Caribbean Cooler Wine Slushy and Lemon Stilton Cheese

During our first few days in Erie, PA we found this wine slushy mix at a festival. We figured this would be a nice summer treat to enjoy so we picked up a packet of the Caribbean Cooler flavor by Country Road Cupboard, https://www.countryroadcupboard.com. They were quick to mention that you can order these packets online with free shipping. You can try one of these too!

Our next task was to figure out what type of wine to pour into this mixture? We tasted some of the local wines a few days later (stay tuned for a future entry about that) but couldn’t find something with quite the right flavors. We decided to head to the local liquor store and pick up a light white wine with notes of tropical fruit. This Sauvignon Blanc by Woodbridge seemed to fit the bill. The same day we went wine tasting, we visited a local creamery (they will be in that upcoming entry too) and found the Lemon Stilton. Although it wasn’t made locally, we’ve tasted this cheese before and thought it would be a great match for the tropical slushy.

There were two different options for making the slushy, either use ice and wine in a blender, or mix water, wine and the packet then freeze for 4-6 hours. I chose the freezer option early one morning before family was coming over. One note, it only calls for half the bottle of wine so you’ll have some wine left over too. I checked the mixture after 5 hours and it was ready to enjoy so I gathered Neil, his cousins and aunt. They all happily sat on the deck waiting for the tasting.

The slushy was a nice consistency for swirling and sipping. Neil started the tasting notes by calling it very tropical! He thought it felt like the Florida Keys but it wasn’t too sweet. Aunt Kathy said it tasted like she needs more ? She described it as refreshing and it reminded her of a Creamsicle. Shelly and Jessie noticed mango, pineapple and peach flavors. Jessie thought it smelled delicious. I smelled peach aromas and tasted coconut. Its safe to say we all enjoyed it and luckily there was plenty to go around.

The lemon stilton had some pretty good reviews once everyone tried it. Neil smelled it and said “Mmmm!” It reminded him of a lemon gummy candy. Aunt Kathy thought it was very good. She tasted flavors similar to lemon chiffon and pineapple cheesecake. Shelly agreed that it was like some type of lemon dessert but she didn’t like the texture. She usually prefers a smoother cheese. Jessie said “Wow, a lemon cheese !” She thought there was a weird texture but it tasted like a lemon butter cookie. I made note of the salt, milk and lemon aromas and crumbly texture. It tasted milky and reminded me of cake. I wonder what it was that made us all think of cakes, pies and cookies? Maybe there was something reminding us of flour?

When we paired the Caribbean Cooler Wine Slushy and the Lemon Stilton, Jessie, Shelly and Neil all said that the slushy complemented the cheese. It made Aunt Kathy think of a Hawaii and she wanted to serve it at a luau. She said the slushy, cheese and party would be great together. I found the lemon flavor from the wine to come out more when the slushy was paired with the cheese. Aunt Kathy added a little Sprite to the slushy and thought it had a nice fizz to it that way. She continued thinking about all the flavors of the slushy and considered creating a punch from the mix. Jessie was still thinking about it too and said the blend of flavors reminded her of sangria. What a fun time hanging out on the deck with the family!

Being the overachievers that we are, Neil and I tasted the Sauvignon Blanc by itself to see how it was influencing the slushy flavor. Neil thought it was good and picked up lime and a little bit of pineapple. I smelled cat pee then soft lemon. The flavor was lime and tart but also smooth. It was ok but not my favorite. It definitely worked out in our slushy though!