no wine-ing allowed when there is cheese around!

Last night, my roommates and I decided to do a wine and cheese pairing.  I mean why not, 30 extra points and an excuse to drink wine and eat cheese sounds great to me!

We decided to try various reds - 

Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and a red wine blend.

Wine 1 - Acronym Red Wine Blend California 2013
Cheese 1 - Swiss cheese 
-- The scent of this wine was so strong that I didn't even have to stick my nose in the glass, I smelled the wine from miles away.  Not literally but still.  I smelled red berries!  It was the primary thing that stood out.  When I tasted it, the tannins blew me away but in a good way...while it was tannic, the alcohol, berries and (I think) flowers overpowered the tannins as I swallowed.  It went down smooth and I thought this was a great wine for a blend! Now after pairing it with the Swiss cheese I thought two things: 1. The cheese brings out the alcohol and takes away the berries and 2.  I liked this wine before the cheese. 

Wine 2 - Alamos Malbec - Mendoza Argentina 2014
Cheese 2 - Manchego
-- Right away this wine smelled like it was oaked but I got fruity scents from it too.  As I sipped this wine it was pretty spicy but not as much as I thought it would be.  There was a peppery aftertaste though that stood out to me.  Paired with cheese made with wine clear and crisp.  It wasn't as spicy but I could taste more of the fruity aspect of the wine.  This cheese was delicious and I thought this was a great pairing with the cheese.

Wine 3 - Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2012
Cheese 3 - Havarti
-- This wine smells like chocolate, vanilla, and berries.  As soon as I drink it, I get this woody taste in my mouth but the vanilla definitely comes through.  The cheese was so creamy and tasted AMAZING with the wine.  I think it's because this cheese was a bit sweet and the wine does so well with sweet foods like chocolate so this cheese was PERFECT for this wine.  It complimented each other so well and as I ate and drank, the cheese almost took the slight spice out of the wine and the wine tasted a bit sweeter.