Wine Cheese Pairing #3

Wine and Cheese Pairing #3
March 26, 2023
By: Lucy Becker

For the wine and cheese pairing, I had over my friends Katie and Justin. Hope you enjoy a picture of my BeReal from that night. I supplied the wines, Justin brought the cheeses, and Katie brought some fruit that we also tried to eat with the wine. We attempted different methods of pairing, where we ate the cheese separately, before, and after a sip of wine.

The wines we drank were:

• Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 
• Malbec
• Sweet Peach

The cheeses we paired the wine with were:

• Gouda - semi hard cheese; a more mild, soft, and almost sweet taste and texture; rich, nutty, caramelly taste, often reminiscent of butterscotch; best on sandwiches or crackers
• Gruyère - known for its rich, creamy, salty, and nutty flavor; hard Swiss cheese
• Manchego - intense, zesty taste and a crumbly texture that's rich, full and slightly salty at the finish

Frontera - Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot (1883)

$12 (from Costco)

Con hay Toro, Chile

• Gouda: I originally tried eating the cheese and cracker individually, and enjoyed it very much. However, when I ate the cheese and had a bit left in my mouth when I took a sip of wine, the cheese made the wine very tart. On the other hand, I thought the wine helped the flavor of the cheese after a sip of wine.
• Gruyère: There was a noticeably bold flavor of the cheese after taking a sip of wine. However, when I drank the wine after the cheese, my mouth was very dry.
• Manchego: This cheese I was not a fan of during the entire tasting process. I thought the cheese was very basic - sort of like a cheddar. This cheese made the wine very dull, it didn’t matter if we drank wine before or after taking a bit of cheese.

Alamos - Malbec (2021)

$7 (from Costco)

Mendoza, Argentina 

• Gouda: Yum Yum Yum! Gouda cheese with Malbec is…chef's kiss. Out of the wines with the cheeses, this was my favorite pair. I believe the wine and cheese complimented each other really well. There was a rich, bold flavor coming from both the cheese and wine.
• Gruyère: This cheese is not different from before. However, when I ate the cheese before drinking wine, it lost a lingering taste of the wine a bit. Which is good…not complaining. 
• Manchego: Similar to what I said earlier, this cheese was not my favorite. I think the wine remained the same, throughout the entire process, however, I do think the Malbec wine made this cheese a bit more bold flavored.

Pacific Fruit - Sweet Peach

$6 (from Aldi)

Modesto, California

• Gouda: This wine really brings out the cheese. I think the sweetness of both the wine and the cheese helps with the overall flavor. I actually think the cheese makes the sweetness of wine a little less peach-y.
• Gruyère: This was not my cup of tea, or I guess I should say not my glass of wine. I do not think neither the wine nor cheese match or compliment each other well.
• Manchego: I think the sweetness of the wine helped bring out the cheese a bit. It didn’t matter if we ate the cheese before or after a sip of wine. The sweetness gave the cheese a bit of flavor in a contradicting way.