deVine Table

While I ate a fairly healthy diet overall during meatless week, here is what I haven’t yet confessed. The last day of meatless week was a raucous cheese fest at our house. Not only that, it resulted in my shameless consumption of meat.

I blame it on my education. Seriously, I have an assignment due for Cheese and Wine Pairing Class (honest!). So, a couple of my classmates joined me and my husband to taste several different cheese based dishes with a variety of wines.

My friend, Bean, who is also preparing for class is contributing to the experiment. When she presents her beautiful platter of bruschetta topped with pillows of homemade fresh cheese blanketed in beautiful shades of pink, it takes my breath away. I know the pink flesh is proscuitto, and Bean knows that I have sworn off meat, chicken, and fish for the week. I justify the cured meat consumption under the guise of “research.” After all, my friend needs my help here, right? I might have a stronger resolve if meatless week hadn’t taken such an unexpected toll on my energy reserves.

As the experiment continues, I serve mini cheese muffins alongside baked blue cheese spread prepared with Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue. We try the muffins on their own with Chardonnay, Syrah, and Claret. Then we try the spread with each of the wines. Finally, the muffins get smeared with a little of the blue cheese spread so that the combination of flavors can be tasted with each of the wines.

Our "Laboratory"

Next, I offer two different versions of cheesy potatoes. One topped with Midnight Moon Aged Gouda. The other with Vella Dry Jack. We taste the potatoes warm from the oven with each of the wines. When the potatoes are room temperature, we try them with the wines, just as they would be tasted in our classroom setting. Each variable must be taken into consideration.

Winning Wine Pairings

As anticipated, the potatoes tasted much better right out of the oven. The batch topped with Midnight Moon Aged Gouda was a favorite paired with Rombauer 2008 Chardonnay. This is one of those big, buttery, chards. What do you know, great pairings happen when the weight and intensity of the wine match that of the cheese. Teacher was right!

The baked blue cheese spread paired with the Tyrus Evan 2006 Ciel du Cheval Claret was also declared a winning match. Or, as Roger proclaimed, “A no brainer.” Although big red wines are typically not a match with blue cheeses, it seems that the spread needs a wine with some tannins to cut through the creaminess and to match its weight. This is what makes experimenting pay off  – the unexpected match!

Are you wondering which pairing I presented in class? The answer might surprise you. None of the above! The big reveal will come in the next post.