cheese – Page 2 – Peacock Orchard

Bonterra Merlot 2012 and Merlot Bellavitano cheese

Wine:

Bonterra Merlot 2012- Organic $14.99

[from back of bottle] Our merlot is barrel aged to accentuate the distinctive cherry-berry flavors and subtle aromas of cranberry and chocolate.

Cheese:

Merlot Bellavitano $5.25

[from their website] By wedding this rich, creamy cheese to the berry and plum notes of Merlot, we’ve created a marriage of flavors destined to make your taste buds say, “I do.”

Wine Review-

This wine is fantastic. It matches its description pretty well. We think you can taste the cherry accents in the wine. The wine obviously pairs well with the cheese. We think this wine would go really well with bold flavored dinner. I want to try it with beef borginoun this winter. I think that would pair fantastically. All around great wine. Drink it casually while watching the sun set or with a good meal, just drink it!

Cheese Review–

The cheese is grainy, salty and has a strong taste. I didn’t like it alone but it does go well with the wine. My husband’s exact words were, “good, yummy, very good cheese but I wouldn’t eat it alone.” So grab this cheese with some bread or crackers and the suggested wine for the best experience.

Ambiance Pinot Grigio 2013 and Courenne Double Cream

Wine:

Ambiance Pinot Grigio 2013 $9.99

[Sourced from Wine Express] Fruit for the Belle Ambiance Pinot Grigio was harvested in the cool hours of the night, delivered to the winery and then immediately pressed into fermenters. A slow, low-temperature fermentation on very low grape solids and aging that took place entirely in stainless steel allowed us to capture all of the delicate fruit and floral aromas that a Pinot Grigio can deliver. Delicate aromas of lemon blossoms, honeysuckle, tropical fruits, white peaches and jasmine flowers. It shows luscious flavors of white nectarines, tart lemons and sweet honeydew melon. This medium-bodied wine is crisp and bright, with a tangy and lingering finish. It scored 92 points in the Critics Challenge Wine Competition.

Cheese:

Courenne Double Cream $6.99/lb

Ah now this is a tough one. I Googled this cheese to see how it is described and found quite a few descriptions of Brie Courenne. We bought this cheese at a local cheese shop in Ft Collins, CO.

Wine Review-

This wine was nice. Crisp. Enjoyable. Not my favorite white wine but certainly lovely all the same. I thought the cheese went well with it (but the cheese was awesome). I think this would be a great bottle of wine to bring to a dinner of fish or chicken. All around good wine.

Cheese Review-

This cheese was amazing. Seriously delicious. It was like a flavorful butter. We ate it with a hot baguette and we ate ALL of it. I don’t usually eat the cheeses, I leave that to Husband. However, even I loved this cheese. We are most certainly going to get this cheese again.

Bauer Haus Spatlese 2009 Rheinhessen and German Buttercase Cheese

Wine:

Bauer Haus Spatlese 2009 Rheinhessen $9.99

[I’m paraphrasing various sources] This is a fruity wine, light and tasty with apricot, nougat and apple flavors.

Cheese:

Buttercase Cheese $9.47

[Wikipedia] Butterkase is a semi-soft cheese with a golden natural rind, very popular in Germany and Austria for its creamy texture, buttery like taste. Its name, when literally translated means “butter cheese,” but the cheese is butter free.

Wine Review-

The wine was fine. The flavor was acceptable. It wasn’t anything special but it didn’t make me want to vomit, as another wine we tried did.

Cheese Review-

The cheese was ok as well. It was very cheesy, or how an American would expect cheese to taste. We ate it with some bread and it was perfectly fine.

A combined review: Both were good, not special, just good. They both served well on their own. They did not particularly enhance the flavor of each other. I would consume both if offered but I don’t think I’d go out of my way to get them. So take that as you will.

Mumm Napa Brut Prestige and Cave Aged Gruyere

Wine:

Mumm Napa Brut Prestige $25.99

[From the makers website] Brut Prestige is Mumm Napa’s signature sparkling wine. It is a relaxed, yet elegant, wine that earns sparkling accolades from consumers and critics alike. Brut Prestige features fine bright citrus, red apple, stone fruit and creamy vanilla aromas, with hints of toast, honey and gingerbread spice. Its vibrant flavors are balanced by fine acidity and a rich, lingering finish.

