We’ve been working with our foodie friends over at The Cheese Geek on something we’re all rather excited about… we’ve combined our in-house nerdy wine knowledge with their geeky cheese expertise to come up with an epic wine and cheese pairing box. And just in time for winter… aka cheese board season!
Introducing ‘The Clint’, a foodie’s dream gift box, containing four outstanding cheeses and four perfectly paired premium wines. With each item in the box meticulously picked by our collective experts of Wine Buyers and Cheese Tasters, ‘The Clint’ is a labour of love between two companies who are passionate about food and wine.
Dream Team
At VW, we believe in spreading a little enjoyment through our wines. And we like collaborating with partners who share our energy. Which is why we were delighted to come together with The Cheese Geek on this project. Founder Edward Hancock (“The Cheese Geek” himself!) explains why bringing cheese and wine together was a no-brainer for them.
The Cheese Geek offers fantastic monthly subscriptions allowing customers to try high quality, award-winning cheeses sourced from across the globe. Their boxes provide information on the cheeses, pairing tips and a scorecard – which we love, so have made sure to include this in our special wine and cheese box too.
So What’s in The Box?
We’ve included four award-winning, crowd pleasing cheeses which have never been seen before in a supermarket – making our cheese and wine pairings even more special. The wines we’ve chosen to match provide the perfect balance of flavours, body and tannins for the selection of cheeses. In the box you’ll find two hard cheeses, a soft and a blue, along with three red wines and a white.
The Old Winchester and Les Hautes Terrasses Côtes du Rhône
A complex, flavoursome cheese deserves a bold red wine. The Old Winchester is a matured, hard cheese with an array of moutherwating flavours resembling Gouda, tangy Cheddar and salty Parmesan. Our experts found it worked beautifully with the cinnamon and black pepper notes of our Les Hautes Terrasses Grenache from the Côtes du Rhône region.
Shropshire Blue and Vat 27 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
This is a semi-firm blue cheese that’s a lot more delicate than a traditional Stilton, although still strong in flavour. It matches perfectly with the silky smooth, black fruit and spice flavoured Vat 27 Reserve from Australia. Its time ageing in oak barrels has mellowed the punchy flavours, resulting in a softer red wine that complements a milder blue cheese well.
Perl Wen and 16 Little Black Pigs Chardonnay
This delicious organic soft cheese has a subtle citrus tang and is actually much fresher than the usual earthy style of Brie/Camembert cheeses. Our team of tasters found it married up exceptionally well with the clean and crisp 16 Little Black Pigs Chardonnay. With its exuberantly fresh citrus fruit flavours and crunchy acidity, it’s a great flavour match and texture contrast for the creamy Perl Wen cheese.
Westcombe Cheddar and Perez Cruz Single Vineyard La Higuera Block
A finally, no cheese line-up would be complete without Cheddar! Our experts chose this complex Westcombe Cheddar for its notes of hazelnut and grass, and its lingering nutty flavours on the tongue. They found it matched wonderfully with the blackcurrant, vanilla and mint notes of the Perez Cruz Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile.
For more information on our corporate partnerships, head over to our page. Or contact the VW Corporate Team directly on 0843 224 1006 or at wineforbusiness@virginwines.co.uk
