Wine and Cheese

oraklet · April 7, 2003

we had only four cheeses and two wines, as it was part of a 5-course meal:

french matured goat (well balanced)

brie de meaux (not the best i've had, too dried out)

muenster (rich without being over-ripe, very good)

gorgonzola (one of the best i've had)

tricastin (dryish, lots of tannin)

amarone (not of the over-sweet kind)

i've had both good port/lustau and sweet whites with cheese at other times and never liked it, but i'll have to admit that the amarone was the best choice for every one of the cheeses we tried.

Adam Balic · April 7, 2003

Oraklet - when you say "Lustau", which sheery do you mean? Lustau is a sherry producer/distributer and their products range from bone-dry flinty Finos to rich/sweet PX's.

Vanessa · April 7, 2003

'JOSEPH RIESLING-TRAMINER SOUTH AUSTRALIA LA MAGIA, 1998' - that sounded interesting - did it turn out less so?

I've never thought much about specific cheese/wine combinations but could be motivated to do so. Could you (and any others) be interested in a similar event when you are in London some time, making use of lessons learnt at this tasting and (subjectively speaking) without the competitive element? Don't know how you combine it with Bellinis though.

By the way, not very a propos, I was involved in some rather detailed sampling of British & Irish cheeses a couple of years ago. The list of best cheeses we came up with at the time still lurks in my filofax:

Mine Gubhar

Flower Marie

Wigmore

Wellington

Finn

Ragstone

Durrus

Montgomery Cheddar

Little Ryding

Colston Bassett Stilton

Gorwydd Cheshire

Smarts Single Gloucester

Stinking Bishop

Mrs Bell's Blue

Ardrahan

Skirrid (?) (don't know what the ? means)

Martell's Gloucester

Brecon Blue

Cilowen

Burland Green

John Bourne blue Cheshire

Rustic Sharpham

v

oraklet · April 7, 2003

Oraklet - when you say "Lustau", which sheery do you mean? Lustau is a sherry producer/distributer and their products range from bone-dry flinty Finos to rich/sweet PX's.

the lustau i've had with cheese was rich/sweet. very nice, actually, but not for cheese!

Adam Balic · April 7, 2003

'JOSEPH RIESLING-TRAMINER SOUTH AUSTRALIA LA MAGIA, 1998' - that sounded interesting - did it turn out less so?

Actually, the wine was vey good, better them my wife's (which was also an Australian botrytis sticky), as it had more acid/sugar balance. However, her Roquforte blew my Lanark Blue out of the water.

p.s. Bought my wine in Harvey Nicks, if you are interested in trying it.

Adam Balic · April 7, 2003

Oraklet - when you say "Lustau", which sheery do you mean? Lustau is a sherry producer/distributer and their products range from bone-dry flinty Finos to rich/sweet PX's.
the lustau i've had with cheese was rich/sweet. very nice, actually, but not for cheese!

You forgot to add 'In my opinion'. :wink:

Sounds like you had a PX, which may be to sweet for many cheeses.

I dunno, these people and their sweeping generalizations about food and wine matching, without reference to the type of wine they where drinking or the type of Cheese they were referring to. :raz: Tourists.

Adam Balic · April 7, 2003

I've never thought much about specific cheese/wine combinations but could be motivated to do so. Could you (and any others) be interested in a similar event when you are in London some time, making use of lessons learnt at this tasting and (subjectively speaking) without the competitive element? Don't know how you combine it with Bellinis though.
By the way, not very a propos, I was involved in some rather detailed sampling of British & Irish cheeses a couple of years ago. The list of best cheeses we came up with at the time still lurks in my filofax:
Mine Gubhar
Flower Marie
Wigmore
Wellington
Finn
Ragstone
Durrus
Montgomery Cheddar
Little Ryding
Colston Bassett Stilton
Gorwydd Cheshire
Smarts Single Gloucester
Stinking Bishop
Mrs Bell's Blue
Ardrahan
Skirrid (?) (don't know what the ? means)
Martell's Gloucester
Brecon Blue
Cilowen
Burland Green
John Bourne blue Cheshire
Rustic Sharpham
v

I think that a cheese/wine thing in London would be an interesting exercise, depending on what people though.

Vanessa - that is a lot of cheese. Considering how I felt after eating 14 cheeses, the mind boggles at how you felt after that load. Interesting cheese though. I would like to try 'Stinking Bishop', as I enjoy stinky, wash rined cheeses.

tajanna · April 7, 2003

Montrachet, Brut Champagne.
Brie, Chenin Blanc.
Pont-l'Evequê, Barbaresco.
Agree, disagree?

Your pairings are excellent. In fact it was also recommended in Gourmet? Food & Wine? I forget which magazine but I used the same pairings for a wine and cheese party I held for my collegues for a pre-Christmas do. I highly recommend these choices.

Charlene Leonard · April 7, 2003

I think that a cheese/wine thing in London would be an interesting exercise, depending on what people though.

sounds good to me. We could turn at at Neals Yard with a dozen bottles of wine and take over the shop!

