In an effort to not talk politics, which is fucking consuming me right now, I am running this piece from our current newsletter about my big Cheese & Wine Fest. Totally cheating I know but trust me, you don't want to hear what's really on my mind right now...
For those of you that weren’t able to get seat for
the highly coveted Cheese & Wine Pairing Seminar last month, (always wish
we had more seats to accommodate everyone that wishes to attend) I thought I
would give you a recap, a run down if you will, of what we poured, which
cheeses we paired with them. Not quite as good as being there but a glimpse and
maybe a guide for your next cheese and wine purchases.
As the sold out crowd sat before their cheese plate
I explained that we would be starting with the cheese at twelve o’clock and
moving clockwise as we moved on to the next flight. We began, as we often do,
with a classic cheese and wine pairing, and then, in the interest of helping
them understand, I had them try that same wine but with a cheese that was an
absolute disaster with it. Sounds a little mean I know, and I confess that some
of the horrified, “Why would you make us do that?!” faces crack me up, but the
reason I do that is to make clear the fact that there is something to that
whole pairing thing, something chemical, that can take two wonderful tasting
things and completely wreck them, both, when tasted together. Once tasted,
“Yuck” faces and all, the group totally got it and it ended up being a truly
fantastic night of tasting and leaning.
First Flight
Wine- 2010 Pierre Fouassier Quincy ($18.99) A
delightfully fresh and bright Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley, just
across the way from Sancerre, this wine is full of tang, fresh cut grass,
grapefruit and minerals.
Cheese- Bucheron, French Goat’s Milk. A nicely aged
goat cheese with a sturdy bloomy rind, luscious creamy layer right beneath the
rind and a firm, crumbly texture in the center.
Pairing: A classic. If you’ve not had goat cheese
and Sauvignon Blanc, well get in your car and drive over to The Wine Country
this second! Gorgeous balance of bright, tangy, vibrant and creamy.
Second Flight
Wine- 2011 Chateau la Canorgue Luberon Blanc
($16.99) White Rhones can be somewhat difficult to pair with food but this
balanced little blend of Calirette, Roussanne, Bourbelanc and Marsanne, that
sees no oak, is a pure joy to drink. Nice fruit, light weight and with the
coolest little hint of fennel.
Cheese- St. Marcellin French Cow’s Milk. This is a
cheese that can vary tremendously depending on its stage of development or age.
A soft washed-rind cheese that comes in fun little terracotta crocks, when
young the cheese is buttery, dense and has a tart, almost sour finish. When
older you can nearly use it as dip! Super gooey and where that milky sour thing
was you will now find a mushroom like earthiness.
Pairing: I confess that I was hoping for the cheese
to come in a little further alone in age, (does make a huge difference) a wee bit gooier, but was still very
happy with how the Canorgue Blanc tempered that tart thing on the cheese. A
simple but nice pairing.
Third Flight
Wine- 2009 Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet Clos de
Chateau ($29.99) One of the best vintages to date from this Domaine. A powerful
Chardonnay with lovely nutty, roasted flavors and a big blast of ripe pear and
citrus. Rich and full in the mouth but with brilliant acidity.
Cheese- Epoisses French Cow’s Milk. An extremely
aromatic, (read stinky as all get out) washed rind cheese with the most
glorious of all silken textures. Massive mouth feel, salty and uber rich, this
is without question one of my favorite cheeses in the world.
Pairing: Have you ever heard the adage, “What grows
together goes together”? While I’m not dogmatic about that there are times when
there is no denying it, this pairing of two treats from France’s Burgundy, was
mind-blowing. Decadence, salty, savory with fierce creaminess and astounding
length.
Fourth Flight
Wine- 2009 Trimbach Gewurztraminer ($23.99) A
slightly sweet Gewurztraminer from Alsace full of ripe peaches, wild white
flowers and a note of spicy ginger. Round in the mouth but with plenty of zip
to keep your palate refreshed and ready for another sip.
