Wine and Cheese Pairing: Spring Break Edition

Welcome to my first wine and cheese pairing (starring me and my family)!  We had three wines (see below) and paired them with 3 cheeses: Havarti, Colby, and Cheddar.

Name: Chateau Ste. Michelle Harvest Select Sweet Riesling 

Variety: 100% Riesling

Region: Columbia Valley, Washington

Country: USA

Year: 2013

Price: $10

Winery Review: It offers beautiful crisp Washington Riesling character with rich flavors of ripe peaches.  The fresh fruit and decadent character is balanced with crisp acidity to keep the wine in harmony.  This is perfect patio sipping wine or would be a great match with Thai food.

Name: Espuela Del Gaucho Malbec

Variety: 100% Malbec

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Year: 2014

Price: $11

Winery Review: No other wine reflects the land of the Gaucho like this Argentinean Malbec. Rich flavors of dark carries and sultry notes of vanilla and chocolate, carrying this esteemed wine to a passionate finish, leaving one wishing that night would never end.

Name: Biltmore Cardinal's Crest Red Wine

Variety: "Rare Red Blend," unable to find specifics

Region: North Carolina

Country: USA

Year: NV

Price: $13

Winery Review: Soft and easy-to-drink with dried herb aromas, rich blackberry flavors, and smooth tannins.

Let's get started with the pairing!!

Just beautiful!

I started off with the Harvest Select Riesling and tasted it without any cheese first.  On the nose I smelled lemon and a hint of floral.  On the palate, I tasted a bit of peaches and noticed that the wine was very light and with little tannins.  Eating the Havarti cheese with this wine was simply delicious! I noticed that the wine became a little sweeter and detected more tropical fruits.  The wine also seemed more crisp.  With the Colby cheese, I was able to notice that the wine seemed to have a distinct beginning, midpalate, and finish, but I was not able to pinpoint these exact flavors.  When I tried the Cheddar cheese with the Riesling, I found this was my least favorite cheese to pair with the wine.  The sharpness of the cheddar and the sweetness did not seem to fit as well together as the Havarti or the Colby.  Pairing the Havarti with the Riesling was definitely the best choice for this wine.

Emma wanted in on all of the fun

 Next up was the Malbec!  The first thing I noticed about the Malbec was the beautiful violet and ruby colors.  The picture above does not do it justice! On the nose and the palate I detected red fruits.  The wine was smooth with very little tannins and a bit of acidity toward the finish.  When I tried the Malbec with the Havarti cheese, I found that the wine did not have as fruity of a taste and that the wine seemed a little more acidic toward the end.  But for one reason or another, I still liked this pairing!  Next up was the Colby cheese.  I found that even though there was still some acidity in the wine, the Colby made this Malbec have a smoother finish than the Havarti did.  Finishing up with the Cheddar cheese, I found the Malbec to have a lighter feel in my mouth and I think it actually brought out some of the fustiness of the wine a little more.  Overall, I think all 3 cheeses worked fairly well with this Malbec, but maybe there are a few other cheeses I will need to find to get the perfect match.

Look at those legs! And our Easter decorations...

Last on the list was the Biltmore Cardinal's Crest.  Before eating any cheese, I smelled and sipped this wine.  On the nose, I could tell right off the bat how potent this wine was.  It seemed a nutty aroma was taking over what was supposed to be fruit.  To be fair, this bottle was not newly opened that night, but the flavor was still surprising to me. On the palate, the flavor was bitter, acidic, and the tannins were noticeable.  I went to the cheeses to see what they could do with the wine.  I started off again with the Havarti cheese again and this seemed to help some of the bitterness I was feeling when the wine was by itself, but it still did not seem to completely change the wine.  Next up was the Colby cheese, which was not a great pairing at all.  The wine's flavored seemed even more bitter and it was hard to get the wine down.  Finally, the Cheddar cheese seemed to help out the wine's acidity and flavor a little bit, but not as much as the Havarti.  This is a wine I will need to try again newly-opened to make more accurate and fair observations.

Smelling the Cardinal's Crest and hoping the Cheddar will be a fit...

Overall, I consider this wine and cheese pairing night to be a success! I have only ever tried one wine and cheese together at a time so it was a great experience to mix and match and see which cheese complement which wines.  I will definitely need to do another one of these in the future!