Cheese pairing at Barcelona

Location: 12023 Town Street, Reston, VA 20190

Telephone: (703) 689-0700

Brunch: 11am-4pm, Saturday and Sunday

This restaurant is located in a new upscale shopping center in Reston, Virginia. This place is located next to a parking garage so you can easily park and go in for some food and leave.

The environment looked like I was in a cave. There was not much lighting and it  felt earthy, because I was surrounded by dark wood and the floor was made of rocks. This location offers Mediterranean coastline menu. They offered Cervezas, Sangria, Cocktails, Sherry, and Wines by the Glass for drinks. Offered Charcuterie + Cheese or without, Tapas, Ensaladas, Sausage Fest and other specialities. Our Chef was Andrew Cleverdon and Sous Chef JJ Yang.

Our waiter, Devon was very helpful and knowledgeable about our selection of the wine.

Wines

Wine Selection:

1. Vino Tinto - 2011 Tempranillo, Cerro Anon, Reserva, Rioja, Spain. The glass is $11.5

2. Vinos Blancos - 2013 Chardonnay, Casas del Bosque, Casa del Bosque, Casablanca, Chile. The glass $11

   

3. Vinos Rosados- 2014 Mencia, Liquid Geography, Bierzo, Spain. The glass $8

   

Info of the Wine Label and how they are listed on the menu:

*Tempranillo-name of the grape, that offers a spicy and red fruit flavor.

*Cerro Anon- Name of the Wine

*Reserva- how it is made

Cheese

*Rioja- is the region

Cheese Selection:

1. Marinated Mahon - Herbed Citrus Oil, Cow’s Milk
2. Cana de Cabra- Goat’s Milk Log
3. 6-month Manchego- Raw Sheep’s Milk

Paring:

1. Tempranillo paired with Marinated Mahon:

    Wine:

        Color: Dark ruby red

        Smell: Tantric, dry, acidic, smells like Malbec, acidic, strong

        Taste: This a well balanced red wine but it has a dry favor afterwards.

        Served: Room temperature

    Cheese: This cheese is seasoned with some herb, zest of oranges and covered with rich olive oil. The cheese is empowered with the herb and orange. It also tastes like vanilla, cut grass and it's really fatty.

   

    Magic: When combined together, it is well balanced and compliments each other. When you drink the wine by itself it gives you a dry aftertaste. The herbal character is reduced and the orange citrus flavor is expressed more from the cheese with this wine.

       

    2. Chardonnay paired with Cana de Cabra:

    Wine:

        Color: golden yellow and clear

        Smell: white peaches, floral, mango, tropical

        Taste: Taste more alcoholic, mango flavor aftertaste and the taste stays longer on your palate.

        Served: Room temperature

         Cheese: Has milk like characteristic, soft, buttery, like cream cheese and can be spread on bread, Also smelled like mold growing on the cheese.

    Magic: The combination of cheese with the wine made the cheese taste sweeter. The strong alcoholic flavor is reduced and sweet side of wine was expressed more. But it still leaves you with a strong aftertaste.

   3. Mencia paired with 6-month Manchego:

    Wine:

        Color: pink and clear

        Smell: sweet, peachy, mango, honeysuckle, and roses

        Taste: sweet, tangy, mild and acidic

        Served: Room temperature

    Cheese: salty, hard, taste like yak milk found in Himalayas

    Magic: When cheese and wine is paired together, it brings more fruity character from the wine. Mencia was considered our sweet wine. We were served with some honey sweet guava. So, we even tried the combination of the bread, a slice of cheese and the guava with mencia wine. It made the wine sweeter and the honey in the guava stood out more. This drink was more enjoyable with bread combination rather than cheese alone.

Heads up during photo shoot

 I would definitely go back again to try different selections of wines because they had a huge variety.