Cheese and Wine at Carolina Vines

During Spring Break, I had the pleasure of going to a sweet little wine shop called Carolina Vines. I went early in the day with my mom, so we were the only ones there. I ordered a tasting flight (which the sommelier actually gave me full pours instead of half pours...not complaining here) and a cheese board. It. Was. Awesome.

The Pairings:


•Name - Tannat
•Variety - Tannat
•Region - Mendoza
•Country - Argentina
•Year - 2013

This wine smelled dark and earthy with tons of dark fruit. I honestly wasn't sure if I would like this one. However, I broke out of my light bodied, fruity, white wine shell and I'm glad I did. This wine had a full body with a little acid and a lot of dark fruit. Some light tannins in there too, but they didn't overwhelm me. The sommelier paired this with a nice, hard Manchego. This cheese was awesome. It was super hard and had what tasted like little flavor crystals to give you a slightly grainy texture with a lot of flavor. It went well with the wine and smoothed out the light tannins I mentioned earlier and added a creamy component. Amazing.

•Name - Cline Cashmere
•Variety - GSM (Syrah, grenache noir, mourvedre)
•Region - Napa
•Country - USA
•Year - 2014

Yet another full bodied red wine that I was a little nervous about. The sommelier said that she thought there had to be a tobacco farm nearby the vineyards since there was an underlying smokey, tobacco flavor. I have to admit, that did not sound appealing to me. It smelled super earthy with a little dark fruit. When I tasted it, I could definitely taste the dark fruit and the smokey, tobacco-y, leathery flavor that she was talking about. And I didn't hate it, so there. She paired it with a white English cheddar. Yum. This was a semi-soft cheese with a mild flavor that complemented the wine. It sort of brought out the smokiness, which I liked. Even though this was not my favorite of the three, I still enjoyed this pairing.

 •Name - Linville Mist
•Variety - Riesling
•Region - North Carolina
•Country - USA
•Price - $14.99

Last, but definitely not least, a local green apple Riesling. I had to squeeze a local flavor in, so why not a light Riesling named after a quiet NC mountain town to finish the trio? Lake James Cellars were not kidding around with the green apple part of the name. Pretty much all I could smell was green apple, which was fine with me. It was an off-dry wine with a full on apple flavor. I was all about it. Light bodied, light, refreshing, fruity flavor, it was all good to me. She paired this with a Gorgonzola, which was great. The soft, salty, funkiness went great with the hint of sweet in the wine and almost brought out a touch of smokiness. A match made in heaven. I bought myself a bottle to enjoy later.

If you're ever in Charlotte, NC and have a free afternoon, consider driving about an hour northwest-ish to the quiet downtown area of Newton to check this place out. I certainly enjoyed it. Also apologies for not including a picture of the cheese plate. We sort of ate it way too fast to even snap a shot. I'll grab one next time! (Because I will be returning here for sure.)