Entertaining Impresario Style

Cheese with wine is a magical combination, but it can be challenging. You have probably tasted a cheese with a wine that made the wine not taste so great. While some want each cheese and wine pairing to sing, others want the wine to put the cheese on a pedestal. 

This sounds interesting, especially if you have a chart that will help you map out your parties for deliciousness on all fronts. 

Since the ancient period, people have been pairing wine and cheese as part of their culinary skills. In olden times, similar regions with wines and cheeses were paired, which has been observed for centuries. 

This also reflects the familiar phrases, “White wine with fish and red wine with meat,” when it comes to the pairings of non-vegetarian foods like fish and meat with wines. 

Historical records pointed to the British merchants regarding the beginning of cheese and wine pairings. British chose acidic and sweeter natured apples since wines made by these types of apples can go well with all varieties of cheeses.

As the old proverb says, “cheese, wine, and friend must be old to be good”. Indeed, this makes wine and cheese ageless partners.

The health advantages of cheese and wine are not something to be underestimated. The combination of wine and cheese brings nourishment to our bodies, courtesy of the antioxidants they bring out. The tannin in the wine helps prevent a heart attack by slowing down the formation of clots in the blood.

We are also familiar with the phrase, “We go together like cheese and wine”, and the combination is famous right from the start! Find a day to celebrate the famous cheeses and wines and create new pairings.

Wine and cheese served for a friendly party in a bar or a restaurant
Wine and cheese served for a friendly party in a bar or a restaurant.

There are numerous varieties of cheese and wine, respectively, and perhaps sorting out the best pair is quite tricky. That is why it is essential to enjoy wine and cheese, and dedicate and innovate such pairings. 

You have to make this work. Put a whole day for this. Wine is one of man’s best companions. Thus, your favorite wine needs some more great cheese combinations. 

Celebrating the best pair of cheese and wine is something you can try. To have these fantastic pairings, you can start sorting out your issues in selecting the best pairings of cheese and wine.

Wines that contain alcohol volume of more than 14.5 percent are robust in nature and thus can be mixed with more tremendously flavored cheeses. 

On the other hand, wines with an alcohol volume of less than 12 percent are less vigorous, thus being mixed with less flavored cheeses.

“The Red wines can be paired with aged cheeses since the old aged cheeses have more fat content. The high proportion of fat neutralizes the high amount of tannin present in the bold red wine,” the National Days Today recommended.

“The sweeter wine and the funk cheeses make a classy pair. The sweetness of the wine matches well since it could balance the funk making further creamier and delicious. Certainly, one of the sweetest wine like Moscato and blue-veined cheeses pairings are notably one of the best pair,” it added.

Cheese camembert brie on the board, two glasses and bottle of red wine
Cheese camembert brie on the board, two glasses and bottle of red wine.

Meanwhile, you can match soft cheeses with sparkling wines. Since sparkling wines are extremely carbonated and acidic, they suit your creamy cheeses well.

The experience you get from pairing cheese and wine will become extraordinary when you pick the right choice. Whether the cheeses are moist or not, it contains fat, flavor, and texture. 

With wine, they can be acidic, sweet, and structured. But when you get the right pairings, you can say to yourself that your cheese and wine will be side by side singing Auld Lang Syne!

Click here to view cheese pairings for Frescobaldi wines

The Cheese Highway

In Europe, people get the most out of pairing cheese and wine by putting the cheese in their mouth and chew them. They then take a gulp of wine, keeping their mouth full, and chew it all up into a yell. It is called as a cheese and wine slush. Then they swallow. And get a great pairing!

Yet, this is not happening customarily in Italy. Such rigid table manners teach us that making a slush in your mouth and chewing would not have been cool with Mom and Dad. But how could you get that taste sensation jolt that the cheese mixed in with the wine gives while keeping to our Emily Post politeness?

Enter the Cheese Highway! This is the procedure you can teach your friends and thrill them with your knowledge and sense of pure, delicious fun.

To do this, take a piece of cheese. Look at it and admire it just like you do with your wine. What color is it? What is the rind like? Is it soft and runny or hard? Now, take a little bit of your cheese and rub it between your fingers to get it warmed up. Now, smell it. Think of what flavors come to mind. Is it mushrooms, fresh cream, nutty, earthy, or sweet? Something will strike you.

Now do the same with your wine – Just leave out the part of rubbing it between your fingers. Look at the color, stick your nose way in the glass and smell. Then swirl the glass and smell again. Remember, 80% of taste is smell. And it is an essential tool.

Various types of cheese and red wine still life on wooden table
Various types of cheese and red wine still life on wooden table

And for the best part, take your piece of cheese and make the Cheese Highway on your tongue. It will happen naturally when you chew the cheese. While you are chewing your cheese, get your glass of wine ready to roll. Now, throw the wine down the Cheese Highway and taste how your cheese and wine come together in the back of your mouth for a turbo-charged experience. 

This is the way cheese and wine is supposed to taste. You will get the maximum benefit out of this new tasting tool. Not to mention, you can teach your family and friends this fun and fantastic way to get the most out of pairing beautiful cheeses with beautiful wines.