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Ultimate Party Playlist
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No party is complete without good food, refreshing drinks and a sweet soundtrack. Flip through our latest Field Guide for a variety of music-inspired pairings starring artisan cheeses with wine, beer and spirits. Whether you’re making a mixed tape, streaming the top 40 or putting a record on, choose your favorite genre and turn it up to eleven.
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Now trending: young and bright and tart and experimental. Go beyond the basic cheeseboard with tasteful one-offs like chèvre, young feta and fromage blanc (so extra). To keep your pairing playlist fresh, try light, fruity and herbaceous sips, then throw in enough sweet treats to share with the squad. #roséallday #craftbeer #cocktailhour
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Millennial Pink (& Purple) Zhuzh up your cheeseboard with Cypress Grove Purple Haze, a unique goat milk cheese made with fennel pollen and lavender. Pair with CA superstar Malene Rosé to enjoy its complementary melon and strawberry notes, velvety texture, flinty minerality and long, dry finish.
Mood: For sips and giggles, bring a bottle of Laughing Glass Pomegranate Margarita to the table. The bright red fruit notes are a tasty match for the tart and herbal flavors of Cypress Grove Purple Haze, and it offers a refreshing alternative if cheese and wine pairings are too mainstream.
Feeling extra?
Try havarti.
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In My Feta
KSA-Pop
The lemony, fresh flavors of goat cheese have been paired with sauvignon blanc for like ever. Bring this power couple into the 21st century with the beautiful Gérard Bertrand Perles de Sauvignon Blanc and Skyhill Farms Goat Feta, a local farmstead cheese with bright and salty notes.
Fresh from Napa Valley, sustainably farmed Skyhill Farms Goat Feta is full of bright, tart and zesty flavors. Pop open a can of Fort Point Beer Co. KSA Kölsch Style Ale, a German-inspired craft brew from San Francisco, for a light, floral hoppyness that harmonizes perfectly with the cheese.
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OTP IRL Find your one true pairing in real life with Nicasio Valley Foggy Morning, a local, organic, small-batch cheese, and Hahn SLH Chardonnay, a balanced, full-bodied chardonnay influenced by the cool climate of the Santa Lucia Highlands. The underlying acidity in the wine brings out the best in this lactic, fresh and creamy cheese.
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Sophisticated, elegant and complex cheeses like Manchego, Fontina and firm goat cheese are the very definition of good taste. Enjoy with an ensemble of Marcona almonds, jamón serrano, dried fruit, rustic crackers and honeycomb, then complete your magnum opus with well-balanced reds, oaked whites, malty beers or (if you’re feeling fortissimo) tequila-based cocktails.
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Manchego Sonata A half-year intermission helps the traditional Spanish sheep milk cheese, Maese Miguel 6 Month Manchego, develop its nutty caramel and grassy olive oil flavors. For a suite española, pair with the crescendo of dark red cherry, plum and vanilla oak in Muriel Rioja Reserva.
Eine Kleine Hefeweizen Set the tempo for your culinary recital with Erdinger Weißbier, an unfiltered wheat beer known for its nutty overture and notes of banana and biscuit. Serve with Maese Miguel 6 Month Manchego to create a harmony of mild, tangy flavors and aromas worthy of a standing ovation.
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Well-Tempered Chianti Conducted by master cheesemakers, Yellow Door Creamery Tuscan Fontina boasts a rich, creamy paste accented by Italian herbs. Savor in concert with Castello di Albola Chianti Classico for its symphony of earthiness, bright red fruit flavors and a long-lasting finish.
Hahn de Deux The raw goat milk cultures in locally produced Sierra Nevada Monterrey Jacques produce complex, herbaceous tones that vary with the four seasons. Create a delicious duet with the lush texture, ripe fruit flavors and crisp backbone of acidity in Hahn SLH Pinot Noir.
For an enticing encore, also try a timeless camembert.
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Stinky, sticky, pungent and meaty—we want the funk! From washed rinds to soft-ripened and Swiss Alpine cheeses like gruyere, funkadelic cheeses are an acquired taste well worth the trying. Keep the flavor train coming with crusty bread, savory jams and cured meats, plus strong sips like off-dry, earthy wines, bold and leathery ales or single malt Scotch for a one-way ticket to Funkytown.
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Brut House Made with milk from grass-fed cows, Alemar Cheese Company Good Thunder boasts dynamite yeasty, malty and meaty flavors. Sparkling wine can tame the funkiest flavors in cheese, making the crisp and vivacious Gérard Bertrand Crémant de Limoux Brut one rad mama jama.
Smell Me Something Good Alemar Cheese Company Good Thunder gets its stinky soul by bathing in brown ale for three weeks, then chilling another twelve. Double up on the ale with Calicraft Brewing Co. Oaktown Brown Ale, locally fermented in three different oaks with cascade hops to create a fantastically funky fusion. TH E FI E L D G U I D E • I S S U E 26 • FA L L 2018 • 13
Earth, Wind & Gewurztraminer Emmi Kaltbach Cave Aged Gruyere is a superfly Alpine cheese with robust and fruity flavors of browned butter and toasted nuts. Enjoy with the spicy aromatics of rose petal, apple pie spice, honeysuckle and ginger in Husch Vineyards Gewurztraminer for a pleasantly pungent pairing.
