TasteCasting: Katzingers - A Columbus Institution

For my first-ever TasteCasting, I participated in the Katzingers event last night. What's that? Never heard of Katzingers? And you live in Columbus? Shame on you. It's been around since 1984, and Diane Warren's crew is fantastic! From the moment I met some of the staff, it's clear they're not just employees - but they do care about what they're doing, and really want you to eat something good!

If you've never been to Katzingers, it's a VERY busy deli, but so much more. Not only do they have a bajillion sandwiches, but they also have a wide assortment of cheeses & meats, plus wines, oils and who knows what else. With every turn I made there was something unexpected.

They held a Wine and Cheese tasting event for us - and boy did they ever! Clearly this was not their first rodeo. They had handouts, folders, paper on which to take notes... Heck, I halfway expected there to be a quiz before the end of the evening!

My first thought as I sat and prepared to begin the tasting was how ILL prepared I was for this. I know nothing about cheese, and even less about wine. Fortunately, the Specialty Foods Manager, Wendy, started off by giving an overview of the many different types of cheese (fresh, bloomy-rind, semi-soft, washed-rind, etc.). She likened our Tasting to a "Cheese 101" course - which worked out for me! She did present a wealth of information at the onset, as well as throughout the tasting.

Our Tasting consisted of 5 separate pairings of wine and cheese. We started off cleansing our collective palettes with a glass of Il Follo "Cuvee Rustot" Brut Prosecco. Here I found my first and biggest problem of the evening: how to articulate all the tastes and feelings I was going to experience. I mean, I know what I like when I taste it, but I've never tried to be a "foodie" and accurately describe a flavor to anyone. Nevertheless, onward I pressed!

But rather than try to be all "foodie-like" in my very first TasteCasting blog, I'll share my overall experience.

The first pairing was the Prosecco wine with "La Tur" cheese, from Italy. Very rich and creamy - good as a breakfast cheese, spread on some nice bread, topped with some fruit, perhaps? It was my flavorite cheese so far!

Second pairing was a Riesling with Cave Aged Gruyere - a good melting cheese, suitable for addition to your mac-n-cheese dishes and the like. It's a semi-hard cheese; firm but not crumbly. This was my new flavorite! (Detect any trends here?)

The next pairing ended up being my overall favorite - a Sauvignon Blanc and a cheese named Serena, from Three Sisters. The cheese reminds me a bit of Asiago... and the pairing with the wine was AWESOME.

A Pinot Noir and the washed-rind Grayson cheese was fourth on the list. The washed-rind cheeses are all bathed continually in a brine during creation. Wendy called it the "steak of cheese." My first reaction was "swiss-y" in flavor. Darn my uncultured palate.

To finish, a Regianto "Celestina" was served alongside of a bit of Cashel Blue cheese, which seemed to be the most popular in the group, by show of hands. I really liked the dessert-style wine! It has a good bite and pleasant aftertaste.

The Katzingers Tasting was a wonderful event! Diane, Wendy and our server Nova were all very knowledgeable and very helpful when we had questions. Thanks for a fun experience! Be sure to check out the other TasteCaster impressions on our website. I can't wait to go back and try some of their other offerings - the deli meats and an impressive array of dessert items too!