Cheese- Red Dragon English Cow’s Milk. I tossed this
cheese in the mix to challenge myself a little. A Cheddar-like cheese packed
with mustard seeds and a swath of horseradish. Great melting cheese so a
no-brainer for grilled ham and cheese or burgers, it is one of my favorites to
serve with thick slices of green apples.
Pairing: One of the stars of the night! Had one
couple even tell me that they didn’t like Gewurztraminer, thought it too
aggressive for most foods but they loved this pairing so much they ended up
buying both at the end of the night. The sweetness in the wine held in check by
the mustardy, spicy cheese and the cheese was also more restrained by the
weight and slight sweetness in the wine.
Fifth Flight
Wine- 2010 Widman Vernatsch, Alto-Adige ($19.99)
Such a light and delicate red wine! Just a shade darker than some of the Roses
we carry but don’t let the color fool you, there is plenty of lip-smacking
flavor going on here. Tart red cherries, cranberries and black pepper, makes me
crave grilled pork loin or smoked chicken.
Cheese- La Tur Italian Mixed Milk. This
ultra-creamy, rich, decadent and hauntingly mouth coating cheese from Piedmont
is a blend of cow, sheep and goat milk, has a very lacy bloom and has a texture
that can remind you of cream cheese. Creaminess from the cow’s milk, salty from
the sheep’s milk and acidity from the goat, this is one of those cheese that
makes people’s eyes roll back in their head.
Pairing: Even thinking about it now, I don’t think
we could have picked a better wine for this cheese. Because of the richness of
both texture and flavor we needed something with a fairly light body and some
spice to cut through and the Vernatsch did so beautifully. One of my favorites
for sure.
Sixth Flight
Wine- 2010 Josep Vendrell Sere, Montsant ($12.99)
Frankly this is one of the most screaming deals we have as far as red wine goes
right now, period. An all-purpose red that would go with just about any food
you threw at it. We love this wine so much in fact, when we heard the importer
was running low Ronnie hopped on the phone and bought the rest they had. Brimming
with spicy Grenache flavors, light and easy going body, nice spice and wicked
cheap. Love it.
Cheese- Onetik Pilota Spanish Sheep’s Milk. Along
with Epoisses, this has got to be one of my most adored cheeses. Dense pale
white texture, slightly fruity and nutty, perfectly salty but it is the
meltingly sumptuous mouth feel that makes me wild for this Basque cheese. One
of those cheeses that you could pair with anything from red, white, rose and
sweet wines. If you are building any kind of cheese plate, you need Onetik
Pilota.
Pairing: Easier pairing of the night, a wine that
goes with anything and a cheese that does as well, together they were simply
comforting. The salty cheese bringing out more of the pretty fruit in the wine
and the wine graceful enough not to clobber all the character in the cheese.
Sometimes simple is what’s needed.
Seventh Flight
Wine- N.V. Villa de Corlo Lambrusco ($14.99) We are
wild about Lambruscos we’ve been tasting as of late. Once thought of as a
sweet, insipid lifeless stuff that sold itself as a beverage to pour over ice
here in the US for years, but the real Lambrusco is revered in Italy,
especially in Emilia Romagna, as the perfect wine, weather dry or off-dry, to
serve with slices or slabs of cured meat and hunks of sweet and salty Parmigiano
Reggiano. It might be a bit of a challenge for us to convince people to give
these serious, deep red and frothy sparklers a try, but we’re up to it as we
know just how freaking cool these wines are. Serious importers are bringing in
the real deal now folks, the lush and full, spicy and crave worthy sparkling
reds, be the first of your friends to be all over it!
Cheese- Barber’s 1833 Cheddar English Cow’s Milk.
I’ve never had a more perfect and balanced Cheddar, not ever. Sharp but not in
that way that has you reaching for the sides of your throat, milky, crumbly,
fruity and salty. I’ve had way more powerful Cheddar but none I couldn’t keep
my hands off like this one. Once the plastic wrapping is removed you can pretty
much count on it being gone, it’s that good.
