Wine and Cheese Pairing Blog

Wine and Cheese Pairing at Blacksburg Wine Lab🧀🍷

My friends and I went to Blacksburg Wine Lab and had a flight and paired it with three different cheeses. Overall, it was very delicious, fun to try, and a nice experience out!

Wine 🍷 

I got the "white light flight" from Blacksburg Wine Lab. The first wine was Colleleva Verdicchio from Italy and the vintage year is 2021. This one was super light, fresh, crisp, and refreshing. This was really nice because it was chilled before being poured and it was so refreshing on my palette. It tasted acidic on its own but not unbearable. I was really enjoying it drinking on its own because of how crisp it was. It was light on the nose, smelt a little like lemons/limes similar to that sort of citric acid. In this wine, I didn't taste any floral notes, mostly just acidic flavors and aromas. 

The second wine of the flight was Micheal Shaps Viognier from Virginia and the vintage is 2021. Truthfully, this one tasted similar to the first. I really liked it, it was crisp and acidic, but I think out of ranking, this would come into second place. It tasted more full, almost more rich like a chardonnay but not quite. Again, there were no floral notes but tasted acidic and maybe a little fruity when paired with the cheeses. 

Lastly, the third wine was Remhoogte First Light Chenin Blanc from South Africa and the vintage is 2022. Out of the three, I didn't love this one. It was heavier and not as nice when pairing it with the cheese. It didn't taste very acidic compared to the other two and I definitely think that I wish there was more of acid in it. I am not sure if I have ever had a Chenin Blanc and wasn't very pleased by it. 

Cheese AND Wine 🧀🍷

We got three different types of cheeses: pimento cheese, wild blueberry lemon thyme, and 2 yr. gouda. We also had bread and olive oil. 

Colleleva Verdicchio 2021 – Italy: This wine was incredible with the cheeses. Specifically the wild blueberry lemon thyme because it was acidic with the lemon and the two paired well together. It was tangy, but sweet with the blueberry. It also tasted like it affected the fattiness because this one was goat cheese. It paired well with the gouda and pimento as well, but the wild blueberry lemon thyme was a stand out. There weren't any noticeable flavors that I tasted between the gouda and pimento with this wine, but it did taste well together. It made the gouda taste sharper and went well with the creamy pimento cheese because the flavors were nice and smooth. 

Micheal Shaps Viognier 2021 – Virginia: Similar to the first wine, this one was nice, acidic, and crisp. Because this wine tasted richer, it made the wild blueberry lemon thyme and pimento stand out the most out of the cheeses. It paired well again with the acid of the wine and the lemon, but then was balanced out with the fruit and herbal flavors in the cheese. The richer taste of this wine made the pimento cheese taste richer too, if that is even possible. On the cheese board, there were pickled onions and I made a bite of wild blueberry lemon thyme, garlic, and pickled onions on bread followed with a sip of this wine. That bite was SO good because it was creamy because of the goat milk cheese but also acidic with crunch because of the pickled onions. I feel like the gouda cheese flavor was masked a little by this because I didn't notice much of a distinction with the two of them together. The gouda was still super sharp and good, but didn't pair with the wine in any significant way. 

Remhoogte First Light Chenin Blanc 2022 – South Africa: Honestly, this one wasn't a stand out to me with any of the cheeses. The most notable was the pimento cheese because it brought a level of smoothness and creaminess to the wine and went down easily. However, having it with pimento and pickled onions made the wine taste more acidic which I loved. Having more acidic cheeses like the wild blueberry lemon thyme cheese brought more acidic flavors with this wine which again was a nice touch. I had this wine with finishing touches on the board like olives, garlic, pickled onions, etc. which was all good. I think that the gouda overpowered all of the wines simply because it was so sharp and strong. It was a good cheese, but didn't pair well with the wines I ordered. 

 

Tasting - La Tremenda Monastrell

About the wine 

This wine is named La Tremenda Monastrell from Alicante, Spain. The vintage year is 2019, it was $12.99 and the grape variety is monastrell (mourvèdre).

Wine.com Review

On Wine.com, it says that this wine is bright red and ruby in color with notes of black cherries, toast, cocoa, and sweet spice. On one of the professional reviews, it says that there are notes of red plums, berries, and white pepper. It also says that there is a silky texture and liveliness with the wine. It says that the wine has a spice on the nose and is firm, juicy, and a little tart. 

Wine Folly Review

On page 133 of Wine Folly, it says that the aromas are blackberry, black pepper, cocoa, tobacco, and roasted meat. The tannin and body levels are high while the alcohol, acidity, and sweetness are medium to low. It says that this wine is traditionally from Spain and it deeply bold and smoky. Lastly, it is mentioned that this would pair well with smoked meats and barbecue which reveals flavors of black fruits and chocolate. 

Personal Review 

This wine was good and fun to try because I haven't had this grape varietal before. I tasted a lot of chocolate in this wine, similar to the other one I tried this week. I paired this wine with some meats and cheeses at a wine night and they all tasted very good together. I didn't find that this wine was spicy at all which was nice because I don't prefer spicy wine. I didn't decant like it was recommended, however it still tasted great as is! I have been enjoying trying different reds and I was happy to try a new variety, too. 

Tasting - J. Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon

About the wine 

I tasted the J. Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles, California, U.S. I bought the split from Kroger and it was $10.99. The vintage year is 2021 and the grape variety is cabernet sauvignon. 

Wine.com Review

Wine.com review says that this wine is dense and dark. They say that the aromas are black cherry and currant with notes of toasted hazelnut, pastry, and vanilla and that it is barrel aged. There are professional reviews on the site that give this wine 90+ points and says that it has a rich array of berries with a woodsy, spiced finish. 

Wine Folly Notes 

On page 88 of Wine Folly, it says that cabernet sauvignon has aromas of baking spices, black cherry, and black currant. It recommend to decant for 60+ minutes which I finally did! It also says on page 88 that the high amount of tannins give the wine the rich flavor. 

Personal Review 

I really liked this wine when I tried it. I think decanting it really helped and made the wine taste richer. I tasted notes of chocolate and dark cherries. I had it over the span of two nights and on the second night is when I let it decant and it tasted a lot better than the first night I drank it. The spice wasn't as prominent and the notes of the oaky/woodsy were easier to taste.