired with was the Gouda. There were similar results as with the Carmenere in both the mouth feel and the initial tasting. The cheese lingered in my mouth a bit more than expected and seemed to add to the residual taste of the wine. The blue cheese with honey and the Pinot Nior were good, but had the honey not been there, the Pinot Nior would not have been able to handle the intense flavor.  In tastings to come, I will try to pair the blue cheese with a bolder red wine, possibly a Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon. The goat cheese paired with the pinot nior was also very enjoyable. The texture was the biggest improvement that I noticed but the sweetness of the goat cheese also complimented nicely.  I enjoyed the pinot on its own and I couldn't tell by the end of the wine tasting if I liked the wine and the cheese together better, or if I was just really enjoying the cheese, and it was adding to the experience of the wine.

Even Grover found his kibbles to pair nicely with a stick

Everyone who participated enjoyed the event (with exception of the Rubus) and we brainstormed what we could change for the next time.  Someone mentioned trying to open up a bigger flavored bottle of red when pairing with the blue cheese and I will keep my eye out for one to turn up.  My other friend also wanted to try tasting with a muenster cheese.  We found that lighter wines such as a pinot gris or a gruner veltliner might hold up well against it.  I personally would like to try the difference between  goudas and a particular wine.  As the dutch say, "jong belegen, belegen, and extra belegen which just measure the age at which the cheese has been aged (4 weeks, 10 weeks, or many months).  Overall, this was a great experience and I learned what I could do better next time.