Wine and Cheese Party!

Disclaimer: The only thing I know about cheese is that I like it. The only thing I know about wine is that I like it. :)

I'm no expert on either subject, so you won't find me spouting off about notes of fig and strawberry with undertones of pepper and tobacco. Oh no not me. No pinkies in the air over here. Just nice non-pretentious noshing where we  separate our wines and cheeses into two categories: good or bad.

We had one of our girls' night in (plus B) so I put together a little cheese board and wines to go with each. Here's my amateur pairing. I'd love to get more suggestions from all y'all experts out there.

We started with a Humboldt Fog goat cheese paired with a bubbly Prosecco. Just like wine tasting, my research told me that the order of cheeses should go from mild to strong (aka stinky) or goat, sheep and then cow. I love goat cheese. Creamy and luscious with a line a vegetable ash running through the middle.



Next we had a nice Pecorino Ginepro (compliments of Misa. Thanks, girl!). This one was quite fancy. A lovely sheep's cheese washed in Balsamic vinegar and crushed Juniper Berries. Savory and sweet. I paired this with a Cab. Balanced wine plus balanced cheese is what the online experts suggest.

We moved onto a cheddar that was washed with Single Malt Whiskey for our third tasting. Here come the cow cheeses. I paired this with a fruity old vine Zinfandel to balance the hearty cheddar. Everything is better with cheddar! Nuff said.

Fourth was a smoked aged gouda and Shiraz. The nice sharp cheese complimented the full-bodied red nicely in my amateur opinion.

Lastly we had our stinkiest cheese. Or would have, I should say. Stomach capacity, or lack thereof, kept us from trying this one. Epoisses, a pungent cow cheese from France, would have been our final tasting along with a bottle of earthy Merlot blend from Listrac-Medoc.