Griffin Gulps Grapes: March 2023

This is the second wine and cheese pairing I am writing about. This time, rather than having 3 wines and 5 cheeses and tasting every combination, we had three pairings total. The three pairings are as noted below.

Yellow Tail Pure Bright 2020 Chardonnay paired with Swiss cheese.
Bee You 2020 Riesling paired with Muenster.
Chateau Saint-Michel 2016 Bordeaux Supérieur paired with Gouda.

Name: Yellow Tail Pure Bright

Variety: Chardonnay

Country: Australia

Vintage: 2020

Price: $8

Fruity aromas paired with hay and floral notes. Buttery fruit flavor as well as a slight moss finish. Not too complex but pretty good for only $8.

Swiss Cheese Pairing:

The Swiss cheese was very mild, so the wine overpowered it a little, but the flavors did work well together. The creamy nature of the cheese as well as the slight funk paired nicely with the buttery flavor of the wine. It also made the wine a little more acidic.

Overall, this pairing was not bad, but a stronger cheese would have definitely benefited this wine. One of the other people at this tasting decided to taste some pepper jack cheese with this wine and she said the spice did not pair well with the sweet semi-dry wine.

Name: Bee You

Variety: Riesling

Region: Monterey Country, CA

Country: United States

Vintage: 2020

Price: $10

Floral and honeysuckle aromas as well as slightly fruity (raspberry) and bready. Flavors are very similar being sweet honey and floral. The alcohol comes through decently making it feel a little hot whilst still being sweet.

Muenster Cheese Pairing:

Similar to the Swiss cheese, the muenster was very mild in flavor, so the wine overpowered it a little. The sweet honey in the wine did compliment the creamy cheese making the wine a little sweeter and less acidic. I was very neutral to this pairing, as I tasted very little difference in the wine and the wine itself was a little sweeter than I usually enjoy. I know mild creamy cheeses often go well with sweet wine as the wine can balance out some of the richness of the cheese. However, for me this pairing was only alright.

Name: Chateau Saint-Michel Bordeaux Supérieur

Variety: Merlot

Region: Bordeaux

Country: France

Vintage: 2016

Price: $15

Aromas of dark berries and fruit such as blackberry and plum as well as an earthy/moss undertone. Very dry and tannic with flavors of black currant and plum. Definitely could have been aged a little longer or decanted.

Gouda Cheese Pairing:

Not only was this the wine and cheese I brought, but this was by far my favorite pairing of wine and cheese I've done yet. The wine was very tannic, so the salty, funky and very creamy cheese perfectly balanced out the tannins. The salt and funk also worked very well with the dark fruits. I did a little research when deciding the cheese to pair with the Bourdeaux I already had. As gouda is one of my favorite cheeses and also one of the recommended pairings with Merlot, I had to try them together.

Conclusions:

This was a pretty successful pairing not only due to the last pairing, but also since the first two taught me a little about what I can pick up when pairing wines. I learned that mild cheeses can be difficult to pair, and a mild wine might be necessary if you want significant differences. This is likely due to my inexperienced palate, but my preferences are very important for me to consider in my future wine drinking.

Griffin Gulps Grapes

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Wine Tasting - Elementalist - 2021 Pinot Grigio

Wine and Cheese Pairing 2

Wine Tasting - Castleridge Carneros - 2021 Chardonnay

Thursday, March 2, 2023

Wine Tasting - CK Mondavi and Family - 2021 Red Blend

Wine Tasting - Elementalist - 2021 Pinot Grigio

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