Organic Wine & Cheese Pairing

This past Saturday Dan Olson hosted an Organic Wine & Cheese Pairing at The Wine Room of Forest Hills. There were amazing pairings of six wines (three white and three red picked by Gary Grunner for The Wine Room) with six cheeses (Dan had help from cheesemonger, Leah Juhl). All of the cheeses were made in Wisconsin, Dan's home state, and from Murray's Cheese Shop, while the wines were from Spain, Chile, Argentina, and Washington.

Mike Jett and his band provided the musical background while Carolina from The Wine Room made her rounds to make sure everything was going smoothly.

Try these combinations (I'll list the whites on this post... stay tuned for the reds!):

Cuma Torrontes (Argentina) Perfumed bouquet of peaches, apricots and tropical fruit. Light dry and crisp with a delicate finish.

paired with

Dante. Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative, Sheeps milk, dry, firm, aged minimum 6 months. Rich, nutty flavor with hints of hazelnuts and spices. 2008 American Cheese Society Award Winner.

Natura Chardonnay Chile Pale yellow with an aroma and flavor of citrus, toast, butter, fruit and plenty of apples and pears. Great long finish.

paired with

Pleasant Ridge Reserve Upland Creamery Raw cow's milk in traditional French Alpine method. Firm, subtle yet complex flavors that change with the season. Nutty, milky flavors, long finish. 2008 American Cheese Society Award Winner.

Badger Mountain Reisling (Washington state) Lemon colored with perfumed aroma of spicy apples and fruit salad. Off-dry and quite pleasing with a crisp, lime flavored finish and minerally aftertaste.

paired with

Black River Blue Cheese. North Henderson Cheese Coop. Pasteurized cow's milk. Classic from an 80 year old company. Lovely soft texture complements the intense blue. An all around blue good for everything.