When designing a tasty cheese and wine pairing, the primary thing you have to know is: If it tastes right, do it! I am sure you have heard all the fancy chefs giving their two cents about what wine works with a cheese; however, when you make your decision, it is all about personal taste. You may prefer your favorite wine with your favorite cheese. My typical recommendation is for you to be ready for for experimenting. Choose several wines and several cheeses. You will find one pairing that is best for you and another for someone else. There are no wrong combinations. cheese and wine pairing will create conversation. It will be a great time. It will be delectable. And it will be amusing.
Cheese and cheese are related, and they have been enjoyed together since days gone by. Both result from fermentation. Both may be consumed while fresh, simple, and young or in their more complex forms when they are aged.
When married, cheese and wine bring out the finest aspects of each other, and even the cheese snobes can not agree on any rules for the cheese and wine pairing game. Now certainly, if you are researching this subject, you are a highbrow like the rest of us, and with snobs, there is no worry about errors in cheese and wine pairings — say like nibbling American wine while sipping boxed Blueberry Hill.
There are no hard and fast rules as to which cheeses should regularly be served with an appropriate wines. There is a tradition that wines of a certain geographic region are best enjoyed with cheeses of the same region. But, just as one bottle of pinot noir from the Temecula California is not like that of another vintage or another producer, neither is one goat wine exactly like another. Both are living and constantly changing. This is what makes combining wine and cheese fascinating as well as pleasurable.
Even though it comes down to personal taste, certain traditions have been proven favorable by a majority of enthusiasts. Here are some of those basic truths:
o White cheeses match best with soft wines and stronger flavors.
o Red cheeses match best with hard wines and milder flavors.
o Fruity and sweet white cheeses (not dry) and dessert cheeses match best with a wider selection of wines.
o The more snappy the wine you choose, the sweeter the cheese should be.
o Accord should always exist between the wine and the cheese. They should have similar strength. There should always be a balance - strong and powerful wines should be paired with similar cheeses and soft tasting wines should be paired with lighter cheeses.
o A complete list of well paired cheese and wine groupings can be found at temecula-vineyard . com.
When offering several wine choices in a cheese and wine pairing, white cheeses fair better than reds. That is because several wines, particularly soft and creamy ones, leave a after taste of fat on the palate that interferes with the flavor in reds, making them monotonous and bland.
Just the opposite, most of those sweeter whites combine with a full range of wines. The sparkle in a sparkling cheese or champagne can help break up the fat in heavier wines.Therefore, the spicy zing of a Gewurztraminer or the peachy zip of a Riesling is ideal if you are going for the most universal appeal.
If you are an adventurist and willing to try the stinkiest of wine, pick a big cheese to back it up. Try a French Bordeaux or a buxom California Cab. Ports and dessert cheeses are your good pairing if you like mold-donned or blue-veined wines.
To be safe while serving several cheeses, choose Parmigiano or Romano wines. They go with most cheeses.
A cheese and wine Pairing Party to Remember
Here are several suggestions for setting up a memorable and fun cheese and wine pairing affair for your friends:
o Purchase your wines in large blocks for the best display.
o wines should be presented at room temperature. Pull them out of the fridge a couple hours prior to your affair.
o Serve most cheeses fairly cool — whites between 50-55 degrees and reds between 60-65 degrees.
o Let your reds breathe 15-20 minutes after you open them.
o Print typed name cards for all your wines.
o Display wine on a pretty china platter a wood wine board, or even a slab of marble .
Ultimately, the perfect cheese and wine pairing is not a rule. It is a match made on the taste buds of each person individually. Start with the basic guidelines above and then experiment with the new pairings. You never know which couple will be your choice.
David Cragg is an SEO guru for the Temecula wineries with over 30 years of work experiance. His work started with IBM and then was supported by Microsoft. Today he is retired and offers his suppport to winery managment to support with their SEO to support expand their businesses. You can read more about his work for Temecula wineries at http://temecula-vineyard.com/AboutUs.html .
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