I am very interested in determining what cheeses you all like to serve with wine. I am a cheese lover, but I am a novice at picking out the cheeses to try from the raging hordes of cheese that is available at fine shops around here.

So, what cheeses do you like to serve with wine and why? More specifically, what cheeses do you like to pair with specific varitals/regions/producers/vintages?

I am very interested in seeing what you guys think about this.

Buy this book TJ- "The Cheese Plate" by Max McCalman (Picholine and Artisanal) and David Gibbons.

Looks like a good book. Available from amazon for only $22. Thanks for the tip, Jones.

TJ, I too am trying to discover more about the world of cheese. I bought The Cheese Plate off Amazon 6 weeks ago -- it really is an outstanding book.

The other thing to do is to find a good affineur in DC.

Jones, that would be the challenge, yes. There are many places to buy cheese, some with a wide variety, but it seems almost impossible to find someone who KNOWS about the stuff...

I know of no good cheese mongers here in the South Bay either. I buy most of my cheese from Whole Foods. They have a great selection but have gotten some stuff that wasn't very enjoyable.

Anybody have suggestions for around San Jose?

When I need a serious cheese expert I call Kent at the Carmel Cheese Shop in Carmel By The Sea, CA.

As a matter of fact he gave one of the presentations at the Monterey Wine dealie on wine/cheese pairings last Thursday. Wish I could have gone.

Whole Foods is usually where I get my cheese. But their staff is HOPELESS when it comes to cheese knowledge. I went to this GREAT cheese shoppe in Philly about a year or two ago and it was amazing. I must have blown $100 bucks easy in 15 minutes. It was so much fun.

I need a place like that around here -- with a guy who really KNOWS his cheese.

If you find yourselves in the Napa Valley and are looking for some nice cheese for lunch, stop into Sunshine Foods in St Helena. Although there are many other nice places for cheese (Dean & Deluca, Oakville Grocery, Kellers) - Sunshine has James the cheese guy! He is truely knowledgeable. We invited him to one of our wine tastings and made it a wine and cheese pairing. Learned a lot!

Bressler - I hear the cheese monger at V.Sattui also knows his stuff.

TJ - one of my favorite pairings that I literally stumbled on when Stemor was at my house for dinner was St.Albray and Madeira. Lovely pairing.

I, frankly, haven't really found a bad pairing for cheese and wine. If I'm eating good quality cheese, that is. If it's grocery store or non-brand, I often gag on the fat content before I even taste the flavor. But if I spend some time and money on the good stuff, I'm always rewarded.

Good luck finding a decent cheese monger. I'm sure there must be a few in DC.

TJ,

The March 31, 2002 edition of WS (remember that magazine) had a whole big spread about matching cheese and wine.

A short summary: (Well, not that short)

As with all food-and-wine matching, many cheeses can go deliciously with a specific wine. But certain types make natural partners, either because they share regional associations or they have worked well in personal experience. Age of a wine is less of an issue than its level of subtlety. Because strong cheeses can rob more complex wines of their nuances, simpler wines generally go with a wider range of cheeses. Use the following list as a starting point.

Barolo and Barbaresco: hard types, especially Parmigiano-Reggiano

Bordeaux (red): hard types, especially Pyrenees mountain cheeses

Bordeaux (white): soft and goat types, especially crottin and other aged goat cheeses

Burgundy (white): hard types, especially Garrotxa and Comté

Burgundy (red): hard types, especially Tomme de Savoie

Cabernet Sauvignon: hard types, especially dry Jack or aged Cheddar

Champagne and sparkling wine: soft types, especially Brie, Camembert,
Reblochon

Chardonnay: see Burgundy (white)

Chianti (and other Sangiovese-based Tuscan reds): hard types, especially Pecorino Toscano

Gewürztraminer (dry): soft or hard types, especially washed-rind cheeses such as Livarot

Gewürztraminer (sweet): extreme types, especially Munster

Merlot: hard types, especially dry Jack

Pinot Noir: see Burgundy (red)

Port: blue or extreme types, especially Stilton

Riesling (dry): soft types, especially Reblochon

Riesling (sweet): soft or extreme types, especially Epoisses

Rioja: hard types, especially Garrotxa or Cheddar

Sauternes, Barsac and late-harvest Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc: blue types, especially Roquefort

Sauvignon Blanc (dry), Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé: goat types, especially fresh chèvres

Sherry (dry): hard types, especially Cheddar and Garrotxa

Sherry (sweet): blue and extreme types, especially Cabrales

Syrah (including red Rhônes): hard types, especially Pyrenees mountain
cheeses

Very sweet dessert wines (such as Australian liqueurs, Pedro Ximénez
Sherry): extreme types, especially Taleggio

Viognier: soft or hard types, especially Camembert or Tomme

Zinfandel: hard types, especially dry Jack or aged Gouda (BTW, I buy a very nice aged Gouda at Whole Fields in Rockville)

I could have just listed the url: but that is no fun.

Also infoHere...

Thank you kind sir, dinwiddie!

There was a show on the Food Network the other day with Gordon Eliott and The "Wine Munchkin" Andrea Immer talking about pairing food and wine and the did a cheese portion. It was mildly entertaining, but as it goes with all shows that feature wine on TV it was dumbed down to educate the masses. I'm sure they will replay it.

TCK

Dinwiddie - We are staying a friend's in SoCal and this afternoon I came across that very issue of WS that we left here last year. Spent the afternoon reading the entire cheese issue. I can't say I agree with all the choices but what an outstanding edition of WS. We broke out all cheeses tonight, dictators be damned!! Anything with anything and then some.

i love bravo farms chipotle cheddar. haven't found the correct pairing for it yet, except for beer..

Perhaps a sparkler or a bone-dry riesling with good acidity?

I found an outstanding cheese to compliment a big red. It's called Italian Tallegio and is worth seeking out. It's one of the very best cheeses I've ever tasted.

Gary from the Wine Library keeps bragging about the Cheese-dept that he is going to open later in the year. He says, it will be the BEST (selection) in the area (NJ). Cannot wait!!!

I also suggested (to him) not to forget the Olives...

Tallegio is an excellent cheese; one of my favourites. I buy it quite frequently from my local deli/cheese shop.

I had some excellent Quebecois cheese recently while in Quebec City and Montreal. One called Louis Riel was made by the Metis Indians and is half cow milk and half sheep milk. Nice texture, excellent flavour. I also had an excellent blue-veined cheese whose name escapes me right now. When I remember it I'll post it here.