As a part of Savor Dallas, I was invited to a joint event held by the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek and Scardello to discover wine and cheese pairings. Ironically, I had recently attended an event with the Moet Hennessy event, which was also held in the same place, and found the identical wine portfolio. Jim White, the founder and face of Savor Dallas, welcomed us along with Michael Flynn, the director of food and beverage at the Mansion, and Rich Rogers, the lead cheese monger for Scardello.
Rich walked us thought the several step cheese tasting process – which consisted of similar steps with the exception of touch. He also taught us about leaving the cheese on the roof of your mouth for a moment before tasting.
I’ve written about the Chateau de Sancerre many times before and this was matched with a Cana de Cabra. The goat cheese combined the acidity, creaminess and citrus of the wine splendidly.
Our next wine, the Café Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend, was paired with the St. Pat Cowgirl Creamery, a seasonal cheese from California. It was wrapped in stinging nettle leaves and was a whole organic cow’s milk cheese. This was a powerful combination and one that worked very well.
I have fond memories of Newton and I really like Chris’ wines, so I was happy to see the 08 Unfiltered Chardonnay with the Capricious goat cheese from Achadinha Cheese Company in California. This brought together caramelization with a dry jack style. I loved them both, but not together.
The next match was the 07 Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir with a Pagliarino from Italy, a raw sheep’s milk cheese. This was a nice match – the cherry was neutralized and the two combined had a great finish.
We then moved to the 07 Newton Merlot and the Cabot Clothbound, a cow’s milk cheese from Vermont. The jamminess of the merlot and the sharpness of the cabot made this a buttery, nutty and caramel combination. Very nice.
We ended with a Mahon Reserva, a raw cow’s milk cheese paired with the Termes (see link). This was a nice mix of nutty and salt that was tempered by the richness of the Termes.
Also Rich gave some cheese advice to live by, “if a rind looks like something you shouldn’t put in your mouth, then don’t.” Very smart advice from a very skilled cheese monger. And cheers to another successful year of Savor Dallas making our city more informed about wine.
