Wine and Cheese Pairing Chart

This is not, by any means, a comprehensive listing of all the wine and cheese pairings there are in the world. However, the below chart is a great starting point for wine and cheese enthusiasts. Most of the information comes from this chart on Gourmet Sleuth, in addition to the type of cheese it is (cow, goat, sheep, etc).

Why does wine and cheese taste so amazing together? It's said that the fat content of cheese is a perfect match to the acidity of wine, and smooths over any "faults" that may be in your glass of vino. I refer you to this article by LiveScience - it's a great primer on why certain foods just seem to go together.

Cheese and Charcuterie Board at Bin 228 Gastropub

The other night I had an amazing cheese and charcuterie board at Bin 228 with my boyfriend. The cheeses were: gouda and manchego, with coppa and prosciutto, cornichons and grilled bread. I paired it with a 2015 Riesling by Chateau Montelena (yes, that Chateau Montelena). It was perfection. The wine was dry, slightly acidic, but still fruity with hints of lemon. It also paired perfectly with the decadent truffled fonduta we ordered after (not pictured). Next time I'll have to try a Spanish red with the Manchego.... you know what they say, "What grows together, goes together."

Happy eating!

Cheese	Country	Type	Type	Wines
Asiago	Italy	Hard	Cow	Riesling, Rioja, Sauvignon Blanc, Prosecco
Beaufort	France	Hard	Cow	Red Bordeaux
Blue Cheese	All	Blue	Cow	Madeira, Sherry, Riesling
Brie	France	Soft	Cow	Champagne, Merlot, Sherry
Camembert	France	Soft	Cow	Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc,
Cheddar	All	Semi-Hard	Cow	Chardonnay, Rioja, Sauvignon Blanc
Chevre	France	Semi-Soft	Goat	Champage, Gewurztraminer
Colby	USA	Semi-Soft	Cow	Champagne, Malbec, Riesling
Comte	France	Semi-Hard	Cow	Cabernet Sauv, French Reds
Derby	Britain	Hard	Cow	Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc
Edam	Netherlands	Hard	Cow	Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Riesling
Emmenthal	Switzerland	Hard	Cow	Beaujolais
Feta	Greece	Semi-soft	Sheep	Beaujolais
Fontina	Italy	Semi-soft	Cow	Pinot Grigio
Goat Cheese	France	Soft	Goat	Sancerre, Vouvray, Sauvignon Blanc
Gouda	Netherlands	Semi-Hard	Cow	Champagne, Malbec, Riesling, Merlot
Gruyere	Switzerland	Hard	Cow	Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc
Halloumi	Cyprus	Semi-Hard	Sheep	Rose, New World Whites
Harvati	Denmark	Semi-soft	Cow	Red Bordeaux, Rioja
Jarlsberg	Norway	Hard	Cow	Chardonnay, Zinfandel
Kasseri	Greece	Semi-Soft	Sheep	Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel
Limburger	Germany	Soft	Cow	Beer
Manchego	Spain	Hard	Sheep	Merlot, Rioja, Garnacha
Monterey Jack	USA	Semi-Hard	Cow	Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Zinfandel
Muenster	France	Soft	Cow	Beaujolais
Neufchatel	France	Soft	Cow	Loire Valley Wines (i.e. Sancerre)
Parmagiano	Italy	Hard	Cow	Chardonnay, Chianti
Pecorino	Italy	Hard	Sheep	Chianti
Piave	Italy	Hard	Cow	Zinfandel, Italian Reds
Raclette	Switzerland	Semi-Hard	Cow	Beaujolais
Red Leicester	Britain	Semi-Hard	Cow	Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Roquefort	France	Blue	Sheep	Port
Smoked Gouda	Netherlands	Semi-Hard	Cow	Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz
Stilton	Britain	Semi-Hard	Cow	Port, Sauternes
Swiss	Switzerland	Semi-Hard	Cow	Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc
Taleggio	Italy	Semi-Soft	Cow	Pinot Blanc

Club W

One of the hardest things about food blogging is figuring out what to write about next, especially where wine is concerned. It's fine to go to the liquor store and pick up a new bottle at random, but I like a more systematic way of picking out wines.

