Wine And Cheese Combinations
August 29, 2008
Certain foods taste better with wine, a delightful combination that thrill the taste buds when mixed. One of the finer ingredients in life, however, there are few of us who can successfully partner wine with cheese. The wrong selection of cheese and even even an excellent red wine will taste dull without its usual zing.
Undoubtedly, the best way to end a meal is with a cheese platter, but disastrous combinations must be avoided by taking care to match the flavours of your wines and cheeses. While, a strong flavoured cheese needs to be matched with an intense wine, however, it should be kept in mind that balancing flavours is not simply matching like with like. No matter if the flavours are as different as chalk and cheese, they may still go well together. It’s all a question of trial and error!
Soft Cheese
You may love Brie and Camembert for their soft creaminess, but keep in mind when teaming them with red wine. The layer of soluble fat that they coat the palate with, tends to mask tastes, which means even an excellent red will loose some of its flavour if combined with a soft cheese. For best results, team soft, creamy cheeses with extra-dry champagne, whose bubbly effervescence will clean the palate of all fats.
Pungent Cheeses And Red Wine
But, it does not mean that red wine cannot be paired with cheese. Choose a concentrated, rich red for those aficionados of red wine, who insist upon it with their cheese platter. In fact, there are several Italian dry reds made from air-dried grapes that add a burst of flavour to even the most pungent of cheeses, including Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino.
Port ‘n Cheese
No dinner party or celebratory meal at a restaurant is complete without Port partnered with creamy blue cheese. For best results, pair a young port with creamy stilton, while port that has been aged goes beautifully with feisty gorgonzola cheese. The oxidised quality of Port meshes delightfully with the richly luxurious flavour of such mould-laced cheeses.
Sweet White Wine And Cheese
As a matter of fact, any host would be wise not to serve any reds with a sumptuous cheese platter at his dinner party. Instead, the wide range of cheeses on offer will be complemented with fruity, vibrant whites, such as, sweet, spicy and fruity German wines, such as gewürztraminers and Rieslings which are good all-rounders. With blue veined cheeses and desserts, what goes better with them than some of the best sweet dessert wines!






























