Wine and Cheese Pairing

On Friday night I got together with a few friends to pair some wine and cheese. We bought three different wines from Kroger, and found six cheeses in Kroger's cheese section, which was far more extensive than I thought. We didn't really look up any recommended pairings beforehand because we wanted to try some solid experimentation (though one friend had learned online that Merlot and Gouda is supposed to pair well). 

The wines:

Name: Evodia Garnacha
Variety: Garnacha
Region: Calatayud 
Country: Spain
Year: 2012
Price: $8.99 
ABV: 14%

My review: The garnacha is very peppery and loud, as well as a little funky. However, the flavor doesn't back up the smell. It has a very thin body. 

Name: Menage a Trois Merlot
Variety: Merlot
Region: Napa Valley, California
Country: United States of America
Year: 2012
Price: $7.99 
ABV: 13.8%

My review: Peppery on the nose like the garnacha, but with far more dark fruit aromas, mostly blackberry it seems. Heavier, drier body than the Evodia, much to my liking. Fruitier aroma comes out in the flavor as well. 

Name: Rex Goliath Sauvignon Blanc
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: California
Country: United States
Year: No Year
Price: $4.99 
ABV: 12.8%

My review: Strong peach on the nose, slightly acidic smelling, but ultimately transfers to pear and apple flavors, that even in it's rather warm state is really not bad. We have kept it warm so it will taste the same throughout our wine and cheese session. 

The cheeses:

Mirabo Walnut

Stella Romano

Bel Paese Italian 

Il Giardino Ricotta Salata Sheep's Milk

Maple Leafe Geliefde Gouda

French Brie

There was no real order to our pairings, but by the end of the night we had paired each wine with each cheese. It was truly an eye-opening experience: the already-complex world of wine was essentially doubled with the addition of the complex world of cheese.

Our setup:

To easily keep track of which wines and cheeses I had tried, I assigned letters and numbers to each wine and cheese:

1 - Mirabo Walnut

2 - Stella Romano

3 - Bel Paese Italian

4 - Il Giardino Ricotta Salata Sheep's Milk

5 - Maple Leaf Geliefde Gouda

6 - French Brie

A - Evodia Garnacha

B - Menage a Trois Merlot

C - Rex Goliath Sauvignon Blanc

6A: The brie is coated in black pepper, so it goes well with the somewhat peppery garnacha. The thinness of the garnacha also works with the creaminess of the brie.

4A: Kind of boring. A very crumbly cheese with a very thin wine is a weak and boring mouthfeel. the flavors subtly work together but the overall body overshadows this.

4B: The merlot goes great with sheep's milk ricotta. The cheese brings out a smokiness in the wine, and the wine accentuates and elevates the cheese's flavor.

6B: The flavors certainly clash. Brie seems overly creamy for the merlot. The augmented pepperyness is nice, but somehow out of place.

5B: Gouda by itself is wonderful. Merlot definitely brings out the smokiness as more of a pleasant skunkiness, or a more peppered smokiness. 

6C: The fruitiness of the sauvignon blanc dulls the pepperyness of the brie. Creaminess and thinness goes well together but the overall flavors don't really mix. 

2C: Worst pairing so far. The extremely hard and dry romano simply does not work with the light and fruity boozy white wine. Has some weird potential... but just not good. 

5C: Clashing flavors. The tolerable skunkiness that came out with the melot is just strange with the sauvignon blanc. 

4C: Great, great pair. Somehow the crumblyness and the light white wine work together. In addition to the overall body, the flavors definitely complement each other. 

3C: Combining the acidity and creaminess work well together, and the flavors by themselves are great, but they just don't really combine or belong together. 

3B: Amazing. The thin merlot and creamy, soft cheese are so complimentary. The cheese dulls the spiciness of the merlot, and the flavors inherently work well with each other. 

2B: Pretty good. Flavors are not perfect pieces of the puzzle but certainly can work. The merlot brings out a slight sharpness in the cheese that clashes with the peppery booze of the wine.

2A: Flavors definitely combine, spiciness with this cheese's sharpness is surprisingly good, given that I didn't think the last pairing was perfect. But again thin wine and hard cheese is not that great. Also I like this wine a lot more now that it's been opened a few hours.

3A: Not bad, flavors work well more than anything, but don't have much to say about it.

5A: Not necessarily comparable flavors but they force themselves to work together. 

1A: Cheese by itself is very earthy and moldy. Wine saves the pairing through its spiciness, mellows the moldiness. The cheese almost needs the wine, otherwise it's too salty and sour. 

1B: Pretty much felt the same as with the garnacha, given it has aired out a bit to be a little more like the merlot.

1C: Absolutely terrible. The sour cheese is simply accentuated by the acidity of the sauvignon blanc. 

Here are a few more pictures from the night, the first one is of me:

Overall it was just an incredibly enlightening experience. One world I have learned a good amount about combine with a new world I knew nothing about made for some great experimenting and was a learning experience with a steep curve. It's all about getting out there and just trying new things!