Wine + Cheese Combos, Blind Tasting Buddies

Wine Tasting, March 14th, 2019

Cheeses:

Flight 1: Fresh as a Daisy
- Fresh Mozzarella
  - Juicy
- Fresh Curds, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, Seattle, WA, USA
  - Squeaky
- Cotija, Mexico
  - Crumbly, salty
- Manouri, Thessalia, Greece
  - Creamy, low salt
Flight 2: Firm Talk
- Pardou, Vallée d’Ossau, France (goat)
- Caciocavallo, Basilicata, Italy
- Pico Melero, Granja Sardón, Valladolid, Castilla y León, Spain (sheep)
- Le Gruyère, Mifroma, Switzerland
- Gouda, Netherlands
Flight 3: Preachin’ the Blues
- Huntsman, Double Gloucester + Stilton, Long Clawson Dairy LTD, Leicestershire, England (cow)
- Danablu, Rosenborg, Denmark (cow)
- Blacksticks Blue, Butlers Farmhouse, Lancashire, England (cow)
Flight 4: Grassy and Funky
- Grès des Vosges, Maison Fischer, Alsace, France (cow)
- Humboldt Fog, Cypress Grove, Arcata, CA, USA

Wines:

2017 Envínate, Benje, Listan Blanco, Ycoden-Daute-Isora DO, Tenerife, ES
Envidiacochina Albariño
Pineau François 1er, Pineau des Charentes, White Pineau
2012 Esprit de Pavie
2014 Henschke, “The Rose Grower” Nebbiolo, Eden Valley, AU
2017 Filliatreau, Saumur-Champigny, Loire Valley, FR
2015, Conte D’Attimis-Maniago, Cabernet, Friuli Colli Orientali, IT
2018 Moorooduc Estate, Pinot Gris “On Skins”, Mornington Peninsula, AU
2016 Campbells, Rutherglen Durif, Victoria, AU
++– Côtes du Rhone
Blandy’s 10 Year Malmsey, Rich Madeira
2006 Badia a Coltibuono, Occhio di Pernice, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, Toscana, IT
Notissimo, Moscato di Noto
Les vins de Julien, La Paille Perdue
2014 Savage Grace, Les Collines Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley, WA
2018 Wynns, Coonawarra Late Harvest Riesling, Limestone Coast, AU

Key Terms of Cheese:

Milk: contains water, protein, sugar, fat, microbes, enzymes, and other trace elements or molecules.
Starter Culture: guide
Rennet: an enzyme that coagulates milk into curds, derived from veal abomasum, cardoon thistle Cynara cardunculus (see Cynar), or the mold Rhizomucor miehei.
Acid: acid cheeses
Calcium Chloride: aka CaCl₂, this chemical is used for adding additional Calcium ions in cheesemaking, thus resulting in firmer curds.
Curd:
Whey:
Mould and Press: shapes the curd, and squeezes out whey.
Salt: may be added to curds, during the cheesemaking process.
Brine: saltwater that is used for soaking many cheeses, adding flavor and protecting the cheese from bacterial growth. Also firms the texture.
Ripening, Aging:
Hot Water: used in Mozzarella production, to soften the curd so that it can be stretched.
Annatto: a seed from the Achiote tree of Brazil, used to color cheeses from Great Britain, including Gloucester, Cheshire, Red Leicester and Cheddar.
Calcium Lactate: these crystals may be present in aged hard cheeses, such as Gouda, Comté, and Pecorino Romano. The cheese Grana Padano may have crystals that consist of the amino acid Tyrosine.
Mold: Blue Cheeses
Eyes: holes found in cheeses like Emmental (Switzerland) or Jarlsberg (Norway), caused by the bacteria Propionic Shermanii (Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii). The culture Lactobacillus helveticus may also be used in conjunction with P. Shermanii. Streptococcus thermophilus is yet another related culture.
Vegetable Ash: Humboldt Fog