The Grand Marriott's Wine and Cheese Tasting

In South Alabama, we are truly blessed to have an establishment like The Grand Marriott Hotel near us. It is a beautiful setting on Mobile Bay with great food, drinks and accommodations. Plus, their spa is amazing. :-)

I am currently working toward learning more about cooking and have been attending their Culinary Institute classes once a month. This month was all about wine and, what else?, cheese. 

We joined some other great local folks and the Head Chef, Chef Mike, for a great wine and cheese pairing.

 Outside on Mobile Bay

 The Cheese Plate

The wine glass aftermath

Here is a list of wine and cheese pairings - this will help you learn what cheese typically goes well with which varietal/type of wine and how I felt the pairings held up to the hype and how the wine tasted:

1. Quail Creek Sauvignon Blanc (CA) paired with AL Belle Chevre goat cheese

• GREAT CA Sauv Blanc - it is your classic, grassy CA Sauv
• The AL goat cheese was phenomenal. In a word, run, don't walk to Elkmont, AL to buy some (or just visit The Grand soon!) :-)
• I felt the pairing was great and paired down the acidity of the wine and highlighted the cheese

2. Stonewood Pinot Grigio paired with Belgioioso Mozzarella Cheese

• This wine and cheese pairing was bland, at best. Both tasted watered down and unappealing. 

3.  Coastal Vines Chardonnay (CA) paired with President's Brie

• Both the Chardonnay and the Brie present a nice, soft, buttery taste that, sadly, did not pair well together. Although both tasted good separately, there was not enough contrast between them. 

4. Columbia Valley Riesling (WA) paired with Great Lakes Swiss Cheese

• This Riesling is one of my favorite cheap Rieslings and can be found in almost every grocery store, so definitely a go on this wine.
• This swiss cheese from WI would have paired better with a Gewurztraminer but was OK with the Riesling.

5. Sequin Moscato (Argentina) paired with Jalapeno Havarti

• Classic pairing of sweet and spicy. The pairing was great but was not a huge fan of the Denmark-made cheese. 
• The Moscato, for all sweet-toothes, was great.

6. Canyon Road (CA) Pinot Noir paired with Carr Valley Melange

• The Pinot was actually a nice, CA Pinot - smooth but not quite as heavy as I like
• The cheese was really interesting - a blending of cow, sheep and goat cheese and then aged in a cave for 6 months. Very smooth but not overly flavorful. 

7. Franciscan Estate Merlot paired with Belgioioso Parmesan cheese from WI

•  Very nice and spicy merlot paired well with a fantastic parmesan. 
• This cheese won 1st place - Best of Class in the 2010 World Championship Cheese contest (who knew there was such a thing??!!)
• Great pairing of spicy to the cheese' sweet and nutty flavor

8.  Stump Jump Shiraz paired with Carr Valley Apple Wood Smoked Cheddar from WI

• A decent Shiraz (a Shiraz is the same wine, basically, as a Syrah but made in Australia)
• This cheese is smoked with apple wood and rubbed on the outside with paprika but the flavor was, sadly, barely there for my palette

9.  Massimo Malbec (Argentina) paired with Rogue Creamery Oregon

• A classic, Argentinian Malbec - very nice, spicy and smooth
• This cheese was one of the highlights of the day - looks very much like a blue cheese but the taste is without the overbearing hit  - very subtle and paired great with the wine

10. Douglass Hill (CA) Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc paired with milk chocolate

• You can't go very wrong with red wine and chocolate
• By this time in the day, chocolate was a great escape and wine was nice and smooth to compliment

Well, there you have it. I hope this offered some new cheese and wine pairing adventures for you!

Cheers!