Motivate ME Monday!~ Date Night Wine & Cheese Tasting

I don't know about you, but when date night rolls around I am super excited! Especially when we are totally kid free! Each date night is special, but our last one was a first for my Hubby. He is not into wine or cheese and it is one of my goals to find wine and cheese Hubby can enjoy with me.

Creating our wine and cheese date night was something that I've wanted to do for awhile. I wanted it to be a real tasting! Not we just us vegging out on wine and cheese on the couch. As you read along you will learn how to create your own tasting!

When planning any get together, you will want to start with your menu. When creating your wine menu you will want at least 3 different wines; white, red, dessert. I like coursing my menu starting with the lightest wine (white) and ending with sweet/heavy wine (dessert). For my tasting party I pick one wine for each course. I wanted "beginner" wines for my Hubby. I didn't want heavy, tannin wines because I knew that for someone who never drinks wines, they might turn him off.  When choosing wines its good to think about your audience. If you are hosting a party for experienced wine drinkers then be a little adventurous, don't be shy to buy something that no one will expect!

Our Wine & Cheese Tasting Menu

1st Course

White Wine~ Jenna Riesling, San Martin, CA 2012

Paired with

Uniekaas Vintage 5 yr Gouda

2nd Course

Red Wine~ Oak Ridge, Delta Ranch Pinot Noir Lodi, CA 2013

Paired with

St. Albray Bongrain

3rd Course

Dessert Wine~ Chateau Belingard, Monbazillac Late Harvest
Paired with 
Taleggio 

Once you have chosen your wines it was time to pair up the cheeses. The purpose of pairing your wine & cheese is to enhance the flavors of both. It can be difficult when looking at the Whole Foods cheese counter. That is why I reference a cheese wheel. Here is one that I like from Wine Inquire.  This easy guide, give me a great jumping off point. The cheeses are where I got adventurous! 

Now that you have your wine & cheese, its on to the tasting! When tasting the wine and then the cheese there are a few things you want your party guest to rate or judge; smell of the wine, color, first taste, lingering notes and before and after comparison with cheese. If I were hosting party for more then 2 guest, I would create little score cards. For our date night I guided Hubby through the tasting and took notes.

Our wine & cheese tasting date night went perfectly! We were able to enjoy each other's company and talk like adults! Hubby was able to branch out and try new things and so was I! The St. Albray Bongrain was a new cheese for us and we both agreed that it was NOT a cheese for us! It had a wet cow smell and kinda tasted like the smell of a wet cow. Even with the smell we both tried it. I am proud of us for that. Hubby's palate for wine & cheese grew and now he is excited to try more. The best part about this date night is that we developed something in common! He never understood why I like all the "fancy" wine & cheese, now he is hooked and can't wait for our next date night tasting!

Do you love date night as much as I do? What fun date night's ideas do you have?

What is on my Wine Rack?

I am definitely a Wino!

When it comes to wine I know my stuff.  While studying restaurant management, I also study for the C.S.W.  (Certified Specialist of Wines).  There were many sleepless nights studying for that test. 

There is always something interesting on my wine rack.  Lets take a look at some of my new additions.

From Left to Right
This Pouilly-Fuisse is a great example of what a Chardonnay grape can do.  This wine is crisp with tones of minerals.  I love this wine because it is refreshing and well balanced.  This wine would pair great with seafood, like raw oysters. 

Poizin's wine bottle caught my eye.  I normally would pass right over a wine bottle that was labeled like this, but after reading that it was a Zinfandel I change my mind.  I am in a Zinfandel phase right now, I can't get enough of it.  This wine has solid tannins and notes of cherry and chocolate. The label and deep red color make it perfect for my Halloween party!

From Left to right 
The Chateauneuf-Du-Pape is one of the most famous winery in France. Some of their wines can be pretty expensive.  There are some white varieties that are hard to find. But this red grenache blend is fulled body and spicy! Yum!  When paring this wine, I would go with a veal dish.

This Paso Robles is a red wine blend of grenache, zinfandel, petite sirah and mourvedre.  The bottle sports one of those new rubber corks, which makes it much easier to open. This wine is intense with hints of dark fruit and jam. I purchase this bottle for around $12.  The price and complexity of the wine make a great find!

So what is on your wine rack?