Wine & Cheese Pairing #1

Last night, 01/23/15, I hosted my first wine and cheese party.  The guests of honor:

• Hogue's 2012 Gewürztraminer from Colombia Valley, WA
• Château de Ségriès 2013 Côtes-du-Rhône from Lirac, France
• Bricco Del Tati's 2013 Piemonte Barbera from Piemonte, Italy
• French Camembert Suprême 
• French Comte 3 Comtois 
• Point Reyes Farmstead Original Blue Cheese
• Will, Oliver, Maggie, and Sarah

We began the party with a meal of chicken fajitas and potato pierogies (a weird combination, I know).  After everyone had eaten and our palates had a chance to reset, it was time to taste the wine.

Here's our tiny table set up for fajitas followed by wine and cheese.

With the help of the friendly wine guy at Empo Kroger, I chose three wines for our tasting.  A Côtes du Rhône with 14% alcohol by volume and no description on the label.  The label did include, however, the fact that the wine was bottled at the chateau and had the vigneron independant label, so I trusted it would be good.  The second wine was an Italian Barbera with 12% abv.  This wine was suggested by friendly Kroger guy as an easier-to-drink red with fruity notes and a less acidic bite.  The third wine was a Gewürztraminer chosen on the recommendation of the Kroger man as well as for the interesting name.  This 13% abv's label boasted of, "intense aromas and flavors of sweet lychee, rose petal and grapefruit."  Each of the wines were under $10.  The cheeses were purchased at Eats and included a runny Camembert worthy of Zola's descriptions, a hard Comtois that was a buttery cheese somewhere in between a swiss and a parmesan, and a good old smelly blue cheese.

From left: Sarah, Maggie, and Oliver excited to start tasting.

We began with the Côtes du Rhône.  It had a rich garnet color and medium legs (I'm not really good at legs yet, but they struck me as being medium for some reason).  At first taste, I was struck with the biting acidity followed by a sweet lingering aftertaste of cherries or black currants.  It had a metallic mid-palate.  With the blue cheese, the tannins were killed and the wine was much more enjoyable, but bland.  The Comte still reduced the punch of the tannins, but didn't overwhelm the taste of the wine.  The camembert did not pair well with this wine at all as it seemed to accentuate the bite of the tannins and make the wine taste like the rind of the cheese.  If you were looking for a pair which made the wine the most drinkable, go for the blue cheese.  If you're searching to bring out the most flavors, go for the comtois.

Here I am in my pajamas using a fancy aerator to unlock more flavors.

Next was the Barbera.  This wine was darker in color and the legs (if legs are actually how the wine drips down the glass after you swirl it) were dispersed further apart around the glass.  The wine smelled flowery with a hint of a metallic scent.  Upon tasting, I discovered a biting initial taste with a metallic aftertaste, and the heat broke through mid-palate (which I think is normal for a red wine?).  The blue cheese completely overwhelmed my taste-buds for this wine, and the camembert made the wine taste even fruitier to the point of being nearly too sweet for a red.  This wine paired the best with the Comtois, for the combination made the wine taste smoother and the cheese more buttery and smooth rather than Swiss-y.

Will really took the "get your whole nose in there" advice to heart.

We closed with the Gewürztraminer, a pale yellow wine with no real legs to speak of.  This wine smelled crisp and fresh with hints of pear.  It tasted even sweeter with hints of honey and rose and a spicy aftertaste.  I'd say this was a great dessert wine, but it really did not pair well with any of the cheese.  The camembert made the wine taste like vinegar, but left you with an apple aftertaste.  The blue cheese made this already sweet wine even sweeter, but the tastes of the two did not clash as badly as the camembert combo.  The Comtois and the Gewürztraminer effectively cancelled each other out and left a buttery aftertaste.  All in all, this wine is best on its own (or maybe with chocolate?).

Leftovers for the rest of the week!

Wine class!

After a long hiatus, I am back and readier to write than ever. This eagerness to write could, in part, be due to the fact that this blog will now count as part of my grade for wine class, but that's beside the point.  Yes, I am now happily enrolled in an online section of Geography of Wine, a course which will hopefully help me form the foundation of my lifelong wine education, so grab your own glass, give it a hearty swirl and sniff, and get pumped!

