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Mbali Chenin Blanc/Viognier and Herbed Goat Cheese

Mbali Chenin Blanc/Viognier and Silver Goat Herbed Goat Cheese 1

When we last visited Trader Joe’s we saw this white blend from South Africa. Since we haven’t had many South African wines, we figured we’d give it a try. The salesperson said it would be a good wine to enjoy in the Florida sunshine. Not being familiar with these varietals, we googled what type of cheese would work, and chose herbed goat cheese. Let’s see if we made the right choice?

Petite Sirah and Super Berries Chocolate Bar

Runquist Petite Sirah and Choceur Super Berries Chocolate 1

We found this wine at Vino Simpatico Wine Shop in Pasadena, FL. (http://www.vino-simpatico.com) They just happened to have a bottle open to taste from their event the night before. Neil couldn’t believe what a big wine it was, considering that it had already been open for a day. Since he was enjoying it, his mom found a bottle of the Petite Sirah on the shelf and purchased it for him. We had been saving the wine for a day when we could really relax and enjoy it. During our grocery shopping at Aldi, we found this Super Berry Chocolate Bar and thought it would complement the rich, dark wine nicely. Let’s see if we were correct?

Domaine de la Becassonne Côtes du Rhône White Wine with Gouda and Double Gloucester

Domaine de la Becassonne Côtes du Rhône White Wine with Gouda and Double Gloucester

Neil went out of town for work at the end of January so I figured that’d be a great time to have my neighbor Valerie over for some wine! We’ve done a few wine tastings together* and it’s always a fun time! She usually likes white wines so I thought this Rhône Blend would be something new for her to try. (Sadly, this wine is our final one from our Christmas present at West Palm Wines.) Without looking at the label, I gave her some varietals that would be in the wine and she set out to find some foods to pair with it. She was really into it and found the appropriate cheeses, fruits and even snack mix to complement the wine. Her research pointed her to Gouda, Double Gloucester and green and red pears. So without further ado, our night of wine, cheese, fruit and analysis!

Pecorino and Pecorino

Collefrisio Vignaquadra Pecorino and Pecorino

We promised more wines from West Palm Wines and here you go! During our trip there, we saw this Pecorino wine and knowing there is a Pecorino cheese, I had to get it for a WineAndCheeseFriday Pairing. The cheese is Pecorino Romano and you’ve probably already guessed that we found it at Trader Joe’s. We did try out another store first but they didn’t carry it. We should have just gone to our old standby to start. I was so curious to see what the link between the wine and cheese would be for them both to be named Pecorino. I thought it might have been where they are from in Italy.