Hvar, Split, Zagreb, Rijeka, Amsterdam and several other Dutch cities connected at the end of last year, when all tete-a-tete gatherings were cancelled due to the Corona, at the online tasting of Carić wine and cheeses of the Dutch cheese store L'Amuse organized by distributors of Croatian wines in the Netherlands - Croatiangrapes.
At the first such Croatian (and international) online tasting of wine and cheese, about a hundred participants really enjoyed with all their senses. Before the tasting, they received home-prepared packages (for 2 to 4 participants) in which the cheeses served with the selected wines were marked. Cheese and wine, many agree, form a "perfect marriage"! Younger, fresher and whiter cheeses go better with sharper, fresher wines with fruity aromas. Fatter and richer soft cheeses are paired with more complex white wines, and the harder and darker the cheese, the stronger, richer, full-bodied the wine can be. Most blue cheeses go great with sweet wines.
At this tasting, Ivana Krstulović Carić presented the Carić winery, the island of Hvar and the Croatian varieties that were in the selected wines. Cheese expert Betty Koster, from Ljmuiden near Amsterdam, who prepared 9 cheeses, described each one separately and explained how and why certain cheeses go well with wines. The tasting started with Bogdanjuša Carić 2019, a fresh and drinkable, delicate wine with herbal and fruity aromas, and 3 cheeses were proposed: Austrian semi-hard Alp Bossom, German Chiriboga Blu, Spanish Manchego curado. The second wine was Jubo'v 2017, a combination of Plavac mali and international varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah), a seductive red Dalmatian - and at the same time world cuvée, fruity, pleasant, very drinkable wine. In addition to Jubo'v, English cow Lancashire, Austrian Alp Bossom and blue Dutch Lazulli koe Oudwijker are offered. The third wine, Plovac Ploški 2012, complex, rich, harmonious wine - got its three cheeses: Italian Morlacco aux morilles, Dutch Wrangelackost Zweden and Italian Gorgonzola dolce
Photos: Julio Frangen