Wine and Cheese Party

When I started this blog, my intentions were not only to write about my adventures in farming but to also include food and wine in my musings. My intentions are to include blog entries showcasing Virginia wines and our attempts at cooking with local ingredients as they are in season. This entry will be my first foray into writing about the end product of so much work spent in vineyards and wine cellars, albeit no Virginia wines will be featured on this occasion. I promise to dedicate much effort towards Virginia wines in the near future. Its a sacrifice I will have to make!

Last night Danielle and I attended the first of what is hoped to be a series of wine and cheese pairing parties put on by folks at the animal hospital where Danielle works. This was inaugural event and was held at Noelle and Scott's home. Noelle selected six cheeses from Murray's Cheese in Manhattan and had them shipped here to Virginia. She also selected six wine varieties to pair with each cheese course. Then it seems she took her list of wine varietals to one of our local Kroger stores and had the wine merchant select the particular wine within each varietal and in a reasonable price range. We were all pleasantly surprised that our local Kroger (in podunk) would employee such a talented wine merchant.

Our wine selection

The six courses listed in order of service are listed below (cheese followed by wine) along with my impressions and comments from the crowd. The descriptions in the quote boxes are the descriptions provided by Noelle at the beginning of the evening.

First Course - French Brie En Croute served with Prosecco from Montelliana

Prosecco is an Italian wine - generally a dry sparkling wine - made from a variety of white grape of the same name.

Brie is one of the most famous and imitated of all French cheeses. Made from cows milk, it is characterized by a downy white bloom, or rind and a cream -colored buttery interior that oozes when ripe.

Comments:

• The Prosecco was very refreshing - "Like the Sprite of the wine world!"
• Not as dry as anticipated - good for a sparkling wine
• The Brie was very well received with a round of seconds quickly devoured

This Prosecco was a pretty good bubbly. We've all had the kind of stuff handed out at a New Year's Eve party that cost $4.99/bottle and wondered why anyone really likes to drink the bubbly stuff, but this wine was in a whole different league. It was light with notes of citrus and peach without the added headache inducing sugar that's added to the cheap stuff to make up for the lack of flavor. This was a bargain at $10/bottle.

Second Course - Cave aged Swiss Courmino Gruyere Fondue served with 2007 Hogue Chardonnay

This brand of Gruyere is new, but its old-school Swiss approach to an ancient recipe is anything but! A cooperative chain of production ensures that the best Brown Swiss cows milk is sourced from a selection of very small herds. These dairy farmers take their fresh, raw milk twice daily to their local, certified Gourmino cheese maker. The most mature wheels are selected - at least twelve months old. The cheese won first place in the 2008 world cheese championship and has been featured on the Martha Stewart Show.

Noelle made an incredible fondue out of this Gruyere along with a generous helping of garlic, a little flour, and a random Pinot Grigio from the fridge. Most of us were surprised to be served sugar snap peas along with the bread as a carrier for the gooey creamy goodness; however, the fresh crispy pea was great with the fondue (not that the baguette style bread was left on any of the plates).

The vanilla notes were very noticeable on the finish of the Hogue Chardonnay. Most of the group thought this wine was rather unimpressive. It was later voted as the bottom of the nights list of wines. Wine Spectator gave this Chardonnay 87 points. I don't see it, but then again, I'm not too partial to Wine Spectator ratings. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not usually a Chardonnay fan; however, even the Chardonnay aficionados in the group were not moved. To this day, the only Chardonnay I can really say I've enjoyed has been the 2007 Reserve Chardonnay from Benziger in Sonoma County, California.

Third Course - Taleggio served with 2007 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio is considered a natural mutation of the Pinot Noir grape and was first identified in the 14th century in Burgundy. Since then, this unique vine has traveled the globe. It thrives in the rich loam soils of Mondavi's vineyards in Lodi, California yielding grapes with ripe, perfumed aromas and silky flavors, and has become a popular variety for new plantings.

Welcome to stinky cheese 101, where we learn that despite pungent, nearly offensive aromas, flavors can be gentle buttery, and mild. The lush rolling grasslands of Lombardy, Italy are the source of great milk, transformed into this meaty, salty square with the compulsively edible yeastiness of freshly baked bread. That sunny cantaloupe-colored rind my get gray and furry, but things have not necessarily gotten out of hand.

With that kind of wine description, we are reminded how much marketing goes into a brand like Robert Mondavi. With that said, this wine was very pleasant served with the Taleggio. At first glance or sniff, I was affraid the wine would be over powered by the cheese; however the light and crisp Pinot Grigio was well matched with the surprisingly mild and creamy flavor of the Taleggio.

Several of us in the group commented that the cheese smelled like feet, but tasted great!

The Taleggio ended up being my favorite cheese of the night. Noelle was surprised when all was said and done that this cheese was the favorite of many in the group. She had feared we'd all be turned off by the pungent aroma. I'm not sure where to get Taleggio anywhere near here, but I'll definatley be on the lookout!

At this point, Jeremy asked when we get to the Velveeta!



When I originally wrote this entry, I put all six courses in one entry, but it turned out to be a VERY long entry, so I've split it up into two entries.

Wine and Cheese Round Two will follow shortly . . .