Wine & Cheese Paring #3

 

The Experience:

The Wines:

   

I enjoyed a wine & cheese paring at a wine club in Leesburg, VA over Spring Break with my mother. We got a cheese and charcuterie board that we paired with three different wines: Luis Canes Rosa Valance Viejas, Pago de los Capellanes Tinto Joven, and Thorn-Clarke Single Vineyard Grenache. The cheeses included: Blue DiCapra, Grafton Cheddar, and Melassndinmae Ada Brie.

1) Luis Canas Roja Vlanco Vinas Viejas:

The wine has a vintage year of 2022 and is from Rioja, Spain. It is made up of 85% Macabeo, 10% Malvasia Riojana, and 5% Tempranillo Blanco grapes. Originally, it smelt like slightly cooked white fish. It gives a salty finish on the back end of the throat. There was not much acidity or tannins and went down like thick water.

Blue DiCapra: The cheese tasted like clothes straight out of the dryer without a dryer sheet (very dry). Tannins fill the mouth for a second, but then eventually just tastes like cheese. The cheese definitely overpowers the wine.

Graftin Cheddar: This is the sharpest cheddar cheese I've had to date (something I quite enjoyed). With the wine, I got a full mouth tastes of green apple with heavy tartness. There was not much acidity, but rather a sharp tartness. The cheese and wine evened out nicely.

Melassndinmae Ada Brie: The cheese tastes like cream cheese, yet more fulfilling. I was overwhelmed with tannins, which went away quickly and left only a taste of cheese. The wine and cheese evened out, but not in a great way.

2) Pago de los Capellanes Tinto Joven:

The wine has a vintage year of 2023 and is from Castille and Leon, Spain. It is made entirely from the Tempranillo grape. The wine had a high acidity and was very pungent in the back of the throat. It smelt like cherry alcohol and gave off hints of tobacco.

Blue DiCapra: The cheese mellows out the acidity of the wine and leaves a warm sensation in the back of the throat. They pair well, but I'd say the cheese overpowers the wine just a little bit.

Graftin Cheddar: The cheddar flavor slightly overpowers the wine on the front end; however, on the back end the wine is very pungent and full of tannins. After the cheddar overpowers the wine, the flavors of cherry and tobacco kick in.

Melassndinmae Ada Brie: With this combination, the wine really overpowers the cheese. The wine gave off a strawberry flavor and left a little taste of rubber in the mouth on the back end.

3) Thorn-Clarke Single Vineyard Grenache:

The wine has a vintage year of 2021 and comes from the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It is made up of 85% Macabeo, 10% Malvasia Riojana, and 10% Tempranillo Blanca grapes. It smelt very fruity, like a strawberry, with notes of vanilla. It tastes a little like black pepper with a syrup consistency and a slight hint of rubber.

Blue DiCapra: The cheese definitely overpowers the wine. It makes the wine lose its flavor, but gives a slight spike in tannins. 

Graftin Cheddar: I enjoyed this combination. The wine and cheese stuck to the tongue, making the wine taste like cheesy strawberry.

Melassndinmae Ada Brie: The cheese shuts down the strawberry flavor and makes the wine taste mostly like rubber. I wouldn't say the cheese overpowers the wine since it left a slight sensation of tannins that lingered in the back of the throat.