Bordeauxing the Red Eye: A European Wine Night

DIY Wine and Cheese selections

The loss of international travel has been one of the hardest, yet admittedly most trivial, adjustments during the pandemic.

On the final summery night that New England fall would offer, we found ourselves daydreaming of the culinary adventures waiting on the other side of the Atlantic. We struck a bargain with our wanderlust and decided to create our own little slice of European-inspired luxury: a wine and cheese tasting for two.

We only knew two things upon embarking on this culinary endeavor: we wanted to try 3 wines and 3 cheeses, and we wanted the wine to be European. I mean, how else could we pretend to be in Bordeaux?

Unsure of how to curate our own charcuterie board, we started where most Millennials would go: the cheese counter at Whole Foods. The man behind the cheese counter lit up with excitement when we asked for suggestions for cheese to pair with wines, and his enthusiasm did not disappoint. We walked out with Le Petit French Brie, Cypress Grove Midnight Moon hard goat’s cheese, and a classic Parmigiano-Reggiano.

With our cheese in tow, we headed over to a local wine store lacking square footage but overflowing with knowledge. We explained our dilemma: I like bold reds with lots of tannin, he likes sweet Port or Madeira. We were taken on a short journey through France, Italy, and Portugal to pick our wines and ultimately walked out with a Loire Valley Gamay Rouge, a Tuscan blended red, and a 2013 Late Bottle Vintage (LBV) Port.

With some thin crackers, spicy and mild salami, and a sliced apple, we were ready to embark on our red wine flight through Europe.

While I am not a sommelier or a cheese expert, we found that the following pairings were most complementary:

Gamay Rouge: the softer Gamay complements the Brie and plays surprisingly well with the hard goat’s cheese, but was easily overpowered by the Parmigiano-Reggiano

Tuscan blend: as expected, the tannin-rich Tuscan blend was bold enough to hold its own against the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and surprisingly did not overpower the hard goat’s cheese. The versatility of the hard goat’s cheese was impressive, and quickly became a new favorite

LBV Port: this sweeter-than-expected wine could be enjoyed with all three cheeses, but my personal favorite was the surprisingly mild but flavorful hard goat’s cheese

I hope you can create your own slide of staycation luxury, and maybe even try one of these wines or cheeses.

Authentically,
Cate