Castagna, Seghesio, Wendouree

It is said that if you are at a wine tasting and want to buy wine, you taste wine with apple, whereas if you want to sell wine, you offer cheese. And it is true, cheese numbs the taste buds. Nonetheless, cheese and wine are a good and popular combination. On this particular cheese night, I thought to pair the food with three different wines, which represent a spectrum of Australian and Italian characteristics. As I did not take notes, the comments below are quite general and no points are awarded.

First up was the 2008 Castagna La Chiave. This is a Sangiovese grown at altitude in Beechworth, Victoria. It showed typical varietal characteristics with red cherry flavours and acidity. Being Australian, the acidity was less than from a typical Chianti, but there was enough to 'cut' through the cheese.

The 2004 Seghesio Barolo La Villa offered a different experience. The flavours of this wine are quite complex, more savoury, and with mushroom and earthy components at the forefront. This wine added taste experiences to the cheese. It was food friendly and an excellent compliment to the food.

The 2002 Wendouree Shiraz/Mataro was different again. This is a big and quite 'fat' wine with strong plum and other dark fruit flavours. It matched well with soft, 'fat' cheeses. My main impression here was that the cheese made it easier to drink the wine, which - on its own - was very bold.

So while cheese may numb the palate, cheese/wine combinations can still be rewarding. The wines tried expressed their terroir and grape variety in a very typical fashion and offered different, yet sensible combinations.