Pairing: Another total rock star! The gently frothy
red with all its deep, dark black fruit and cracked pepper just sang when you
had the fruity and succulent Cheddar in your mouth. A good pairing is when the
two things taste just as good together as they did on their own, a great one is
when both things were made better when put together, this is a great pairing.
Eighth Flight
Wine- 2010 Dover Canyon Cujo Zinfandel ($15.99) Our
September Wine of the Month this is just a juicy, luscious, berry-rich and soft
Zinfandel that is a blast to gulp. No spike of high alcohol, no pruney notes,
no cooked or over-ripe flavors, this wine offers pure uncomplicated pleasure,
and who doesn’t love and need that from time to time?
Cheese- Rebloshon French Cow’s Milk. Now before some
of you get too excited, this is not the un-pasteurized version that is still
not legal here in the states. This is however a beautifully indulgent and runny
cheese that is impossible not to adore. Firm washed rind that once it’s cut
open releases the almost pudding like savory goodness that lies within.
Mushrooms, earth, fruity and a touch nutty this is a cheese you almost want to
eat with a spoon.
Pairing: I jokingly referred to this as, “Our big
dumb pairing” keying off the almost snuggly like feeling putting these two
nearly over the top things together gave us. Like a loveable nuzzle from a big
adoring puppy. The sweetness in the wine made the cheese slightly nuttier and
the fat in the cheese held up swimmingly to the wine.
Ninth Flight
Wine- 2010 Copain Tous Ensemble Chardonnay ($18.99) Anyone
that says California Chardonnay is all gloppy, over-oaked and flabby has never
tasted this wine. Ripe pears, green apple, some citrus with a crisp green note
play delightfully against the wines curvy texture and slight caramel flavors.
Rethink California Chardonnay, try this wine!
Cheese- Ewephoria Holland Sheeps’s Milk. One of our
best-selling cheeses, take one bite and you will know why. Created for the US
market, hence the “cute” name, this wine has more sweetness than most other
Gouda coming from Holland. That sweetness shows itself in the form of caramel
and browned honey butter and it is divine. A drier cheese that is best suited
for chunking as opposed to slicing it is on every fruit and cheese plate I
make.
Bonus- Stone Brewing Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean
(12oz $2.99) So when trying to pair a wine with the Ewephoria I ran into a
fairly serious issue, one that was solved by this dark, mildly smoky, hop-rich
and vanilla kissed porter.
Pairing: You know, sometimes the best wine for the
job, well it’s a beer. The super-intense cheese, while eye-rolling delicious is
kind of a wine killer. I tried wine after wine, went red to white and back
again but once the cheese was in my mouth with the wines, everything went
horrifically metallic. Not good I assure you. I found that the stunning Copain
Chardonnay was the least offensive but,
that metallic thing was still there and rather than try and ignore it I took
the opportunity to share with the group that not every cheese has a wine buddy
as it were. The porter was amazing with the Ewephoria, just perfect as the
vanilla picked up all the caramel in the cheese and the hops and roasted notes
in the beer were way sturdy enough to marry with the cheese. Some things can’t
be forced and that cheese needed beer.
Tenth Flight
Wine- N.V. Dow’s Trademark Reserve Porto ($16.99)
Buying Port can be a bit of a commitment, I mean that is a big bottle of sweet
wine and unless you have a couple big parties, or like many of us, love ending
our evening with a glass of something sweet and rich, well like I said, a
commitment. That’s why we love this Trademark from Dow’s, all that deep berry
and cassis, coco and palate filling Port flavor without costing and arm and a
leg!
Cheese- Roaring 40s Blue Australian Cow’s Milk. This
packed and powerful blue has become a Wine Country staple and we even have a
few people that flip out a little if our supplier is out of stock, it’s that
addicting. Without a doubt a blue in its intensity but with some balancing
sweetness and far less acidic tang or sharpness.
Pairing: We started with a classic and ended with
one as well. Port and blue cheese is another one of those cheater pairings, it
always goes, always floors people and is always remarkable. Both things are
enhanced when paired together and as I said, that is a great pairing.
Sorry you were not able to attend but I hope this
helps!
Samantha Dugan
Cheese Maven
Posts