My own relationship with wine really isn't that exciting at the moment.  Bacchus's sweet nectar first graced my lips at a 7th grader in communion class, and I remember being appalled that anyone would ever drink this stuff (White Zinfandel) for fun.  As I got older, I still wasn't a huge fan of wine until I studied abroad in France.  As an 18 year old in a wine wonderland, I quickly learned to like the whites and love the reds.  My favorite warm, fuzzy memories from that trip involve a couple of bottles of Côtes du Rhone, a hunk of Roquefort, and a slab of dark chocolate shared with friends on the lawn of the Tour Eiffel.  The weather wasn't all that nice, as I now remember, so maybe the wine had something to do with the warm and fuzzy.  Anyway, a decent bottle of wine cost about the same as a nice bottle of spring water and my hostel's cafeteria served wine out of a juice dispenser for lunch and dinner, so drink I did.  My favorites were Côtes du Rhone, as mentioned before, with its rich, dark flavors, and champagne with black currant liqueur.  After my return to the US, my wine tasting slowed down until I was again of legal drinking age and able to buy my own wine.

Currently, I am not wine's biggest fan.  I really struggle with proper pairing of food and wine, and often bring out the wrong notes with what I try.  I've also developed a tendency to get headaches from drinking just one glass of red (blame it on the sulfites?).  I know that I'm not a fan of Pinot Noir, but I'm hoping I can re-school my palette and enjoy those reds that I loved so much in Paris.  These days I really only drink wine either with a nice dinner or while binge-eating brie and watching Netflix with my best friend.  Drink This Now! says that wine can be integrated into more parts of life than these, and I am ready to learn!  (c)Here's to a great semester!

A healthy dose of perspective

For me at least, life has a way of helping me maintain my perspective.  The whole "look for the good in your life" thing is so cliché, but so true.  When you allow yourself to stop and step back, it's hard not to appreciate how wonderful and cheesy life can be.

Last March, when I'd messed up my ankle(s) and gotten the news that I'd have to stop running for a while and pull two races off my schedule, I was crushed.  I remember that afternoon vividly:  I stopped by Kroger on my way home from the doctor's to pick up some little donut cushions that let me wear shoes with backs without feeling like my heels were on fire, it was raining, and I was doing all I could to keep from tearing up in the grocery store.  As I passed through the sliding doors on my way out of the store, this little old lady stopped me and asked me to bring her a cart so that she could use it to help her walk into the store.  I gladly helped her, and another woman stopped and thanked me for helping her as I walked to my car.  The force of that experience nearly knocked me over and made me take a good hard look at my pity party.  Yes, not being able to run sucks, but helping that woman reminded me that I was totally capable of walking, and that's really something.  

I'm spending my summer in Blacksburg, and naturally I managed to catch a cold immediately.  On my way back from Schiffert, I was trapped under Whittemore by a freak rainstorm/flash flood/tornado watch (typical Blacksburg weather shenanigans).  Lucky for me, I have a friend in town who was willing to rescue me.  I do spend more time alone now that I'm out of the dorms, but I have friends nearby that are down to watch silly movies, run nine miles in the forest, and go on spur of the moment adventures.  This again, forced me to stop feeling mopey about being sick and marvel at the wonderful group of people that surrounds me.

Adventures thus far:

a quick trip home to see my family and my favorite four-legged friends and read as much as I possibly could, moving back to my new home in Blacksburg, lazy river days, a spectacular sunrise hike, a couple of trips to Roanoke, several great dinner parties (I feel so old writing that), classes that are actually stimulating and not overly work-intensive, and a bunch of quality time spent running in the woods.  Life is so very good.

Those storm clouds got me again

If it were about five degrees warmer, this week would have been a prime example of my favorite kind of weather. Dark storm clouds are hanging just low enough to trap all the sunlight and make all the colors of spring look really over saturated, and the wind is strong enough to wreak havoc on any attempts to style your hair. Wild and wonderful and singing of change, just the way I like it.

This kind of weather makes me feel like anything is possible, so naturally I let this feeling overtake me and signed up for the Mountain Masochist Trail Run. This is a 50 mile run in the mountains near spy rock, in case you've been following my earlier adventures. The race actually finishes at the campground I've gone to almost every October since I was little. No, I've never raced anything like this, and yes, I think I've probably lost my mind. But hey, race registration only stays open for a week, and signing up forces me to get started training right?  I also made a pinky promise earlier this semester that I'd do it, and you know you just can't go back on those.  Let the mileage buildup begin!

Other recent adventures include racing bikes with the cycling team, snapping my derailleur and learning a lot about bike maintenance on the fly, figuring out how to swim without using my ankles, and buying a sketchy, sketchy commuter I've named Lady Eleanor (Aliéanor if you're feeling French). I've also noticed that I'm starting to run into the same people every where I go. I spent about two hours chilling on the porch of east coasters while I waited for some parts to be installed on Theo, and I saw at least six people from the tri and cycling teams. I also passed five people during my run at Pandapas today, four of which were members of vt ultra or the cycling team. Does that mean that I'm one of them now, since we all seem to be drawn to the same places? It's a neat thing to think about. When I first came to tech, I didn't imagine that I'd be one to be drawn I bike shops and trail runs but here I am!

