Wine & Cheese Night

One of my favorite things that we have done as a class has been our Wine and Cheese Night on May 20th. We got to taste 5 different wines and 5 different cheeses!
Cheese Tasting!
It's been estimated that there is about 700 Italian cheeses! One important aspect of cheese tasting is to taste the cheese at room temperature to appreciate the flavors and aromas. I tasted the cheese in order from mild to strong so that the overpowering cheeses did not alter the flavor of the more mild ones.

1. Bel Paese: from cow's milk. It is made in Lombardy and also in the US. Fairly mild & buttery. Great  with fruity wines!
2. Pecorino Romano: from sheep's milk. Originated in Rome. Extremely, hard, salty and dry. Often grated on pasta. I did not like this one very much-- too salty for me!
3. Fontina Val D'Aosta: from cow's milk. Comes from Val d' Aosta in northern Italy. Often melted for Italian Fondue. Favorite!
4. Gorgonzola Dolce: (soft) from cow's milk. From Gorgonzola and it is a veined blue cheese that is aged for 3 months. Appreciated the cheese but would not choose to eat it again.
5. Gorgonzola Piccante: (spicy) from cow's milk. From Gorgonzola and it is aged for longer and it is harder. Definitely a stronger and sharper flavor than the Dolce and much more pungent.

Wine Tasting!
We tasted 5 varieties of white wines. We mostly tried to become better educated on the white-grape varieties in Italy, understand the art of wine tasting and see what we like the best! :)

1. Prosecco: sparkling italian wine (dry/extra dry). Very similar to French Champagne but Prosecco does not undergo a second fermentation in the bottle. The process for Prosecco is cheaper. Personally, I did not really like the Prosecco very much because it was too sweet for me.
2. Pinot Grigio: Italian name for French variety (Pinot Gris). Very popular and produces light-bodied, pale, high acid wines. Other varieties-- verdicchio, vernaccio and tocai friulano.
3. Trebbiano: most common variety in Italy. Makes light-bodied, crisp and usually neutral/bland wines. If I had to pick one I would chose this type of white wine.

We also learned how to read wine labels and understand the 5 s's of wine tasting
see, swirl, sniff, sip & savor!

I am not the biggest fan of white wines-- they're too sweet for me. We are planning on doing a few more wine tastings and I'm hoping they include red wines because that is what I prefer! :)