If I had to choose one kind of food I had to eat for the rest of my life, it would be cheese. I've had some wine and cheese before but during those times I was not actively using my senses and knowledge to apply descriptions to what I was tasting. After conducting this assignment, I understand now that both the wine and cheese matter to the eating experience.
The cheeses I selected were a Saint Angel triple cream, Kraft mild cheddar, and a double cream Brie. The wines I selected were 2021 Pino Grigio from California that was 7.99$, a 2021 rosé from California that was 7.99$, and a 2021 Riesling from Germany that was 10.99$.
The way I conducted this tasting was I did the sniff and taste test with each wine, tried each cheese, and then I tried the first cheese with each wine, the second cheese with each wine, and so on.
Let's begin with each wine on its own beginning with wine number one, Pino Grigio. When conducting the sniff test, I first smelled a lot of green, like green grass, and green vegetables, with a little sour smell mixed in. When tasting, it was very dry and light, the taste lingered on the tongue. Specific notes are that it tasted very floral and green, like a cucumber. There was not a lot of acidity.
For wine number two, the rosé, the first smells were that it smelled very sweet like a warm spring day. It smelled of roses and ripe raspberries. When tasting, it was almost startlingly very mild, there was not a lot of flavor and the flavor that existed did not last long. There was a little acidity which came in the flavor of strawberries.
For wine number three, the riesling, there was not a lot to smell! Unlike the other wines in this tasting, the smell was very one dimensional and smelled on honey. The taste was quite sweet and it had an overwhelming mouth feel which tasted metallic. Honestly, it tasted like I was licking pennies. This was a little disappointing but thats what I get for falling for the marketing of the bottle. The bottle is in the shape of a cat! Can you blame me? It was too cute to pass up!
For the cheeses, cheese number one was the Saint Angel triple cream. I have never had Saint Angel before but WOW! It was incredibly decadent. It was so creamy that it was sticky. But it tasted of rich cream and had a little earthy taste.
The second cheese is the Kraft mild cheddar, I've had this cheese before, it's the cheese that us broke college students pick up when they need a cheese fix for cheap. It was very mild but did have a little signature cheddar sharpness.
The third cheese is the double cream Brie. Brie has been my favorite cheese for as long as I can remember. This cheese was creamy, very earthy, and had some mushroom flavors to it.
Now on to the pairings, starting with wine number one, Pino Grigio. I began with the Saint Angel, and it was actually very delicious! The flavor of the wine completely changed and the greenness of the wine compliments the sweet and creamy taste of the cheese. The wine definitely cuts through the richness of the cheese, which makes it very easy to eat. There was no bitterness or acidity with the pairing. For cheese number two, the mild cheddar, it was very jarring when tasting them together. The cheese is so mild and the acid of the wine is brought out and it feels like it’s curdling the cheese in your mouth. That is a sensation I will never forget. The green flavors disappear and there’s a bitter acidity that lingers in the mouth even after a few minutes. For the third cheese, the Brie, the pairing was not as palatable as the Saint Angel but it was still enjoyable. The creaminess of the cheese mellows out the wine and unlike with the Saint Angel, the wines floral notes come out. It tastes like smelling a daffodil, not too floral but you know you're smelling a daffodil. The cheese makes the wine taste very fresh and clean. It had a green apple taste and feel, like that tart mouth pucker feel but it's an enjoyable feeling.
Moving on to wine two, the rosé. Beginning with the Saint Angel. Both the wine and the cheese and quite sweet, with no bitterness. But tasting them together the wine becomes very bitter, and that bitterness lingers on the tongue. The aftertaste was not pleasant, it tasted like the aftertaste of throwing up, like that stomach acid type taste. The fruit notes of the wine disappear. The wine and cheese kind of clash in the mouth, never truly mixing. For the second cheese, the mild cheddar, the strawberry flavors are brought out immensely. The wine becomes more fresh and the sharpness of the cheddar increases with this wine. I felt like Remi the rat in the scene in Ratatouille when he tastes the cheese and strawberry together and fireworks go off in his head. The wine with the cheese is not as sweet but thats not a bad thing. The acidity is also brought out in the wine with the mildness of the cheddar. For the third cheese, the Brie, the immediate feel is a mouth pucker, but like a bad alcohol pucker that feels like you just took a shot of vodka. The cheese is earthy, the wine brings out the mushroom and earth flavors of the cheese. The wine doesn’t over power the cheese but I wouldn’t say it compliments it either. The strawberry taste leaves and it almost tasted like blackberries.
Finally, wine number three, the riesling. With the Saint Angel, my initial reaction was that the flavors of the wine and cheese do not blend, you can distinctly taste both. But the cheese changes the flavor of the wine and makes it taste like what the inside of a refrigerator smells like. It is not unpleasant but the wine does not cut down the cheese, it doesn't increase, it's just separate. But I will note that there’s also a floral note to the wine with the cheese, like of violets, fresh and green. For the mild cheddar, my first reaction was wow, the acidity is very pungent with the cheese. This cheese seems to bring the acidity of the wine out. The wine has no sweetness to it with the cheese, I can taste metallic flavors, and again, the aftertaste of throw up. This cheese almost makes this wine taste like a Chardonnay, it’s very acidic with the cheese. There was also a mouth pucker feel to it. For the Brie, the wine just cuts through the fattiness of the cheese, like an immediate cut but not in a pleasant way. The wine got rid of creaminess of the cheese, which is why I enjoy Brie, for the creaminess. Maybe I just don’t like this wine but it just tastes like pennies and refrigerator. The earthiness of the cheese is brought out by the wine and it turns very mushroomy but it is clear that the wine and cheese do not compliment each other.
My final thoughts are that by far my favorite pairing was the Pino Grigio and the Saint Angel. I'm the biggest fan of Pino Grigio but this pairing has changed my mind. My second favorite pairing was the rosé with the mild cheddar, I enjoyed the contrast of sweet and sharp, maybe next time I will go for a sharp cheddar and a rosé. For the riesling, I honestly just did not like the wine itself.