Enter Club W. I first saw them in an ad on Facebook (of all things) but decided to check out the website.








To start your Club W membership, the site asks you to take a Palate Profile quiz.

The quiz includes questions about your preferences for different types of flavors, like citrus fruits and earthy flavors (like truffles or mushrooms). Then, based on your answers to the questionnaire, the site gives you personalized recommendations from their curated selection of wines.

You can choose how many recommendations you receive (i.e. two reds and one white, etc.) in addition to browsing the other wines that weren't matched to your palate.

Club W's information about the wine is concise without being snobby. For each wine, they post a quick fact sheet that gives you the "vitals" of the wine, and a video where a sommelier describes the tasting notes.

I received my first Club W package in the mail a little while ago... more to come on my reaction to the wines!

Have an extra $40,000 lying around?

Sotheby's is famous for being an international purveyor of fine art, jewelry, and real estate; but they are less known for their dealings in rare and vintage wines.

And while I may not know a lot about vintage wines, I do know a bit about economics– that is, as supply decreases, demand increases... and as demand goes up, prices go up. (Especially at Sotheby's.)

For example, at their current "Finest and Rarest Wines" auction in London, a Montrachet 1996 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Chardonnay has been estimated at a value of $32,500 - $45,500. 

What?!

Once I saw the price, I immediately went online to research why the wine was estimated at such a high value. After all, the vintage is only 1996. It's not like they found this bottle floating around on the sunken Titanic (which actually happened a while back).

The only thing that would designate its quality as a wine on its label would be its title of "grand cru", which denotes its superior appellation in Burgundy, France (under AOC guidelines).

So I googled the wine, and found a specific article on wine-searcher.com. Apparently, the average price for this exact wine is $4,999. (I wonder if the potential buyers at the Sotheby's auction know that....)

In any case, I'll be interested to see how much this bottle actually goes for. Undoubtedly there comes a certain prestige from buying through such an illustrious forum as Sotheby's, which would easily add a premium to the price.

Swirl It!

I recently read a blog post about Swirl It!, an app that recommends wines based on ones you've already tried. Naturally, I had to download it.

This is how it works: When you're drinking a bottle or glass of wine, you search for the wine on the app (whether you're at a restaurant or at home), or you add it if it's not already in the database. 

Then, once you've found your wine, you either "swirl" it (if you liked it) or "spit" it (if you didn't).

After you've swirled and spat a few wines, the app starts recommending wines it thinks you'll like based on your palate. 

Seeing as I haven't yet bought any of my recommended wines, I don't know how accurate the app is... but it's certainly a fun way to keep track of the wines you've tried!

Movie Review: Bottle Shock

Tonight I watched Bottle Shock, which tells the true (albeit dramatized) story of an underdog Californian Chardonnay that won the 1976 "Judgement of Paris" blind tasting.

Steven Spurrier, a British wine enthusiast living in Paris, decided to host a "blind tasting" of Californian and French wines. Traveling to California to select the American wines, he came across Chateau Montelena, a struggling vineyard in Napa Valley. 

A shot of the Chateau Montelena Vineyard from the movie

He chose their 1973 Chardonnay for the tasting, which was held in Paris with French tasters. Against all odds, Chateau Montelena's wine won the competition, beating some of the "best" French wines by the most well-known producers. 

While the movie apparently took many creative liberties with the characters and chain of events, the Judgment of Paris was considered the pivotal moment that put American (specifically Californian) wines on the international map. 

A bottle of the famous 1973 Chardonnay is now held in the Smithsonian Museum, as a testament to the American wine industry's ability to compete with one of the world's oldest wine producing countries.

Movie Review: Somm

Last night I watched Somm, a documentary following four experts as they prepared to take the world's most difficult wine knowledge test, and earn their Master Sommelier degree.

