Check out this Pinterest board for Italian wines that we’ve tried for WineAndCheeseFriday, http://pin.it/zbweHSx They are available for sale from Sommly, Trader Joe’s, Aldi and BevMo. See some of the pins for purchase information. Other pins include tasting notes and links to wine and cheese pairings to try out.
Sign up to follow us on Pinterest too (ferrarobeardsle) for other collections of our pairings.
We tried this wine when we attended the French Wine Tasting at BevMo (http://mferraro73.tumblr.com/post/114788359563/french-wine-tasting-at-bevmo-in-order-to) and knew that we both wanted to try it again with cheese. Although we knew we liked it, we weren’t quite sure what type of cheese to pair with it. Then I was at Real Food Company, http://www.realfoodco.com, looking at their cheeses and was intrigued by this cheese. It sounded like something we’ve come across before and was shaped a little differently than most cheeses we’ve tasted. (http://www.vermontcreamery.com/bijou-1) In the sense of adventure, I grabbed the cheese with intent to pair it with our Pinot Blanc.
In order to celebrate WineAndCheeseFriday this week, we purchased tickets to the French Wine Tasting Event, hosted by Pierre Sparr, owner of Charles Sparr Winery. This event was held at the BevMo down the street from our apartment. (http://www.bevmo.com) They remodeled the entire store a few months ago and now have a tasting bar where they hold weekend happy hours as well as some more formal tasting events. This will be our first time using their tasting bar so let the tasting begin.
We purchased this Lodi Zinfandel during the BevMo 5cent sale. (http://www.bevmo.com) I have heard that Lodi is the Zin capital of CA so I had to check it out! According to the Lodi website, http://www.lodiwine.com/vineyards/old-vine-zinfandel, the wines are known for their “intense red and black fruit flavors of cherries, raspberries, and blackberries.” The BevMo description of this wine recommends pairing a strong cheese so I figured the Gruyere would fit the bill. We’ve used this cheese once before at the very beginning of WineAndCheeseFriday and I remember it being a little too intense for me. (http://mferraro73.tumblr.com/post/46997403195/pinot-noir-and-gruyere-sunday-march-24-things) Let’s see if my palate has changed?
When we visited the Rainbow Market cheese counter, we were given a few different samples to try. (http://www.rainbow.coop) We tasted the Jasper Hill Harbison cheese and I thought it would pair nicely with a Pinot Noir. And we were in luck because we got an extra bottle of the Row 503 Pinot at the BevMo 5 cent sale. (http://www.bevmo.com) Let the pairing begin!
Pinot-Vember continues this week with a Pinot Noir and Petite Blue Triple Cream cheese both purchased at BevMo. (http://www.bevmo.com) Since there was a “5 cent sale” going on, I cheated a little by reading the descriptions of some of the wines. During the “5 cent sale” you get 2 bottles of the same wine, so I wanted to be sure it was one we would be interested in.
This week we are trying out our new wine and cheese list from BevMo (www.bevmo.com). It should be interesting since Merlot and Swiss cheese are both very common to most people.