Wine and Cheese: A Family Affair

For my first post on wine and cheese pairings, I decided going home for Easter was a perfect time to

test my skills and knowledge on this subject. I chose three different cheeses for my family to try, along with three different wines we already had in the house. I chose a mild goat cheese, and chipotle gouda, and an Irish cheese. The three wines I used were a sauvignon blanc, a chardonnay, and a shiraz. Each of these wines and cheese presented a unique flavor combination.

The Cheverette Mild Goat Cheese alone was fairly bland. I really like goat cheese, but I was pretty disappointed with this particular cheese. It was smooth, but very tasteless. The saugvignon blanc caused the cheese to take on a slightly Parmesan flavor, but overall it really did not enhance the flavor very much. The chardonnay really made the cheese taste quite hard. I was surprised at how little flavor was coming through, it was just like chewing chardonnay. The shiraz made the cheese much smoother, and the block of cheese really took on the flavor of the shiraz.

Mild Goat Cheese, from Harris Teeter

Chipotle Gouda, from Harris Teeter

The next cheese I tried was Boar's Head Chipotle Gouda. This cheese by itself was delicious. I really enjoyed the Gouda flavors, with just a hint of chipotle to it. With the saugvignon blanc, the cheese was very spicy. It had quite a bite to it, and it left my throat burning. This was quite the opposite effect that the chardonnay had on the cheese. the chardonnay mellowed the cheese out, and it took away the serious bite to the cheese. It made the cheese have more of a heat to it, and it was quite smooth. The shiraz had a very interesting effect on the cheese. Well really the cheese had an interesting effect on the wine. I don't usually like shiraz, but with this chipotle gouda, I actually enjoyed the shiraz. The meshing of flavors was very good, and I actually really liked the pairing.

JoeL Gott Sauvignon Blanc 2013

The final cheese I tried with wine was Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese. This cheese was delicious by itself. It had a very nice smooth buttery finish to it. With the sauvignon blanc, this cheese became slightly sweeter, and the wine was enhanced. Overall it did not have a huge impact. The chardonnay made the cheese very sweet, and it really enhanced the buttery flavor of the cheese. The shiraz made the cheese much more bitter and hard.

Overall I really enjoyed most of these pairings. My favorite cheese was the chipotle gouda, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the shiraz with it.

McWilliam's Shiraz 2012

Lindeman's Bin 65 Chardonnay 2013