God is good.

I am a marveler.  I am constantly in awe of the world around me.  My friends can attest to this-- I frequently stop walking to admire a particularly beautiful daffodil, to acknowledge the silky feeling of the wind on a humid day, and I once spent ten minutes simply watching the water in War Memorial pool ripple and catch the light.  I live in this world where efficiency is critical and time is of the essence, but oh how I am enamored with the world around me.  I revel in the beauty, the complexity, the power of the natural world, and I attribute all its goodness to God.  I can't imagine a world as wonderful as this without thinking of the awesome power of its creator.  Power, that is the key word here.  Power, strength, might, majesty, He embodies it all.  And today, in the aftermath of Boston's tragedy and the remembrance of April 16, his power rings just as true.

I truly believe in the power of prayer.  My God is an awesome God, and he is omnipotent.  Awesome, add that to the list of words that keep reappearing.  He can grant whatever you ask for, so long as you ask for it. How can I doubt the power of the one that created this awe-inspiring world?  Every ant, stone, skyscraper, brilliant idea, and act of kindness stems from Him.  All I can do is sit here and rejoice that my God is so good, and that one day I'll join him in heaven.  It is so easy to doubt, to say that a loving God would never let terrible things happen, that the universe came together of its own accord, that the whole idea of God was created just to make sense of the chaos around us.  For some, this is their truth.  For me, I can't open my eyes without being blinded by God's grace.  I find that his presence is evident in everything around me, the good and the bad.  It is hard to trust that everything is happening for a reason, but I strive to do it.  When I pray for comfort and solace for the families of the 32, I believe that God will grant it.  When I pray for healing for the victims of the Boston Marathon explosions, I believe God will grant it.  When I pray that everyone around me will come to know God's grace and love, I believe that the seed of faith will be planted in their hearts and that, with nurturing, they will also know the joy that I do.

As I sit here on the floor of McBryde, awaiting the start of a class that will probably deal with something as clinical and scientific as wire extrusion or milling, I'm in a daze.  Do you ever wonder what people would leave on your memorial if you were to pass away today?  I'd hope for daffodils if it's spring or zinnias if it's summer, for band-aids, for a mason jar of blueberry jam, for a worn-in pair of running shoes, and a hand-drawn picture of a bicycle.  I'd hope that the life I've lived so far could inspire others to live their lives to the fullest.  I'd hope that I've let God's light shine through me and strengthened the faith of others.  I'd hope that you could find the joy in my passing rather than mourning the space I'd leave behind.

I realize that I'm rambling now, but I just want to impress upon you God's presence in the world around us.  Go outside.  Smile at a stranger.  Pick a flower.  Run, and feel the joy that comes with having your body race along as fast as your mind.  The world we live in is full of beauty, and God is good.

Word of the day: apricity

This semester has been even more insane than last semester, as evidenced by my super frequent posts.  I've gotten into a wicked habit of drowning in work during the week and doing absolutely nothing but playing on the weekends, and that lifestyle leaves very little free time. came back from break a week early to do triathlon training week, which was an absolute blast.  I imagine that's what it'd be like to be pro: wake up around 7, eat, run up a mountain, eat, watch a movie, got to swim practice, eat, shower, watch another movie, snack again, and be in bed by 10 at the latest.  We didn't do a lot of biking because it snowed about eight inches in one night, but it was still so fun to get to know my team and not worry about anything except working out.  You really form a special kind of bond when you're hanging out in all your early morning, sweat-soaked glory.

The view from the pulloff on the road up to Mountain Lake Resort.

So much bonding!

Later on in the semester I did the Blacksburg Classic 10 miler, and it went so well!  I had only been seriously training for a run of that distance for about two weeks, but I finished in 1:17 and I was really happy with my performance!  The first two miles were terrible, mile 9 was a serious mental battle, but the majority and the end of the race felt phenomenal!  It was snowing throughout most of the race, and I really should have packed a gel to keep my energy level up around mile 7.

Last weekend, I went to the Terrapin Mountain half and ultra marathons to support a bunch of friends on the tri and ultra teams!  This was an incredible experience, and I'm contemplating switching over to ultra running if I can just get and stay healthy.  There is just something incredibly appealing about running 30-50 miles in the woods.  The Mountain Masochist is officially added to my bucket list.  Next fall perhaps?  

The Sedalia Center in Big Island, VA was absolutely gorgeous with blue skies and mountains nearby.

