Wine and Cheese Pairing 1

Wine and Cheese Pairing Part One

Wines

• 14 Hands Hot to Trot Smooth Red Blend, Columbia Valley, 2016
• DaVinci Chianti, Vinci, 2019 
• Coast Road Collection Pinot Grigio, California, 2019

Cheeses

• Mild Cheddar
• Colby Jack
• Gouda

Wine Tasting Notes Without Pairing

• Chianti: Not fruity, high in tannins which leaves a dry feeling in my mouth, maybe slight notes of plum but not getting much of anything. 
• Red Blend: Notes of black cherry, fruitier than the Chianti, lower in tannins so its not as dry.
• Pinot Grigio: Not too sweet or acidic because it has a short finish, notes of lemon or lemongrass 

Wine Tasting Notes With Pairing

• Chianti with
• Gouda: muted the flavors of the cheese (the Gouda was strong/funky by itself) but the wine remained the same.
• Mild Cheddar: blended better, the flavors did not conflict with each other but I also would not say either one was enhanced. I guess the presence of any cheese enhanced it in a way because I was not detecting many flavors from the wine by itself. 
• Colby Jack: the wine actually popped more, something about the cheese made the plum notes more apparent.
• Red Blend with
• Gouda: the funkiness of the Gouda was actually enhanced by the wine.
• Mild Cheddar: the cheese was overpowered by the wine, I did not get the cheese only the black cherry notes of the wine
• Colby Jack: blended well with the Colby Jack, I would say flavors of both either remained or were slightly enhanced. 
• Pinot Grigio with
• Gouda: definitely overpowers the wine, with the short finish of the wine and the strong funkiness of the Gouda the cheese is really the only thing I got. 
• Mild Cheddar: this pairs well because it is a milder cheese, the flavors of both are in harmony
•  Colby Jack: this also pairs well however you may say the Colby Jack is brought out a little more than the wine, but certainly not overpowering.  

Tasting: Chateau Morrisette Red Mountain Laurel

 

Chateau Morrisette Red Mountain Laurel

-Grapes: Blend of native Virginia grapes

-Country: United States

-Region: Floyd County, Virginia

-Vintage: 2020

-Price: $9

-Critic Review: A sweet red that tastes like grape juice. Avery light wine that would be good for those that don't like a strong alcohol content. Apple wine-like. Sweet, cherry, crisp, aromatic finish, best paired with chocolate desserts.

-Wine Folly Tasting Notes: The Primary Aromas are in the Red Fruit category (pg.30). It is a dessert wine, which is best paired with buttery cheeses, blue cheese, and sweet desserts (pg.60). Going off of similar dessert wines, there are major notes of cherry, black plum, and apple. Virginia is on the "frontier" of U.S. wine (pg. 284). As with most American wines, it is very fruit forward and sweet.   

-My Review: The color is similar to Deep Pink in Wine Folly. It smells like table grapes and maybe slightly Apple. Surprisingly do not smell a lot of red fruit. Upon tasting, Cherry and Apple is the primary flavor. It essentially tastes like a cider. It is very sweet and not complex. The flavor does not last long on the tongue. It is very juicy and cidery. It is a very light body wine. It is not bad, however I do not think I would go back to this wine often. I probably need to drink this with something like Chocolate cake. I drank this cold and without food. 

Critical Reviews:

https://www.vivino.com/IT/en/chateau-morrisette-sweet-red-mountain-laurel/w/1403161

https://www.thedogs.com/product/Red-Mountain-Laurel1