Vanessa · April 7, 2003

However, her Roquforte blew my Lanark Blue out of the water.

p.s. Bought my wine in Harvey Nicks, if you are interested in trying it.

Adam Balic · April 7, 2003

However, her Roquforte blew my Lanark Blue out of the water.
p.s. Bought my wine in Harvey Nicks, if you are interested in trying it.

You will notice that the Lanark Blue didn't get into our top cheese list. In fact, if I remember rightly, it didn't get anywhere near.

I'm very boring and only buy wine I don't have to carry home: from The Wine Society and bbr.com, but will keep an eye out for the riesling/traminer combo.

v

Wilfrid · April 7, 2003

So, are we going to do this virtual tasting, or what?

Adam Balic · April 7, 2003

Sure Wilfrid sure. We just all need to agree on the cheese/wine to be tasted. Should take, er, five or six months to organise this?

Liza · April 7, 2003

Sounds like it might take a while to decide. So, if you're comfortable waiting until I deliver in September, count me in.

WineMiles · April 28, 2004

My wife took me to La Toque in Rutherford for my birthday dinner. It was a surprise and if I'd known where we were going I wouldn't have bothered to bring my own wine. For an additional $50 buck you can have a specially selected wine with each course. Next time I'll try that. I brought along an '86 BV la’tour and it was wonderful and worked with everything that I ordered.

Before the desert course they offered an optional cheese course. All cheeses I'd never heard of. We selected the Mimolette and its caramel after taste seemed to go nicely with the Cab I brought.

A few weeks later I found the Mimolette at Dean and Delucca in St. Helena. I've now tasted it with Cab, Zin and a great little Bordeaux from Ramian Estate.

I was just wondering what was everyone's favorite wine and cheese pairing?

I’ve got to get back to Dean and Delucca’s for more Mimolette…

Edited April 28, 2004 by WineMiles (log)

KatieLoeb · April 28, 2004

Although this seems shamefully obvious, there's a reason that these are classics:

Port & Stilton

Sancerre and Chevre

Rioja Crianza and Manchego

Pinot Grigio and fresh Mozzarella

Riesling and Muenster.

Gifted Gourmet · April 28, 2004

Even more basic than Katie's pairings, mine are:

Brie and Cabernet or a Beaujolais

Port Salut and Chinon

Emmenthaler and Cotes du Rhone

Bucheron and Sauvignon Blanc

Italian Taleggio and Port

Edited: for memory issues :unsure:

Edited April 28, 2004 by Gifted Gourmet (log)

Jason Perlow · April 28, 2004

Pedro Ximenez Sherry and Cabrales/Valdeon

Carolyn Tillie · April 28, 2004

And some of my consistent favorites:

Bucheron and Sauterne

Parrano and Merlot

Cumin-laden Gruyere and Gewurtztraminer (okay, that a new fav! and a darned good one!)

Any hard, aged, salty cheese (I like aged Vella Jack) and Zinfandel

I've gotten to a point, in my old age, that when dining at fancy-schamncy restaurants, I prefer an assorted cheese plate with lots of contrasting flavors, paired with a sweet, white wine; a late harvest Riesling, a Sauterne, anything Botrysied, an Ice Wine... Sometimes a port will do, but I like the cloying sweetness that comes in a cold, white sweet wine vs. the warmth of a port when a really hefty cheese hits the palate.

ludja · April 28, 2004

Curious what people think would go well with a Reblochon? (Just had a nice example sans wine)

(I've had the chevre/Sancerre combo and was surprised at how good it was--know that it is a "classic" but it wasn't an intuitive match to me beforehand).

Also like Parmigiano Reggiano with cabernet sauvignon.

Edited April 28, 2004 by ludja (log)

Gifted Gourmet · April 28, 2004

Curious what people think would go well with a Reblochon? .

Perhaps a Chardonnay or Bordeaux White or even a Semillon?

KatieLoeb · April 28, 2004

Also like Parmigiano Reggiano with cabernet sauvignon.

Try a nice piece of aged Parmigiano Reggiano with some really high quality aged Balsamic vinegar (old enough to be really viscous and concentrated - I use a 20 year old) drizzled on it. :wub: :wub: This is truly one of the most delicious things EVER.

Susan in FL · April 28, 2004

Pedro Ximenez Sherry and Cabrales/Valdeon

Oh yum. Thank you for that. :wub:

KatieLoeb · April 28, 2004

Curious what people think would go well with a Reblochon? (Just had a nice example sans wine)

Something lighter in weight, fruity and red like a cru Beaujolais, or perhaps even a not-too-weighty red Burgundy. For a white, you'd be safest pairing with something regionally similar like a Chasselas if you could locate it, or dry riesling or something sparkling like a Blanquette de Limoux.

Susan in FL · April 28, 2004

Also like Parmigiano Reggiano with cabernet sauvignon.
Try a nice piece of aged Parmigiano Reggiano with some really high quality aged Balsamic vinegar (old enough to be really viscous and concentrated - I use a 20 year old) drizzled on it. :wub: This is truly one of the most delicious things EVER.

Oh yes! I am with you on that... Divine!

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