Wine and Cheese Pairing 2

    For this wine and cheese pairing, I invited my friends Emily and Ayush. Emily is not a big wine drinker so she was here for the cheeses, but Ayush likes wine even more than I do!

 The 3 cheeses I chose were a Sharp Reserve Cheddar, an Elderflower Cheddar, and a Brie Fermier. I also chose to pair them with Nate's honey, sopressata salami, blackberries, strawberries, petit toasts, and crackers. 

 

  I accidentally left the brie in the microwave a *LITTLE* too long, so this is what we were dipping into for that cheese:

 

  The 3 wines I chose were a Lamarca prosecco, Stella Rosa low alcohol blueberry wine, and an Ogio Sparkling Rose.

    Here are my thoughts about the wine individually, and as pairings with each of the cheeses:

Lamarca Prosecco:

    Ayush said this wine tasted like a white claw. Carbonated with a light body, acidic, not sweet, and not tannic at all due to it being a sparkling white. It has a faint taste of white grapes and aftertastes of blackberries. Extremely light straw coloration.

     Brie:  This sparkling wine doesn’t compliment the brie, brings out the stinky sock flavor in the cheese and gets ride of the creaminess that makes it pleasant to eat. This doesn't make sense, because according to pg. 60 of Wine Folly, delicate, buttery cheeses like brie should pair well with sparkling wines.

    Elderflower: This wine does not compliment the elderflower well, it brings out the acidity in the prosecco and makes it overbearing. This doesn't make sense, because according to pg. 60 of Wine Folly, fruity, umami cheeses like cheddar should pair averagely with sparkling wines.

    Reserve cheddar: This wine compliments the cheddar well, cleanses the palate of the aftertaste but doesn’t completely mask the yummy saltiness of the cheese. For the assessments with Wine Folly for this cheese, I am going to consider it a "dry, salty umami" cheese instead of where cheddar is usually listed under "fruity, umami" cheese due to its crunchy and saltiness. This makes sense because according to pg. 60 of Wine Folly, dry, salty umami cheeses should pair well with sparkling wines.

Stella Rosa Blueberry Wine:

    Nose of blueberries, taste of red grapes and blueberries. Slightly sweet, slightly acidic, no tannic astringency, with a light body. This wine is pretty simple to assess because the taste is in the name- blueberries! Dark concord grape purple coloration.

    Brie: The blueberry flavor of the wine completely overpowers the flavor and creaminess of the brie, but not a terrible pairing, would be good as a palate cleanser. This makes sense because according to pg. 60 of Wine Folly, delicate, buttery cheeses like brie should pair averagely with light-bodied red wines.

    Elderflower: This wine is a good pairing with elderflower cheese, the flavors of blueberry and elderflower compliment each other well and it doesn’t detract from the creaminess of the cheese. This makes sense because according to pg. 60 of Wine Folly, fruity, umami cheeses like cheddar should pair averagely with light-bodied red wines.

    Reserve cheddar: This wine was a good pairing with the reserve cheddar, the flavors of blueberry and the saltiness of the cheese compliment each other well and the sweetness of the wine is not overpowering. This makes sense because according to pg. 60 of Wine Folly, dry, salty umami cheeses should pair averagely with light-bodied red wines.

 

Ogio Sparkling Rose:

    This wine was sweet, acidic, tasted like white grapes and strawberry with a light body. This wine is carbonated so there was very little nose other than the smell of the CO2. Very light mandarin/salmon coloration.

    Brie: This wine made me want to throw up with the brie, terrible pairing. I think it just increased the stinky flavor and clashes with the sweetness of the wine. This doesn't make sense, because according to pg. 60 of Wine Folly, delicate, buttery cheeses like brie should pair well with sparkling wines and averagely with rose wines.

    Elderflower: A good pairing, the flavors of the wine and cheese don’t overpower each other but compliment each other well and enhance the elderflower flavor of the cheese. This makes sense because according to pg. 60 of Wine Folly, fruity, umami cheeses like cheddar should pair averagely with sparkling and rose wines.

    Reserve cheddar: When this wine is paired with the cheddar, it cleanses the palate completely of the wonderful saltiness of the cheese, which is why I personally don't like this pairing, while it isn't extremely offensive like the brie. This makes sense because according to pg. 60 of Wine Folly, dry, salty umami cheeses should pair well with sparkling wines and averagely with rose wines.