Wine & Bloomy-Rinded Cheese Pairings from our Oct 14, 2018 Workshop

Posted on Tuesday, October 16, 2018 | By Nicole Easterday |

FARMcurious Wine Pairing with Enotrias

Thanks to my bloomy-rinded cheese-making class I have the opportunity to taste lots of amazing wines paired with all my favorite bloomy-rinded cheeses. The wines are selected by my favorite sommelier Melissa Smith from Enotrias.

Below are pairings from our October 14th Brie-Making with Sommelier-Led Wine-Pairing Workshop:

Wine listed first and then the cheeses (selected by Nicole at FARMcurious) with which Melissa paired them:

  • Canals & Nubiola Cava - this cava is my dirty little secret - it actually comes from a vineyard my brother-in-law spent summers at as a child, yet can be found at a very good price ($16 or $8.05 during 5-cent sale!) at Bevmo.
    • Dirt Lover by Green Dirt Farms - Sheep's milk cheese from northwestern Missouri. Sweet grass and wildflower flavors when young; fresh hay and meaty when more mature.
  • 2016 Franck Millet "Insolite" Sancerre - "Intensely charged with stone fruit and minerality, with bright citrus notes."
    • Sheffield Village Camembert - A tasty little secret made from cow's and goat's milk
    • Valencay - Ash and blue mold surface, shaped like a pyramid with the top cut off. Mushroomy, forest floor, barnyard.
  • 2017 Wente Small Lot Pinot Noir Rosé - Lush, flavor of fresh strawberries
    • Mothais Sur Feuille - A farmhouse goat cheese from the Deux-Sèvres region of France; the cheeses are aged in a moister environment than most goat cheeses then dried out by placing on a chestnut leaf.
  • 2016 Poderi Luigi Einaudi Langhe Nebbiolo 
    • ll Nocciolo by Caseificio dell' Alta Langa - The only three-milk cheese from our selection, this robiola-style jewel is produced in Alta Langa in southern Piemonte, Italy by the maker of other such favorites as La Tur. This little pat of butter is shaped much like a petit four and is rich, creamy, lactic and slightly tangy. Best served at room temperature.
  • 2016 Lieu Dit Cabernet Franc (Santa Ynez Valley)
    • Harbison by The Cellars at Jasper Hill - Made from cow's milk and wrapped in spruce bark, this big, bold cheese is a show-stopper. People claim to taste everything from cheeseburgers to bacon to hot dogs in this smoky, delectable cheese. It's often served with the top cut off so you can dip right into its gooey interior like fondue.

I think this photo pretty much sums up how Melissa felt about the pairings.

Melissa Smith from Enotrias