Wine and cheese. Why such a logical food paring? Both are fermented foods that start with raw products from the earth: grapes and milk. Both are made by adding live cultures to ferment the substrate. Maybe since they are both such natural products they were meant to be consumed together to create a superlative eating experience.
Making wine is like making cheese. Everything begins at the source: the landscape, the soil, the water and air. Then we apply the recipe or process, the choice of barrels versus the kind of cheese vat, and finally the control of the fermentation. Time, temperature, and the right environment must all be coordinated to obtain the best aroma and flavor development. Finally, the aging is precise. Temperature, humidity, ventilation, and flipping or rotating will affect the quality of the finished product. Just as the vintner has his/her “Grand Cru”, making an unforgettable Bonne Bouche, Coupole or Bijou is the pinnacle of good cheesemaking.
Cheese ages just as wine ages and gains character and complexity. A fresh Bijou should be paired with a young white wine. Together they will both enhance notes of fresh flowers, citrus, and peaches. At ten days old, Bijou is supple. The rind is soft and flowery. Gamay or a light sparkling wine will follow this softness and delicacy in your mouth.
Aged, Bijou gains character after two weeks and as old as 45 days. As the cheese dries, the rind becomes thick and wrinkled. The texture is more dense. The flavor develops notes of strong, yeasty, sweet, piquant, nutty, and wild flowers. At this stage, pair the cheese with a robust wine that will compete with the bigger taste of the cheese. A Grand Cru Chablis or a 30 year old Cognac with notes of caramel, chocolate, nuts, oak and orange will be the perfect match. Santé!
Unsalted butter: Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio
Salted butter:
Vermentino, Arneis, Falanghina, Marsanne/Roussanne blend
Sea Salt butter: Cote du Rhone blanc
Mascarpone: Chenin blanc (sweet or dry)
Fromage blanc: Beaujolais or any Gamay based wine, Albarinho
Quark: Marsanne, Viognier, young Tempranillo
Crème Fraiche: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner Veltliner
Chevre: Riesling with some sweetness, Dolcetto
Peppercorn Chevre: Loire SB, Barbera
Herbs de Provence Chevre: Rose, preferably from Provence, it must be a dry Rose, not white zin, Greco di Tufo
Roasted Red Pepper Chevre: Tocai Friulano, Central Coast Pinot Noir
Olive and herb Chevre: Cote du Rhone Rouge, dry sparkling wine
Bonne Bouche: not aged: Australian Riesling, Cabernet Franc
Aged: South African Sauvignon Blanc, Cote de Beaune or Oregon Pinot Noir (as long as it’s not too fruity or high in alcohol)
Coupole: not aged: Chablis, Lagrein(red wine from Trentino) Grenache
Aged: Sangiovese (like a Chianti) Puligny Montrachet, Corton Charlemagne, aged white Bordeaux
Bijou: not aged: dry Rose sparkling wine, South African Chenin Blanc, California Gamay, Central Coast Pinot Noir
Aged: Grand Cru Chablis, White Burgundy, White Rioja, Pomerol, XO Cognac
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