Wine and Cheese #3

This week I got together with some friends to have wine and cheese. One of whom is also in this class. We tried a cabernet sauvignon, a pinot grigio, and a chardonnay with a “fromager d affinos with herbs”, Gruyere, and a dill fontal cheeses. 

Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon 

This wine was very bold with intense cherry and plum flavors. There were also hints of spices and herbs like pepper and fennel, as well as hints of oak. It was pretty dry yet very smooth with a full body and not very acidic. I really enjoyed this cabernet. 

It paired well with the herb fromager as both have strong flavors and complemented each other well. The cheese’s creaminess makes the wine even smoother and it brings out more fruitiness flavors. With the dill rubbed cheese, the dill brought out the spices in the wine pretty well. The cheese was creamy which balanced the wine well and the herbs interacted nicely but if you get too much of the dill it can be overpowering. Finally, the Gruyère cheese was very good and went well with the wine. It was a very simple cheese that didn’t interact much with the wine but still complimented the wine well. 

Cupcake Citrus Kissed Pinot Grigio 

The wine had very strong aromas but the wine itself was pretty light and crisp. It was very citrusy, acidic, and dry yet smooth. The main flavors were pear, lemon, lime, melon, and green apple. 

The dill cheese definitely overpowered this lighter wine. The spices overpowered the citrus flavors in the wine. However, the creaminess of it went well. Overall I think it paired okay. The herb cheese paired well with this because the creaminess made it smoother and the light herbs complimented the citrus very well. The Gruyère went pretty well and brought out the citrus flavor more, but they didn’t interact much. 

Francis Coppola Chardonnay 

This wine was very smooth and citrusy with some acidity. It was dry with a full body and had strong pear, peach flavors with underlying oak and vanilla notes. I liked this chardonnay and appreciated the complexity and not too much acidity. 

 

The herb cheese brought out the oaky and nuttyness under tones in the wine. The creaminess also balanced the citrus well so I thought this cheese painted well. The dill cheese had an interesting effect on the wine and the spices made brought out a meaty flavor. I think the creaminess and flavors also complimented the wine pretty well. With the Gruyère, the sharpness balanced the citrus and complemented the wine nicely without affecting the overall flavor much. 

Overall, the herb cheese was our favorite and generally went well with all of the wines we tried. I definitely recommend it.

Tasting - Chateau Morrisette Sweet Mountain Laurel Table Wine

Name of the Wine: Chateau Morrisette Sweet Mountain Laurel Table Wine

Variety of the Grape(s) in the Wine: Niagara grape

Country of Origin: United States

Region of Origin: Floyd, VA (South West Virginia)

Vintage Year: Not on the label

Price: $8.99 / bottle

Review

Vivino Rating: 3.5/5

“A unique and refreshingly sweet dessert style wine made from American native grape varieties. Firm acidity balances the sweetness, producing a crisp finish with aromas of freshly picked grapes. Made with Niagara grapes and blended with White Muscadine, Traminette and Vidal Blanc. Pour over fresh berries and sponge cake or blend with vanilla ice cream and fruit for a creamy dessert smoothie” - Virginia ABC

Wine Folly 

The Wine Folly text mentions Muscadine and Niagara in the also-try section for the Concord grape (pg 102), and Vidal is mentioned in the Ice Wine section which is a dessert wine so I imagine it is somewhat similar (pg 121). Overall there’s not much on the grapes in this wine. I mainly detected aromas of tree fruits/melons, citrus, and flowers (pg 593). I got flavors of  nectarine, peach, honeydew, honeysuckle, peony, and grapefruit. The wine was definitely high in sweetness, had medium body and structure, and low acidity. 

My Review

I really enjoyed this wine. I like sweet wine and this one was pretty sweet. It also had notes of crisp apples, nectarine, and florals such as honeysuckle which I really enjoyed. I did not have it with food and was still very good on its own. I found it not super light, with a bit more body than other white wines I have had. The bit of acidity also gave it a nice crisp finish. The pretty bottle and label was also a big plus and which was why I gravitated towards it in the first place.

Tasting - Gatão Vinho Verde

Name of the wine: Borges Gatão Vinho Verde

Variety of the grape(s) in the wine: Avesso, Loureiro, Trajadura, Pederna, Azal

Country of Origin: Portugal 

Region of Origin: Minho, Portugal (Vinho Verde)

Vintage Year: Unknown 

Price: $8.95

Review of the Wine

“One of the most familiar Vinho Verde brands in Portugal, this wine is medium sweet with a light prickle on the tongue. It is fruity with creamed apple and citrus along with a touch of honey. The wine is crisp and clean, delicious to drink as an apéritif” - Roger Voss 

Wine Enthusiast 85 points 

Wine Folly

Vinho Verde is described as low in alcohol, body, sweetness and tannins, but high in acidity. (Wine Folly pg 184). I thought the wine was definitely acidic but not extremely acidic, and it was definitely low in the other characteristics. I thought it was very light, pretty dry, and acidic. The flowers mentioned were lemonade, pink grapefruit, lime zest, yellow apple, and white blossom (pg 184). I thought the main aromas were citrus and melon. I also detected flavors of crisp apple, lemon, lime, and honey which is consistent with the text. 

My Review

I really enjoyed this wine. It had many flavors going on and the dryness allowed for me to detect those flavors. I really like the citrus and light crispness of the wine. I didn’t try it with food but I think it would be good with light dishes. For the price, it is definitely a great value Portugal white wine.