Cheese and wine (1)

FALL 2017

Cheese and Wine by: Marco Suarez Marketing Head

Introduction Pairing wine and cheese is harder than you'd think.

That's because there isn't just one kind of wine and one kind of cheese.

Cheeses vary in moisture content, fat content, texture, flavor. Â Wines, too, vary in acidity, sweetness, body, and structure.

Consider Age and Intensity As a cheese ages, a process called affinage, the moisture in its body slowly evaporates, leaving behind fat and protein In addition to drying and concentrating the cheese, age also introduces new flavors.

Pair by flavor intensity, and consider intensity's correlation with age.

Watch the TANNINS Tannic red wines are terrific with rich, aged cheeses, because their tannins literally bind to protein and fat, cleaning your palate after each bite. But the same process makes tannic wines feel far too astringent with young cheeses

NO WITH SALTY CHEESE

Salt loves sweet. The salt in the cheese heightens the perception of sweetness in the wine, BLUE CHEESE & DESSERT/FORTIFIED WINES

Cheese loves fruit and nuts we adorn cheese plates with fresh fruits, dried fruits, and nuts. Â From fruity to sweet to nutty to tannic, these same pairing principles apply to wines, too

Texture: complement or contrast. Rich, creamy cheeses blend seamlessly with buttery, oaky white wines.  bubbles in sparkling wines pose a nice counterpoint to a rich cheese, scrubbing your tongue clean and making you want another bite

Fresh and Soft Cheeses Fresh and soft cheeses love crisp whites, dry rosĂŠs, sparkling wines, dry aperitif wines, and lightbodied reds with low tannins

Semi-hard, Medium-aged Cheeses

These cheeses have a firmer texture and stronger flavors. They need medium-bodied whites, fruity reds, vintage sparkling wine, and aperitif wines that offer a balance between acidity, fruit, and tannin.

Stinky Cheeses Stinky cheeses call for mediumbodied aromatics winesÂ

Blue Cheeses These cheeses have a firmer texture and stronger flavors. They need medium-bodied whites, fruity reds, vintage sparkling wine, and aperitif wines that offer a balance between acidity, fruit, and tannin.