The them for this month’s Wine Pairing Weekend crew is “Pairing Wine and Cheese”. Here’s a link to our host Cam’s invitation post
When it was time for me to start my “research” for this post, we happened to have some Cypress Grove Fog Light Goat Cheese in the fridge. I don’t know about you, but when I think of goat cheese, I think of Sauvignon Blanc. It’s my go-to pairing for goat cheese. As good fortune would have it, I also has a skin-fermented Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand in the cellar I’ve been wanting to try, and a Melon de Bourgogne from California which I thought would pair well with goat cheese.
Since I had two wines, I decided to add some French goat cheese to the wine and cheese pairing party because goat cheeses, or chèvres have been a staple in France since Moors brought goats to the Loire Valley in the 8th century A.D.
What’s the the Franco-American connection? Goat cheese from both France and California, along with a wine of Melon de Bourgogne from California, but is native to France’s Loire valley.
The skin fermented Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand added a nice little twist to wine and cheese pairing party!
Wine and Cheese Pairing Tips
I think these six wine and cheese pairing tips from Wine Folly are spot on:
- Pair wines and cheeses with equal intensity
- Bold red wines pair best with aged cheeses
- Match super funky cheeses with sweeter wines
- Sparkling wines are incredible with soft, creamy cheeses
- Wines and cheeses from the same place pair well together
- When in doubt, get a firm, nutty cheese
The Wines
2022 Jolie-Laide Melon de Bourgogne
Fruit for this wine was sourced from a dramatic high desert site in the Gabilan Mountains neighboring Pinnacles National Park. South facing slope, 1800 ft elevation, situated just beneath an extinct volcano with decomposed granite and limestone soils. The grapes were whole cluster pressed to concrete eggs where it underwent spontaneous fermentation. 100% Melon de Bourgogne, a variety of white grape grown primarily in the Loire Valley region of France. It is best known through its use as the exclusive grape variety of the white wine Muscadet.
Tasting Note: Pale lemon yellow with green reflections with enticing green apple, chalk, lemon zest and oyster shell aromas. On the palate, it’s light-bodied and dry with shimmering zesty acidity. It shows green apple, lime, lemon zest flavors with an appealing chalky minerality. Medium finish. 12% ABV| SRP – $30|89pts
2019 The Hermit Ram Sauvignon Blanc Skin Fermented
Winemaker Theo Coles sources organic fruit from tiny vineyards throughout the Canterbury region of New Zealand. This wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc planted on glacial gravel soils. The grapes were destemmed and fermented on skins for a month then bottled after malolactic conversion. The wine is bottled unfined/unfiltered, with no added So2.
Tasting Note: Slightly hazy pale amber/gold color with exuberant nectarine confit, orange blossom, passion fruit, fresh ginger, and a hint of petrichor aromas. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and dry with bright, mouth-watering acidity and a hint of tannins. It shows nectarine, dried apricot, yellow plum, mandarin orange, and passion fruit flavors with a very appealing saline minerality and lengthy finish. 11.5% ABV|SRP – $24|91pts
The Cheeses
The Pairings
The wines were paired with two goat’s milk cheeses: Cypress Grove Fog Lights, which we had on hand, and Bucherondin. They are both dense and fudgy soft-ripened goat cheeses that ripen from the outside in as they age. Both are tangy, a bit earthy and fairly mild.
The Melon de Bourgogne was a very good pairing with both cheeses. I slightly preferred it more with the Cypress Grove than the Bucherondin.
The Hermit Ram Skin Fermented Sauvignon Blanc was great with both cheeses.
While both the wines had plenty of acid to cut through the richness of the cheeses, the Sauvignon Blanc also had that bit of tannins which enhanced the mouthfeel of the wine when consumed with the cheese. I also thought its fruitiness was wonderful counterpoint to the both the texture and earthy notes in both cheeses.
Looking for more wine and cheese pairing inspiration? I invite you to visit my fellow Wine Pairing Weekend bloggers posts that follow:
- A Grenache Mutant and a Grilled Halloumi Salad by Culinary Cam
- Bitto and Wines from Valtellina by Avvinare
- Gruyere Cheese Wine Pairing by Cooking Chat
- In praise of Manchego cheese and Navarra wine by My Full Wine Glass
- Italian Wines with Italian Cheeses and Fontina Gnocchi by Wine Predator… Gwendolyn Alley
- Looking for the Perfect Turkish Wine and Cheese Pairing by The Quirky Cork
- Triple Aged Cheddar Cheeseburger and a Bottle of Cabernet by A Day in the Life on the Farm
We’ll be live on Twitter tomorrow, June 10th, 11 a.m. ET chatting about wine and cheese pairing. Just follow and use the #WinePW hashtag.
Your choice of cheese is my goat to ;-D
M de B in CA… cool! You too finding skin fermented wines extremely food friendly?
California has such great weather generally, so they are more and more atypical grape varieties being planted. It’s literally the Wild Wild West when it comes to grape here. Damn near anything goes!
I was so curious to see which California winery you picked that was doing Melon de Bourgogne. I recently had one from I. Brand Winery here in Carmel Valley. To die for! I don’t think I paired it with goat cheese. Next bottle! Thanks, as always, for joining me this month. I always learn so much – and add to my shopping list – whenever you post.
My pleasure joining Cam. Wine and Cheese is such a great topic. I didn’t know I Brand is also doing a Melon! Would be fun to try them back to back!
Continuing your love for skin-fermented whites, I see. Kudos! Pairings sound perfect. Muscadet is one of my faves.
Gawd! I do love me some skin-fermented white wines. They’re so versatile at the table!
I think I have a Melon de Bourgogne somewhere and there’s a local producer here making a somewhat “fudgy” goat cheese so I guess I know what I’m going to do!!
Thank Andrea. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!