Wine and Cheese Pairing #2

Wines:

Grape type: Grenache / Garnacha
Region: Aragon, Spain
Wine Critic Review: This wine was rated 4.7/5. The reviews said that this wine was full bodied, bold, dry, and not overly acidic. The reviews also said that it had flavors of dark cherry, plum, raspberry, and spice. https://drizly.com/wine/red-wine/grenache/vina-borgia-garnacha/p17944
Vintage Year: 2020
Price: I believe I bought this for around $6
My review: It initially smelled slightly fruity, kind of hard to distinguish what but maybe like a faint strawberry. When I tried it, I thought it tasted weird. It tasted alcoholic, and had a slight burn in my throat when I drank it. It was semi-sweet. I also thought it tasted slightly oaky. I honestly thought this wine was unbalanced as it did not seem that the flavors/alcohol content/sweetness flowed.

Grape type: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Zinfandel
Region: California, United States
Wine Critic Review: This wine was rated 4.5/5. Reviewers said that the wine was simple and not complex, but the non complexity made it good. The reviewers also mentioned that the wine does not need food to drink the wine. https://www.totalwine.com/wine/red-wine/red-blend/crazy-for-love-family-reserve-red/p/236324750
Vintage Year: Not listed
Price: On sale for $4 but normally ~$13
My review: I bought this wine and I honestly only bought it because it was on such a sale, as it was only $4 and is normally $13. This wine is a lot more dry than the Vina Borgia and is slightly more bitter, but I think it is a lot more balanced and the flavors seem to fit together well. I cannot distinguish what flavors are in this wine, but if I had to take a guess I would say maybe plum. I would buy this again and it has a very good flavor.

Grape type: Pinot Grigio
Region: Napa Valley, California, United States
Wine Critic Review: This wine was rated 3.4/5. The ratings said that this wine is off dry, has medium body, medium acidity, and a long finish. The reviews also mentioned flavors of apple, lemon, honey, and citrus. https://www.vivino.com/US/en/barefoot-pinot-grigio/w/1133976
Vintage Year: Not stated
Price: This tiny bottle was $1.50
My review: When I smelled this wine, I thought it smelled horrible, which was disappointing because I really like Pinot Noir and I was hoping I would like Pinot Grigio as well. Its taste threw me off a little bit, possibly because I drank it right after drinking a red wine. It tastes lighter than the red wines but has a really odd taste that is hard to describe. I am thinking it tastes maybe like a sort of tropical fruit, such as mango or pineapple. It also seems slightly fizzy but I cannot tell completely.

Cheese and Wines:

I thought these were not great together. They were not horrible, but I would not choose them to pair together. It kind of made a weird taste with the wine, like the herbs overpowered and the wine made the herbs taste slightly off.

I was surprised at how well these went together. I thought that the herbs in the cheese and the thickness of the cheese very well balanced the wine. This wine would probably go well with different foods, since the cheese more resembled a food rather than a cheese. I would say that if you wanted to taste the wine more though, maybe choose a different cheese because the cheese does overpower the wine a tad.

I thought that this was a disgusting combination. The Pinot Grigio was too light for this cheese and the cheese made the Pinot Grigio taste bad. Additionally, the fruit and slightly dizziness made the cheese taste weird.

I think that these went better together than the herb goat cheese did. Both the cheese and the wine were mild, which made them not overpower one another, and instead you could taste both flavors. It wouldn't be my favorite wine/cheese combination, but it was decent.

I thought this was okay together but I would choose something else. The cheese was too bland to compliment or hurt the wine, it was just kinda there. If you like the taste of the wine though and just want additional protein from the cheese while you are drinking the wine, then it's a good choice. But if you are hoping for more intense flavors, then choose another cheese.

These were not horrible, but were not good. The cheese and wine were kind of just there. I thought that the wine overpowered the cheese a tad and did not flow well together.

I was really excited for this cheese in the store, as it was unique and seemed interesting. However, I tried it plain before trying the wines, and it is very weird so I am unsure as to how it will go with the wine.
I thought that these actually complemented one another. I was afraid they would clash as the cheese was weird, but the orange flavor in the cheese actually brought out more flavors in the wine and made it taste more fruity.

I thought that this wine made the cheese flavor stand out more whereas the Vina Borgia made the orange flavor stand out more. Therefore, I thought this was a weird combination, as the cheese tasted weird to me to begin with. I would choose something else to go with this wine.

I thought that similarly to the Crazy for Love Red Blend, this wine made the cheese flavor come out as well and made it taste like an off slightly old cheese even though it was not expired. I would not have these together.

Sarah's Wine Blog