There has been talk recently (Gilt Taste's take) that wine AND cheese is actually an ill-suited pairing. I’m going to have to dismiss this one as the wine world equivalent of the East Coast earthquake. Admittedly, wine and cheese were originally forced together for a less than honest purpose: cheese’s fat softens harsh tannins in red wines, allowing people to drink green, tannic swill without spitting it out. It works much like putting milk into over-steeped tea.
But, despite its origins, wine and cheese is a pairing that produces some of the most interesting, complex and harmonious flavor experiences you’ll find anywhere. To me, the apex of this is Vin Jaune, a special “yellow” wine made under a layer of spent yeast cells, and Comté cheese, both from France’s Jura region. The nutty, savory complexity they pull out of each other is mind-blowing. There are many other pairings that also turn heads: aged Chablis and Epoisses, Champagne and blue cheese, Cru Beaujolais and good Feta.
Is that to say wine always belongs with cheese, and vice versa? No. The real problem at hand is that most “classic” wine and cheese pairings are terrible. Blue cheese and port, and cheddar with big red wines are two examples of failed marriages.
Here are two tips for successful wine and cheese pairings. First, think local. Wines are often best with cheeses made nearby. And second, go white. White wines are almost always a better cheese pairing, if you’re picking the wine before your dairy.
Jeff Segal is the owner of Heart wine bar in San Francisco
More Bites: