A wine and cheese pairing

For this pairing I decided to do it with my family several hours before thanksgiving. My family already had a Tuscan sangiovesse and a Chardonnay from an acquaintances' vineyard. I went to Forward Foods to pick out some cheeses. For the red she recommended an " Organic Taleggio",that was from the same region in Italy as the wine. For the white she recommended a "Bonde D' Antan" as Chardonnay pairs easily with many types of cheese. For my third cheese she recommended a Cremeux De Bourgogne" and recommended to pair it with Brut Champagne. My local liquor store was able to help me find a quality sparkling wine within my budget.

My Cheeses and wines -












The Tasting - After I got everything set up and prepared I was finally able to drink some wine. I gave everyone a little background information and a notepad and we got to work.
Tuscan Sangiovese and Toleggio -
Cheese - This cheese had a strong smell and an even stronger taste. When I first tasted it the dark spices immediately reminded me of a dark red.
Wine - This wine also had strong taste. It had a lot of tannins and had what I best described as dark cherry and leather in taste.
Paired - This was the least popular pairing of the three, but they still paired quite nicely. The cheese may have overpowered the wine a bit. This almost eliminated any tannic component and brought out the fruitiness of the wine more. This pairing made both the cheese and wine more mild, but with the spices of the cheese being the dominant flavor. This cheese would have been even better with an even bolder red.

Bennett family Chardonay and Bonde D,Antan -
Cheese - This cheese was much more creamy and completely coated and even dried your mouth out when eaten. The cheese was quite spicy but did not quite have the variety of flavor compared to the first.
Wine - This wine was a bit tart wine a nice aciticy-citrusy taste to it. The wine also had an underlying flavor of pear and peach.
Paired - These two paired really nicely. They neutralized the negative components of each and brought out their strengths. The cheese seemed even more creamy while the wine had even more of its crisp citrus flavor. The spiciness of the cheese was also brought down a bit. This pairing did leave a strong aftertaste in the mouth. I think these two complimented each other perfectly as they both improved significantly together.

Spritz & Giggles Sparkling Wine & Cremeux de bougogne -
Cheese - This cheese was phenomenal and I will absolutely be buying it again. This cheese was very creamy and had to be scooped instead of sliced. This cheese was very mild in flavor and melted in your mouth. Everyone described these cheese as a desert. It tasted like sweet cream and did not have any of the spice of powerful flavors of the other cheeses.
Wine - This sparkling wine was a bit more flavorful than I was expecting.
It was very dry but had a lot of underlying fruit and floral flavors. The strongest were apple and pear this gave the wine almost the memory of a dry cider.
Paired - This was the most popular combination.

My wife and I enjoying sparkling wine and cheese. 














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