There are only 214 Master Sommeliers (or Somms as they are known colloquially) in the world. The test contains three parts: one part on service in restaurants and hotels, one part on theory, and one part in the form of a blind tasting test. Candidates must taste six wines and describe them accurately in less than 25 minutes, including the year it was produced and the region from which it came.

Watching the four men prepare for the test was incredible. From just a sip of the wine, they could tell whether it had traces of oak in it, what possible grapes it could have been made from, and the level of alcohol it contained. It's amazing that they could glean all that information just from one taste.

The four main candidates practicing the tasting portion of the test, supervised by a Master Sommelier

For those of us who are still learning about the various aspects of wine tasting (including myself), this tasting grid from Epicurious is a great way to get started. It's also great for parties!

A Wine and Cheese Tasting

The other night, I had a mini wine tasting at J. Gilbert's with my good friend, Fatima. As a fellow foodie (albeit a much more experienced one) and wine lover, I asked Fatima to choose the wines for us. We ended up trying two whites and two reds, accompanied by a cheese and charcuterie board.

Our wines:

1. J. Lohr 2011 Seven Oaks Cabernet (Paso Robles)
2. Tierra Divina 2009 Malbec (Argentina)
3. La Crema 2012 Chardonnay
4. Kim Crawford 2012 Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)

The flavors in wines are often compared to fruits. For example, a wine might be described as "the perfect combo of cherry, boysenberry, plum and chocolate flavors." (Taken from a Barefoot Merlot description). But having a fairly inexperienced palate, I always thought those comparisons were ridiculous. I mean, wine is made from grapes, why would it taste like cherries?!

However, when I tasted the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc and swished it around my mouth, I was immediately hit with the taste of grapefruit. Fatima explained that New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs often are redolent of grapefruit, thanks to the unique soil (aka terroir) that the grapes are grown in. She also said that I may not have been drinking good quality wines, which would explain why I never tasted the fruit. Luckily for me, the Kim Crawford Chardonnay has a score of 91 from Wine Spectator.

It also helped that our wines were paired with a beautiful cheese and charcuterie board.

Our cheeses: (From Cato Corner Farm)

1. Womanchengo (similar to a young Manchego)
2. Vivace (like a combination of Gruyere and Italian Provolone)
3. Dairyere (a firm washed rind cheese in the style of Gruyere or Comte)

Our charcuterie:

1. Prosciutto di Parma
2. Rosette de Lyon Salami
3. Hot Coppa

Accoutrements:

1. Cornichons
2. Pickled onions
3. Dijon mustard
4. Grilled Bread
5. Peppers

It was a great meal– full of delicious wine and scrumptious edibles. But more importantly, it was shared with a dear friend, allowing us to connect over our mutual love of food.

Christmas Wishlist: Wine Tasting

I was so lucky to have had the chance to take wine tasting classes in Toulouse, France. Not only did my group get to taste local wines paired with local cheeses, we also learned how to analyze the pairings.

Here I am analyzing "les Jambes" (the legs) - an indication of the alcohol content of the wine.

Although the technique of pasteurization was developed in France (by Louis Pasteur), French cheeses are not legally required to be pasteurized. While this decreases their shelf life, it allows the cheese to retain its full flavor and body. 

In general, soft cheeses (such as Brie and Camembert) are paired with white wines, whereas hard cheeses (such as Parmesan and Asiago) are paired with red wines. As a rule, the stronger the flavor of the cheese, the stronger the wine should be that is paired with it.

I found this book on Pinterest, and thought it would make a great Christmas present for any wine aficionado or foodie. It can be found here on Amazon. 

Happy Tasting!

Find of the Day: Unwined Candles

Not only are these candles made from repurposed wine bottles, but they come in yummy scents like Cabernet,  Champagne Pear, White Zinfandel, and Sangria Punch. But really, I think the name "Unwined" says it all. 

Available on Etsy here.