Angeline Pinot Noir California 2020; grape variety is Pinot Noir. Country of origin United States in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County. Vintage year is 2020. The price was $8.99 from Total Wine. It is a split bottle. The descriptors from total wine included, "berries, cola, tea and spice." Descriptors from Wine Folly on page one hundred, include "cranberry, cherry, raspberry, clove and mushroom." What I took away from this wine was, that it was very dry, and it reminded me of soy sauce when I did the chewing method. I'm not necessarily sure where soy sauce came from, but I was having a hard time getting any type of flavoring other than rubbing alcohol, so when I did the chewing method, I noticed that.
Mbali Chenin Blanc/ Viognier 2022; a blended wine, the grape varieties are Chenin Blanc/Viognier. This blend is from South Africa and the Western Cape region. The vintage year is 2022. The price was $7.99 from Trader Joes. Trader Joes did not have any descriptors available. However, I did ask if there were any sweeter wines that they could recommend to me. According to Wine Folly, on page eighty-two, Chenin Blanc has "Lemon, Yellow Apple, Pear, Honey, Chamomile" flavors. Wine Folly gives Viognier wines a flavor of "Tangerine, Peach, Mango, Honeysuckle, Rose" on page seventy-eight. This was one of the sweeter wines of the three with the cheese pairing. My descriptors were of a sweet peach and since it is blended with a Chenin Blanc, I can see how some of my descriptors were something along the lines of "tart fruit" or a literal "dessert tart."
Cook's California Champagne Brut; variety of grape is Champagne, the country of origin is the United States, there is no vintage year on the bottle. The price was $2.29 at Total Wine. There were no descriptors of the wine at Total Wine. On page forty-eight of Wine Folly, the descriptors of Champagne include, "Citrus, Peach, White Cherry, Almond, and toast." The descriptors I had for this wine included, were buttery and citrus. It reminded me of having a piece of buttered toast with something like strawberry or raspberry jam. I found it to be very enjoyable.
When it came to trying these wines with the cheeses, I bought it was a great way for me to see what I can enhance and correct the next time I make a charcuterie board. I had one cherry goat cheese, a fine herbs goat cheese and a brie cheese.
When drinking the Champagne, with the cherry goat cheese, I overall did not think the two were a very good match, which I found surprising since I tasted a buttery flavor in the champagne. I thought it could've tasted like a really good pasty. Instead, they contrasted, and I tasted a certain blue cheese type flavor, which I was not expecting. With the herbs and goat cheese this sparkling wine was amazing with it. The cheese has a great dill flavor to me that was truly enhanced with this sparkling wine. It tasted like a fresh sprig of dill to me when I paired them together. The cheese and wine went well together even though the cheese is on the savory side. This surprised me. This wine with the brie cheese was nothing too special. Nothing really special stood out to me, it was almost flavorless, but this is because I was comparing it to having it with the herb goat cheese.
The Mbali with the cherry goat cheese was a great balance of sweetness for me. No one overpowered the other. It was a great pairing. I think the slight tartness of the wine was a good way to counteract the sweet creaminess of the cherry goat cheese. The Mbali and the herb goat cheese was surprisingly good, as no one overpowered the other with these two as well. It was interesting to see how a sweeter wine did well against a savory cheese. The peachy flavor I had with it did well with the aromatics of the herbs on the cheese. The brie cheese was good, although it did tone down the sweetness of the wine. I suppose this could be a good fit for someone who doesn't like sweeter wines and it is looking to calm it down.
The Pinot Noir was my least favorite wine altogether out of the three, however it paired with the wines quite okay for the most part. With the cherry goat cheese, this wine was toned down in regard to the dryness, which I enjoyed. With the herb cheese it was great as well, the dryness with this cheese complimented each other well. I think the dill aromas helped with any flavors of the Pinot Noir that I wasn't necessarily fond of. Lastly, the brie cheese with this wine, didn't have a big change for me. This brie cheese that was a part of this pairing was not a sweet brie. It was very middle of the road, so the taste of the wine really did not change for me much when I was pairing these two together, which I was not too happy about because I'm not a fan of dry red wines.
This cheese and wine pairing was a great opportunity for me and I'm glad I was able to do it. I will take everything I wrote down and noted along with me the next time I do this.
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