From:  winestewart@gmail.com

Did you ever notice in the cartoon Tom & Jerry that Jerry always got away with the cheese but then never paired it?

Wine and Cheese pairings.   Yuummmmmy!!!

Most all of us love wine and cheese.  Even though individual tastes vary, the perfect match of wine and food is like a circus in your mouth.  When someone tells me to drink what I like and it doesn’t matter what I pair it with, they probably do not drink wine. 

For tasting, cheese should be at room temperature, along with the red wine and the whites should be chilled.  For my taste, sometimes I put reds in the refrigerator for 15 minutes just to bring out the fruit flavors.  Not snobbery, but if you have crystal use it, wine tastes so much better out of crystal glasses.  Use sourdough bread to clean palette.  Also, don’t rinse glasses with water; always use the next wine to rinse the glass.  You might have to drink more but… 

Put about an ounce of wine in your glass, take a little cheese and put the two together in your mouth.  Most people don’t like to do this but it produces the results you are looking for. 

Here are some rules of thumb: 

~White wine pairs best with soft and stronger cheeses.  Sauvignon Blanc’s high acidity is     perfect with goat cheese.  They were married in Vegas.  Did you miss the wedding?

~Red is best with hard cheeses and mild flavors.  I love Zinfandel and Parmesan.

~Pungent cheeses are great with sweet wines.  Brie (The King of Cheeses) goes well with       Alsace Riesling or Vouvray (Chenin Blanc). 

I think the reason white “high acid” wine and sweeter wines work better than reds is that cheese has a tendency to coat your tongue with fat, which these wines cut through better. 

Enjoy and remember we all taste a little different so have fun.  Hopefully this blog will help you do something Tom & Jerry never did, pair wine and cheese.

If you have questions or comments please email winestewart@gmail.com. 

Cheers, 

Stewart