Cheese and Wine Pairing of the Week – 11/04/19

Some of you might have been lucky enough to grab an itison voucher for a cheese and wine flight at The Wine Press but if you missed out this time then we’ve picked one of our favourite pairings from the deal as our Pairing of the Week so you can enjoy it at home!

The El Coto Crianza Rioja has long been one of our favourite young, fruity Riojas at Aitkens. The American oak ageing for a minimum of 12 months gives the wine great structure and strikes a perfect balance between the juicy strawberry and cherry with the soft vanilla notes. We could quite happily drink this wine all day long on its own but the balance between the fresh fruit and toasted flavours make it an ideal wine for pairing with our Cheese of the Week.

Coolea is a hard, cow’s milk cheese from West Cork in Ireland. If you like your aged Gouda then this is a fantastic alternative! Coolea has been made in Cork since 1979 and is made in the same way as a traditional Dutch Gouda giving the cheese a firm texture with some sweet caramel notes and nutty flavours starting to develop. Coolea is another fantastic all-rounder being mild and buttery enough for everyone to enjoy whilst having a complex element for all you cheese aficionados out there!

The Crianza really opens up when paired with the Coolea with those berry aromas really standing out against the saltiness of the cheese while the toffee notes in the cheese compliment the soft vanilla in the wine.

Don’t forget as well that you’ll get 20% off the Coolea this week if you buy a bottle of El Coto Crianza and if you enjoy the Crianza don’t forget to check out the Reserva and Gran Reserva from El Coto too!