Wine and Cheese Pairing Due 4/14

 To start off this blog I can't say I'm the biggest fan of cheese, but from what I've learned so far in this class is that wine makes everything better. So I decided to try out this wine and cheese pairing. Who knows maybe I'll start trying cheese with wine more often. 

The three wines I chose for this activity were a local wine from a vineyard in NoVa which was a Hillsborough vineyards Petit Verdot 2020. Next was a red blend from Mendoza, Argentina called Clos de los Siete 2020. This red blend was over 50% of Malbec. Lastly, the third wine I selected was a Gardino Cellars Sunset white table wine from Virginia. 

The cheeses I chose to try with these wines were soft-ripened Camembert cheese, creamy honey goat cheese, and Saint Agur Blue Cheese from France. All of which I've never tried before and thought would be good and hopefully pair well with each wine.

Started off with the Petit Verdot alone without the cheese it had a light body, dry, and slightly acidic. With notes of pear, apple, citrus, honey, and strawberry. Overall, a good wine by itself. With the Camembert, it paired well with the creamy slightly sweet cheese. The hints of fig-flavored cheese brought out the fruity flavors of the wine that I didn't expect. The blue cheese was definitely the worst pairing it clashed with the citrus of the wine and overpowered the light fruitiness of the wine. The honey goat cheese surprisingly took second place with the honey from the cheese enhancing the honey notes from the wine. 

Next, was the Malbec blend (red). This wine alone is by far one of my favorites. You can never go wrong with any Malbec!! (not bias or anything :) ). Alone the wine has the primary flavors of plum, blackberry, vanilla, cocoa, and sweet tobacco. It had a full body, dry, medium tannins, and medium-low acidity. The best pairing was with the blue cheese it enhanced the fruitiness of the Malbec and was all-around outstanding. None of the flavors from the cheese clashed with the unique Malbec flavor. The other two cheeses were too sweet. The Camembert's fig flavor overpowered the flavor of tobacco from the wine. The sweetness from the goat cheese together with the notes of plum and blackberry was too much in my opinion. Not the best pairing for a Malbec. 

Lastly, was the Petit Verdot. Alone the wine has the primary flavors of cherry, plum, and light notes of violet, lilac, and sage. With a full body, dry, high tannins, and medium-high acidity. By far the best pairing with this wine was the Blue cheese. Although I would never eat blue cheese alone the pungent flavor of the blue cheese complimented the bold fruity flavors of the wine and enhanced the smoothness and floral aspect. The honey goat cheese was an alright pairing. The honey cut the dryness of the wine a little making it slightly sweeter. Not sure if I didn't like it or if it was my mind just not being used to trying this kind of wine. The Camembert took last place of the three cheeses for this wine. The creaminess of the cheese clashed with the acidic flavors of the wine. 

Overall, had a great time trying to pair each wine and cheese and taking notes of what tasted better. Although I never saw myself saying I'd try Blue cheese again in my life. If it is paired with a Malbec I'd gladly take a stab at that pungent cheese.