The Rind: Cheese. Wine. Affordability.
By Kennedy Kurtz
On Wednesdays only, The Rind, located in Downtown Sacramento, offers their weekly deal of “Wine Wednesdays.” What was first just a slogan has slowly turned into a weekly trend that people look forward to. With a minimum purchase of a bottle wine of your choosing, you receive a free cheese board.
Bottles of wine range from $30–$40 and a cheese board is $15 — if you don’t go on Wednesdays and get it for free. It sounds like a pretty expensive afternoon if you’re by yourself, but not if you’re surrounded by your family or friends. Split a bottle and board between four people and each person ends up spending under $10, depending on the bottle of wine bought. For under $10 you not only get wine and cheese, but you get the luxury of fine ingredients, great quality, and the ability to learn a little bit about how to pair from The Rind servers.
When picking the bottle of wine, you have a wide variety of wines from across the country to choose from. The Rind offers wines from eight different categories: Effervescent & Bubbly, Rose, Crisp Whites, Playful & Unique Whites, Substantial & Decadent Whites, Smooth & Casual Reds, Flirtatious Reds, and Knife & Fork Reds. Under each category, there are two to four wines to select from, ranging in price. A bottle of Pinot Grigio is $31, one of the cheapest bottles, while a bottle of Chinon, a Flirtatious Red, is $42. Other wines include a Reisling for $32, Zinfandel for $35, and a Sauvignon Blanc for $38. For the cheese board, there are over 30 cheeses to choose from and a fine selection of meats, while also including a specific nut, seed, and spread to go with the cheeses and meats. These cheeses range from hard cheeses such as a sharp cheddar to soft cheeses such as a brie. Depending on the week and time of year, The Rind’s selection changes based on what is available since, “animals don’t always cooperate,” Tony Lovato, a specialist in pairings says. (Animals do not always produce the cheeses The Rind wants to serve, forcing The Rind to choose from different selections available.)
If you’re unsure what type of wine to get, or what cheese goes well with a specific wine, The Rind servers can help you decide what to order based on your preferences, or based on what the servers think you should try if you’re feeling adventurous. After working around wine, cheese, and beer for the past 25 years, Lovato knows his stuff about pairings. Not the basic, normal, “everyone” knows stuff. He knows the specific, small, critical, details that no one else could pick out. Off of a smell alone, Lovato can identify the type of cheese, whether it be a freshly opened soft brie, or a brie that has been left standing for a few hours. His smells and taste buds have been perfected, allowing him to pick out cheeses based on ripeness, texture, and aroma.
“I’ve fined tuned my taste buds,” Lovato says, “Wines are scientific — I love how bubbles pop off your mouth. I love the way bubbles pop and how they complement the wine.” Continuing with his favorite in cheeses, he takes out his favorite from the kitchen. “That creamy, lovely, buttery, brie cheese just goes fantastic with bubbly wine. It’s like party central. I mean as far those cheeses. A nice prairie cheese would go well too. It’s like kettle corn — salty, buttery, sweet, my favorite.”
Lovato’s ability to identify these characteristics is a talent many do not have. Aware of this, he is not hesistant to share his knowledge with customers.
It doesn’t matter if you have taste buds of a scientist like Lovato, or are just getting into pairings. The Rind offers unique and helpful information about wine and cheeses to all of its customers.
“When my friends and I first went to The Rind we literally had no idea what we were doing. I just wanted a glass of Pinot Grigio,” said Madeline Cannon, an avid regular at The Rind and friend of mine. “I had never even thought about pairings at all, so when we heard about the Wine Wednesday deal it was a lot thrown at you. What do you mean I have to choose between these cheeses? What is Laura Chenel? It sounds like Chanel the brand.”
It was a lot of information at first for Cannon, a 22-year-old who has taken a recent interest into pairings, but after the servers helped her describe what the texture and taste of each fancy name of cheese was, she said her decisions were a lot easier to make. Cannon learned that a stronger, more savory red does not need a strong cheese to go with it. Instead, it needs a cheese that is dry and not as rich in flavor. On the other hand, Cannon described lighter and dryer whites needing a “flavorful and mouth watering cheese” to compliment unsweetened wine.
The Rind’s servers give their expert opinions to their customers, helping them find the best pairings for their palate, as they did for Cannon. Cannon first introduced me to The Rind, taking me to Wine Wednesday on a quiet afternoon. Sharing her new expertise in a confident manner, she helped me, along with the servers, pick out the perfect wine and cheese pairing for our Wine Wednesday deal. After one afternoon spent at The Rind I was able to find out that I prefer dry and light whites, while also liking more fruity and sugary reds. I complimented a dry white wine of pinot grigio with a fresh, soft, Cremont cheese. For the red wine, I chose a flirtatious Zinfandel red, paired together with a hard, under-powering flag-sheep cheese from Seattle. In a matter of an hour I was able to completely identify exactly what my taste buds liked and disliked, while also branching out and trying new cheeses that I had never heard of such as Mothias a la Feville, a goat cheese.
I may not be a pairings specialist just yet, but from one afternoon I was able to learn so much information about my preferences; all for a cost that is affordable for broke college students wanting to indulge in a luxurious experience. While going on the weekend may break the bank, going to The Rind for Wine Wednesday gives you the most bang for your buck and most definitely a little drunk.