After the 10 miler, I realized that I had really screwed up my ankle, so I haven't really been able to do anything since then.  It's from a combination of rolling it running in the snow, falling off of my bike, getting stomped on while playing Twister, and not giving myself adequate time to heal.  Going from about 15 mile weeks to two 30 mile weeks probably didn't help it either.  I've been seeing an athletic trainer turned chiropractor (getting my back, shoulder, neck, and ankle sorted out all at the same time!) and I realized that I've also got a wicked case of achilles tendinitis which explains why it feels like my ankle is on fire when I wear tennis shoes.  The good news:  I'm almost recovered!!!  I was cleared to run a mile today, and, though it felt like fire for the first quarter of a mile, the last three quarters were pain free!  I'm icing as I write this and praying for a smooth recovery.  

So I think that about sums up my semester so far!  I'm sure I'm leaving out something horribly important, but here is most of the active stuff.  I've also met some seriously interesting people ranging all ages and occupations.  It can be really  eye-opening to see how some people experience the same world I do in such a different way.

Ameliorate, enervate, and other fun words

When I came home for break, I expected to spend about three days on the couch recovering from the stress, lack of sleep, and a mysterious stomach bug that I picked up due to finals.  Then I expected to bounce back and paint my room and drive my sister nuts and work out twice a day and cook dinner and teach my dogs all kinds of new tricks and go fishing with my dad and put siding on the new garage.  Instead, I've succumbed to the temptation of remaining lethargic, with Gracie's snuggly company, and working my way through all the books I didn't get to read this semester.  My god-mother and grandmother are both librarians, and a love of good literature was instilled in me at a very young age.  I distinctly remember riding around in my booster seat with Grammy, eating blue jelly beans, and becoming horribly car-sick because I refused to put down my Junie B. Jones book.  My addiction hasn't abated as I've grown older, and I had to ban myself from reading for pleasure during the semester because I would never get any work done otherwise.  Typically I fly through books, chasing plot twists and turning pages til the story tells itself out.  I'm working on slowing down and appreciating an author's use of language and the deeper meaning to be pulled from between the pages, but it's really hard to keep from reading as fast as I can.

So far this break I've read:

• The Wake of the Lorelei Lee- one of L.A. Meyer's cute Jacky Faber stories that I didn't realize I'd already read until I was halfway through.  Majorly disappointing because the man tells a great story.
• Some Nora Roberts love story whose name I can't remember but it had something to do with mountain lions and a murderer, and the plot was dishearteningly similar to that of The Red Scarf Killer.  
• Beautiful Creatures- I was prompted to read this because of the movie trailer, and it was a decent piece of young adult fiction.  The plot held my attention, though the writing style did not.  This is a page turner, not a sit-and-think-about-it kind of book.
• Redeeming Love- For some reason I typically steer clear of Christian fiction, but this was recommended by a friend and I really enjoyed it.  It's a retelling of the story of Hosea, and it not only brought me to tears but also made me think about my relationship with God.  I'd recommend this book to anyone as the story is just as wonderful as Francine Rivers' writing style.
• Into the Wild- This was also recommended by the same friend, and it had been on my reading list for a while.  I'm not sure what message Jon Krakauer was trying to leave with the reader, but this book has made my wanderlust flare up terribly while instilling a healthy respect for the powers of nature and preparation.
• On the Road- One of my favorite quotes is from Jack Kerouac, "Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry," but I'd never actually read any of his work until now.  I'm currently working my way through this one, and I'm really enjoying his style of writing.  It reminds me of Nick Carraway in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and the way my own thoughts swirl around almost non-sensically when I try to catch them on paper.  For me at least, this book requires active reading in order to understand everything that is happening and to try to figure out what the author is trying to convey.  So far so good.

While I'm on the subject of books, here are my all time favorite reads:

• Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen- I've got a weak spot for Tamora Pierce, and these books are just great.  I can't even tell you how many times I've read them for fun, when I needed to lose myself in another world, or when I needed some inspiration from Ali.  Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
• Bel Canto- all time favorite book if you're looking for the beauty of written word.  This author has serious style, and her writing is like the most delicate, flavorful candy you can imagine.  This book will also make you think really hard and is just all-around powerful.
• Garden Spells- such a sweet love story that combines beautiful writing with just a dash of magic.  The Peach Keeper, also by Sarah Addison Allen, is also wonderful.
• East of Eden- If you've got time to read 600 pages and want a book that'll make you think, read Steinbeck's East of Eden.  I read this on a train through Italy and the flight back to America, so it also packs a sentimental punch.  Deals with everything from family, farming, foolish ideas, a father's love, to the Father's love in the developing Salinas Valley.  At some point in his or her life, everyone needs to read this book.