Cheese Pairing - Blacksburg Wine Lab

Wine and Cheese flight menu

My friend and I got a Wine and Cheese Pairing Flight from Blacksburg Wine Lab. This was our first time at the Wine Lab, so we were excited to try something new. We got a flight that consisted of: a 2016 Horizon de Bichot Chardonnay that was paired with Usi Minnie, a Santa Julia Brut Rose that was paired with Sage Derby, and a 2014 Kunde Zinfandel that was paired with Piave Vecchio. 

My friend and I with our flight

The Chardonnay wine by itself tastes like apples. It maybe had a hint of pair. It was very crisp and bright, and especially refreshing because it was chilled. This was a light bodied wine. The Usi Minnie by itself was actually enjoyable when I took my first bite. However the aftertaste was pretty funky. I think this cheese ended up being my least favorite out of all three. The cheese was also soft and rich. Paired together, the wine really emphasized the funkiness of the cheese; to the point where I did not want to finish that tasting. On the other hand, the cheese made the wine a little better. It emphasized the butterscotch of the wine and gave it a slight zing. I think the zing seemed more smooth after I ate it with the cheese. Overall, I think the cheese was slightly overpowering to the wine because of the funkiness that was brought out.

The Rose was a light-bodied wine that was sparkling. It smelled like a semi-sweet fruit juice from Welch's that got diluted in water. The smell was really subtle, but there was definitely a fruity component in it. The wine tasted like sparkling strawberry cider by itself, and this wine was also refreshing because it was chilled and light. The color of the cheese made me hesitant, but it was actually tasty. The Sage Derby was very herbal yet very mellow. It did not taste strong. Paired together, I felt that the mellowness of the cheese also helped mellow out the wine. The wine was already subtle, but I liked that the warmth of the cheese contrasted the refreshing component of the wine. While I did not think that this was a bad pairing, I did not really see how the herbal components of the cheese played off the fruity rose. The flavors seemed very independent to me, rather than complimentary. I do not think that either the wine nor the cheese were overpowering.

The Zinfandel by itself was my least favorite wine. This wine was very dark in color; it was nearly black in the beaker. It smelled earthy and oaky, however it was also light-bodied. The smell reminded me of black currant. This wine had some tannins in it that made it dry, but it was not nearly as dry as I expected from the smell and color. The taste reminded me of blackberry, even though I did not get blackberry from the smell. The Piave Vecchio was the most intense cheese out of the three. It was lightly nutty, and I felt like I tasted another flavor but I could not figure out what it reminded me of. The menu said that it tastes like tropical fruit, but I did not taste it. I will say, however, that the taste was light like a tropical fruit. This cheese was also physically hard compared to the others, which were very soft. Paired together, the wine mellowed out the cheese and made it a lot less intense. I think the tannins from the wine distracted me from the boldness of the cheese. On the other hand, the cheese made the wine more enjoyable. I think that the nuttiness and smoothness from the cheese made the wine seem less dry. Paired together, it was very enjoyable and probably my favorite pairing of the night.

Cheese and wine pairings