Wine and Cheese Pairing #1

This was my first wine and cheese pairing! My friends and I decided to have a wine and cheese night this Friday to wind down a long and busy week for us. We chose 3 different wines and 3 different cheeses to try for this pairing. The first wine we tried was a white Gewurztraminer that my roommate had recommended to me that she tried the first week at the free wine tasting at the Vintage Cellar. When I went to Vintage Cellar to purchase the wine, the man who worked there recommended pairing this wine with a sharp cheddar cheese.

Name: Crane Lake
Varietal: Gewurztraminer
Region: California
Country: United States
Year: 2017
Price: $5.95

The first wine we tried was a Gewurztraminer from California. My roommate had recommended it to me and I thought it was really good. The wine smelled really sweet, pretty typical of most white wines. When I tasted it it tasted slightly dry but slightly sweet as well. It was very easy to drink. We paired it with a sharp white cheddar cheese, per the recommendation of the wine experts at Vintage Cellar. The sharp cheddar cheese helped to cut the alcohol flavor and made the wine taste juicier and more sweet. The cheese overpowered the wine slightly, but overall was a good combination.

Name: Sabor Real
Varietal: Tinto de Toro
Region: Toro
Country: Spain
Year: 2007
Price: $15.00

The second wine we tried was a Spanish red wine suggested to us by Randall at Vintage Cellar. It smelled very rich and warm at first, and I also smelled some hints of nuts and berries. When I tasted it, it wasn't as rich as I thought it would be, and was relatively easy to drink for a red wine. Randall recommended that we pair it with a Manchego cheese, which comes from the La Mancha region of Spain. The cheese was very dry and hard and didn't have much flavor to me, but helped bring out the fruity flavors of the wine and helped balance out the tannins.  It was a good wine and cheese combination.

Name: Barefoot Red Moscato
Varietal: Moscato
Region: California
Country: United States
Year: 2017
Price: $6.49

Barefoot Red Moscato is always my go to wine to buy when I want something fresh and easy to drink. This wine smells very fruity, and you can instantly smell the peach hints that are in it. This wine is very sweet and sugary and tastes like sangria to me. The bottle suggests that this wine be paired with soft cheeses, so we paired it with Laughing Cow creamy Swiss cheese. The cheese didn't really bring out the flavors of the wine, but it didn't hurt it either. It was an okay combination.