All three cheeses came from Whole Foods. I need to try to remember to photograph their descriptions of the cheese and what they recommend serving with them. At least two of these cheeses were promoted as being good with olives but I didn't really find that kind of information when googling. For tasting we had both Trapiche Pinot Noir from Argentia and Pazo Serantellos Albarino from Spain. The Albarino is a light white wine similar to Viognier that is slightly acidic and has notes of apricot. As for food pairings I went with whatever we had in the house that sounded similar to recommendations I found on the web so we had apple tart, cantaloupe, and beef summer sausage along with our favorite crackers.
Zamorano: (Spain) is a hard sheep’s milk cheese that may be described as either creamy, sweet savory or as hardy and nutty. It is somewhat gamey and has a melt in the mouth texture. This cheese is similar to Manchego but is often nuttier and richer than that type of cheese. It is recommended with lighter crisp white wines and soft to medium bodied red wines. This was a dry cheese, very tangy. I think it would go well with some nice olives or a tapanade. It was Brad's favorite and if just snacking on only cheese it was also my favorite. Preferred it with the pinot noir.
Asiago Fresco: (Italy) is a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese that is creamy with a full and fruity flavor, sweet yet tangy with slightly salty aftertaste. Fresco means fresh or young so while Asiago cheese is typically aged for six months the Fresco version is only aged for a few weeks. This is an excellent melting cheese and is recommended for grilled cheese sandwiches and pizzas. It is also good for snacking and pairs well with wine and salumi (Italian style cured meats which includes salami, prosciutto, mortadella, etc.). Because this cheese is not as intense as a fully aged Asiago it is often paired with lighter white wines like Pinot Grigio versus bold red wines. This one was more about texture than flavor. Very similar to provolone in terms of flavor, somewhat sweet and I did not pick up on any salt flavoring. It was good with the beef sausage and really good with the cantaloupe. Either wine worked but I preferred the pinot noir since I am mainly a red wine drinker. We both agreed that while this cheese was good it would be better suited to melting versus snacking.
Wensleydale – Hawes: (England) is semi-hard cow’s milk cheese with a crumbly moist texture, hazelnut creamy taste, fresh salty tang, and the flavor suggests wild honey balanced with a fresh acidity. Hawes, which means pass between mountains, is located in the upper Wensleydale region. Hawes Wensleydales have lower acidity and more depth of flavor than most Wensleydales. The pastures in this area give the cheese a unique flavor. It is often paired with dried fruits, rich fruit cakes, apple pie and it is best served with medium dry white wines. Loved the texture of this cheese and it did have a bit of tang and acidity to it. It was absolutely amazing with the apple tart and pairing that combination with the Albarino really brought out the apricot in that wine. Brad liked this cheese with the cantaloupe but I did not care for that pairing. It was Brad's second favorite cheese and I would agree unless you pair it with apple tart then it shoots to number one.
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