| Cheese and wine go together like...well, cheese | | | | When ripe, it can be quite stinky, with a pungent, |
| and wine! I have a hard time thinking of a better | | | | rich, meaty, creamy and salty flavor. Other |
| pairing. If you are hosting a dinner party or wine | | | | examples from the region which can be similar |
| tasting, cheese is an obvious choice as an easy | | | | include Affidelice and Pié d'Angloys. Only |
| and delicious accompaniment to many wines. | | | | wines which are equally pungent, complex, earthy |
| Either served as appetizers or as a formal cheese | | | | and rich can stand up to such a cheese. Local red |
| course before dessert, cheeses can enhance the | | | | Burgundy wines, made from Pinot Noir, can often |
| experience of wine in many respects. | | | | fit the bill. Aged examples can often take on |
| But like other foods, cheese and wine pairing can | | | | stinky, undergrowth, earth, mushroom and |
| occasionally be tricky, with some pairings | | | | meat-like aromas and flavors. The pairing of these |
| heightening the experience of both the wine and | | | | aromatic meaty, earthy wines with the pungent |
| cheese and others simply clashing. What is the | | | | cheese can be sublime. Other wines can work as |
| solution? Stick to some of the classic cheese and | | | | well. Look for rich wines with earthy flavors. |
| wine pairings for starters so that you are sure to | | | | Some examples that can work include |
| have a smash success at your next wine tasting | | | | Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Bandol. |
| event or dinner party. | | | | Piedmontese Wines with Truffle Cheese |
| As a general rule, try to pair wines with cheeses | | | | Wines from Piedmont, particularly those made |
| that are traditionally made in the same local region. | | | | from the Nebbiolo grape, can have a distinct |
| Pair like flavors with like, pair sweet wines with | | | | earthy, white truffle aroma. In fact, white truffles, |
| salty cheese and balance acidic wines with intense, | | | | those famed and expensive fungi, are found in |
| creamy cheeses. These will become more | | | | the same region! Is it any mistake that the wines |
| obvious as you read on. | | | | accompany those earthy truffle aromas |
| Champagne and Creamy Cheeses | | | | beautifully? Local cheeses, like Boschetto al |
| Champagne and many other sparkling wines tend | | | | Tartufo, often incorporate bits of truffle and pair |
| to be intense with high acidity. This bright, intense | | | | beautifully with the local wines from Barolo, |
| flavor pairs well with creamy, rich cheeses. The | | | | Barbaresco and even some richer Barberas. |
| acidity cuts through the rich, creaminess of the | | | | Port and Stilton |
| cheese beautifully. Classic cheeses like Brie and | | | | One of the most classic cheese and wine pairings |
| Camembert work well. However, for a real treat, | | | | of all time, Port and Stilton seem to be made for |
| try to find the ultra-rich triple-cream cheeses, | | | | each other. They seem to break all the rules. |
| meaning they have very high milk-fat (around | | | | Their flavors are quite different and they are not |
| 75% in many cases). Examples of these include | | | | produced in the same region. Port, the fortified |
| Saint-André, Brillat-Savarin, and | | | | wine from Portugal, is usually quite sweet and full |
| Explorateur. | | | | bodied. Stilton, a traditional English blue cow's milk |
| Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc with Chevre | | | | cheese, is creamy, pungent and salty. Yet |
| Here is an example of pairing a wine with its local | | | | somehow the sweetness of the wine perfectly |
| cheeses. Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc are | | | | cuts the creamy, saltiness of the cheese. Other |
| both white grapes indigenous to the Loire Valley in | | | | blue cheeses can work, but for the ultimate in |
| France. Sauvignon Blanc makes up wines such as | | | | classic cheese and wine pairings, serve real English |
| Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé while Chenin | | | | Stilton with Port at your next wine tasting. |
| Blanc is found in Vouvray and | | | | Sauternes and Roquefort |
| Savennières, amongst others. The classic | | | | For similar reasons, Sauternes, the sweet wine of |
| cheeses for pairing these intense white wines are | | | | Bordeaux, and Roquefort, the original French blue |
| the local Loire Valley goat cheeses | | | | cheese, compliment each other wonderfully. |
| (chèvre) produced throughout the region. | | | | Roquefort is both lighter in color than Stilton and |
| The rich and earthy flavors of the chèvre | | | | seems a bit saltier. While it can work with a red |
| stand up beautifully to the bright and | | | | dessert wine like Port, it really comes into its own |
| mineral-imbued flavors of the wines. | | | | with a brighter, white sweet wine like Sauternes. |
| Burgundy with Epoisse | | | | While the sticky sweet flavor of the wine may be |
| In a sense, this is a classic pairing of stinky | | | | too much for all but the most intense sweet |
| cheese with stinky wine, but it is also a local wine | | | | tooth, the salty pungency of the Roquefort helps |
| and cheese pairing. Epoisse is a classic cheese | | | | cut and balance the sweetness in a way that |
| produced in, you guessed it, Burgundy in France. | | | | brings both to another level. |
| To some cheese lovers, it is the king of cheeses. | | | | |