Cheese:

Cave Aged Gruyere $14.55

[From Wikipedia] Gruyère is sweet but slightly salty, with a flavor that varies widely with age. It is often described as creamy and nutty when young, becoming with age more assertive, earthy and complex. When fully aged (five months to a year) it tends to have small cracks which impart a slightly grainy texture.

Wine Review- The taste is not unpleasant. I thought it was a bit less sweet than I had expected. It has good flavor though and paired very well with the cheese. The chocolate made it taste a bit dryer though. So I wouldn’t drink this with chocolate or sweets. Something mildly savory, like the gruyere, went very well with this. It was a nice celebratory drink. 11 years of marriage and looking forward to many more! We recommend this wine.

Cheese Review- This cheese was nice. It had a good flavor. I thought it was mildly salty but not bad at all. It paired quite well with the wine. We actually finished off this cheese on another occasion and would recommend.

2013 Chateau Ste Michelle Gewurztraminer and Jarlsberg Cheese

Wine:

Chateau Ste Michelle Gewurztraminer $8.99 on sale

[From the wine maker] A fan favorite, this Gewürztraminer is such a flavorful wine with beautiful, expressive fruit and clove spice. This is a lush style of Gewurztraminer with a lot of floral character, yet it still maintains the grape’s natural crisp acidity. Try this wine with Thai food or any cuisine with a little “bite” to it.

Cheese:

Jarlsberg $7.99

[From Wikipedia] Jarlsberg cheese has a yellow-wax rind (outer layer) and a semi-firm yellow interior. It is a mild, buttery cheese. The flavor is “clean and rich, with a slightly sweet and nutty flavour.” It is an all-purpose cheese, used for both cooking and eating as a snack.

Wine Review- We rather like Gewurztraminer wines. So much so that I bought a hybrid grape called Traminette. We are hoping to get enough grapes to make our own Gewurztraminer wine variety. We shall see. This wine is really rather nice though. Mild and flavorful. We had Gewurztraminer for Thanksgiving last year. Goes very well with turkey and fixings. Goes well with most foods really. It’s a nice, all around wine, imo. Not spectacular but quality and versatile. We will continue to buy it.

Cheese Review- I’ll be honest here, we ate 2 cheeses. The pictures did not turn out (must remember to check the photos before calling it good) and we ate all of the other cheese so we couldn’t remember what it was. It was good, we ate it all. The Jarlsberg was pretty good, we ate 1/2 of it. It has a stronger flavor but was nice with crackers. I could see eating it again.

We did this review for a date night in. We rented the movie “Lucy” (WEIRD!!!!!!!!!) and cuddled up on the couch. It was an enjoyable evening, in spite of the odd movie.

Chateau Maine D’Arman 2010 wine and Fontina Mauri cheese

This review has been updated HERE.

Wine:

2010 Chateau Maine D’Arman, Cotes De Bourg $12.99

[From the winery notes] A bourduaex blend. “70% Merlot / 20% Cabernet Sauvignon / 10% Malbec
This wine shows a dark ruby-red colour and develops a powerful and intense bouquet of candied fruits. The palate is warm and fleshy with elegant and pleasantly oaky tannins.”

Cheese:

Fontina Mauri $4.89

[From cheese makers website] An every day table cheese produced in Lombardy and adapted from the methods in Fontina Italy.

Wine Review- This wine was fine. Just fine. Not something that would make you put down your glass in disgust but not a wine that would make you lift your glass with glee. I had one glass and felt no need to get another. None of the things we set out to pair it with paired well.

However, We did see that red meat was suggested, so I decided to use the remaining wine in an abbreviated version of Beef Bourginoun. I browned the meat, carmelized the onions, chopped the carrots and simmered it all in the wine. I could not believe how heavenly dinner was. I used the meat juices to make gravy and it was the best gravy I’d ever had in my life. We really need to look at suggested pairings in the future because they were right on with this one. Fantastic!

Cheese Review- Like the wine we were not overly impressed with the cheese. I was putting a slice on bread and eating it with pepperoni. It was perfectly fine. Certainly a cheese you can use in your every day life. This cheese simply didn’t have the WOW factor our last selection had. On that I was disappointed.