Wine has always been known to go well with cheese, but I can't say I've ever spent the time tasting them together. 2 of my friends and I decided to select 3 wines and 5 cheeses to taste together and take some notes on their combinations.
- Pioneiro Vinho Tinto
- Raza Vinho Verde
- Alain De La Treille Vouvray Chenin Blanc
Cheese:
- Cranberry Cinnamin Goat Cheese
- Dill Havarti
- Smoked Cheddar
- Smoked Gouda
- Honey Goat Cheese
I'll start with my tasting/aroma notes of the wines before we paired them with cheese.
Name: Pioneiro Vinho Tinto
Variety: Castelao (60%), Aragones (30%), Syrah (10%)
Region: Vinho Regional Peninsula De Setubal
Country: Portugal
Vintage: 2020
Price: $12.98
Buttery aromas with prune and plastic (which wasn't a bad thing in this case). Full body flavor that gave wood and bourbon as well as some olive.
Name: Raza Vinho Verde
Variety: Arinto (50%), Azal (35%), Trajadura (15%)
Region: DOC
Country: Portugal
Vintage: 2021
Price: $10.99
Gold color with acid aromas of green apple, lime and maybe mint. Similar flavors of green apple but very fresh and semi-tannic.
Variety: Chenin Blanc
Region: Grands Vins De La Vallee De La Loire
Country: France
Vintage: 2021
Price: $12.99
Sweet apple aroma with subtle wood and yeast/bread. Flavors of sweet fruit and pineapple as well as a smooth honey finish.
Now on to the wine and cheese pairings. We tasted every combination of wine/cheese (15 total pairings) and took note of how the cheese affected the flavors of the wine.
Pioneiro Vinho Tinto:
The cranberry goat cheese did not eliminate the plastic taste but did overpower the rest of the wine flavors ultimately resulting in a not great pairing. I could tell that it would be very difficult to pair this cheese with anything other than a dessert wine. The dill Havarti made the red blend taste drier, but the dill worked decently well with the wood finish. The smoked cheddar and smoked gouda both unsurprisingly added a nice smoked flavor to the already existing wood flavor but did not work well with the rest of the flavors. The smoked gouda however did lose a bit of its buttery components ultimately making the wine feel less smooth. Finally, similar to the cranberry goat cheese, the honey goat cheese blocked most of the flavor in the wine leaving only the flavor of cheese in your mouth after swallowing.
This wine ended up being the least well paired wine of the night, but we may have just had the best cheese to pair with it. We also discussed that this wine may just be better on its own or with food we didn't try.
Raza Vinho Verde:
The Raza was probably the best wine overall to pair with these cheeses (minus the cranberry cheese that didn't pair with any of them). The cranberry goat cheese made this wine taste more acidic and more of green apple but the cinnamon in the cheese overpowered the rest. The Dill Havarti made it taste very herbal and less fruity. The two smoked cheeses removed much of the acidic green apple flavor and balanced well with the wine. These were probably two of the better pairings of the night. Finally, the honey goat cheese kept the tingly green apple flavor but removed some of the acidity which was an interesting combination.
Vouvray Chenin Blanc:
The Chenin Blanc had the pairing that most surprised me mainly due to the unexpected flavor. The Dill Havarti made the wine taste almost of blue cheese and vegetative mold. This may sound unappealing, but I liked the funky flavor. Also surprisingly, the cranberry goat cheese did not overpower this wine. The cranberry made the Chenin Blanc taste sweeter, but I still wouldn't say it paired well. The smoked cheddar was an alright pairing that made the wine taste slightly less sweet. The Smoked gouda on the other hand was a good pairing since it made the wine taste smoother and slightly less fruity. Finally, the honey goat cheese highly overpowered the wine and made it taste very sweet.
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