Get Up Outta That Cave Aged in Swiss sandstone caves for 300 days, Emmi Kaltbach Cave Aged Gruyere has a nutty, lactic component that’s so good, so good. The sweet caramelized pineapple and vanilla sponge cake notes in Highland Park Magnus Single Malt Scotch Whisky make this stinky star shine.
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For extra funk, also try aged chèvre.
Jadot Rider Both Cellars at Jasper Hill Harbison and Louis Jadot Pinot Noir got the funk with earthy notes of dried mushrooms, wild herbs and pine on the palate. Together, the rich, rustic undertones of this soft-ripened cheese get down and boogie with the dark berry sweetness in the wine. TH E FI E L D G U I D E • I S S U E 26 • FA L L 2018 • 15
Roquefort and gorgonzola are also cultured classics.
Feeling blue isn’t always a bad thing, especially when it comes to cheese. Rich and savory cheeses like Stilton boast a distinct depth of flavor that just might make you rethink what it means to sing the blues. When it comes to pairings, jazz things up with sweet wines like sauternes or port, IPAs or stout, and vodka-based cocktails or sweeter liqueurs. Throw in some honey, fig jam, candied walnuts and hearty, rustic breads, or have fun and improvise.
Enjoy a blue-ribbon farmstead cheese like Point Reyes Original Blue with a glass of August Kesseler “R” Riesling. This off-dry German wine has a distinct lime acidity and notes of ripe apple and peaches that jive with the bold, salty and tangy flavors of the cheese.
Double up on craft creations from the California coast by pairing Point Reyes Original Blue with The Copper Can Moscow Mule. The strong kick of this canned cocktail stands up to this creamy, aged cheese’s layers of intense blue flavor with a nice, clean finish.
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For a traditional, time-honored combination, try pairing Deer Creek The Blue Jay with Warre’s Warrior Porto. The dark blue fruits, licorice and milk chocolate flavors of this terrific value port wine marry beautifully with the bold, herbal flavors of this unique quintuple cream blue.
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Infused with crushed juniper berries, Deer Creek The Blue Jay has a botanical backdrop to its strong blue taste. Balance this ultra-creamy blue with Firestone Nitro Merlin Milk Stout, a grown-up milkshake in a can with a lush, smooth texture from its nitrogen carbonation, and flavors of sweet milk chocolate and roasted coffee.
Not as salty as American blues, Long Clawson Dairy Blue Stilton has rich, deep and earthy flavors with a browned butter finish. Pair this old English soul with a true blues brother, Château Laribotte Sauternes. Just as blue cheese is famous for its visible veins of edible mold, sauternes wines are known for the flavors imparted by the Botrytis cinerea (“noble rot”) mold that attacks the grapes right before they’re picked. Mold never tasted so good. TH E FI E L D G U I D E • I S S U E 26 • FA L L 2018 • 19
Hello, is it cheese you’re looking for? Let the mild, creamy and delicate flavors of young gouda and unripened brie wash over your palate. Pair every bite you take with sweet sensations like fresh berries, fruity jams and lemon curd, and set sail with easy-drinking sips of light, floral wine, herbal beer or a bourbon-based cocktail. Bon voyage!
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Forever Young
R
ich and buttery with clean crème flavors, Marin French Cheese Petite Breakfast Fresh Brie pairs beautifully with the slight effervescence, light body and apple and pear notes of Quinta da Aveleda Vinho Verde. With roots in the 1860s and 70s, these old souls were made for each other.
Other polished picks include cultured crème and fresh mozzarella.
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Beecher Street
B
ourbon and cheese pairings don’t happen often enough, but one power couple is Larceny Bourbon with Beecher’s Dutch Hollow Dulcet. The vanilla and toasted oak notes in the bourbon act like smooth saxophone, complementing the deep crooning of the cheese.
Laroquet Man
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eecher’s Dutch Hollow Dulcet is made in New York with Jersey cow milk, creating a rich, tangy and elegant cheese. With notes of dark cherry, tobacco and tea leaves, Domaine Laroque Cite de Carcassonne Cabernet Franc backs it up by adding velvety layers without stealing the show.
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Fields of Gold
M
ade with organic milk, Burroughs Family Farms Grass to Gold Gouda is cream-forward, grassy and delicious. The new world hops in Trumer Pils—a modern take on the Austrian original—provide just enough bitterness to balance out this lushly textured cheese.
When a Man Loves a Gouda
E
njoy the suave complexity of Boneshaker Zinfandel with the award-winning Burroughs Family Farms Grass to Gold Gouda. The old vine grapes create notes of dried plum, black cherry, fig, vanilla, dark chocolate and licorice, making it a perfect partner for this buttery artisan gouda. TH E FI E L D G U I D E • I S S U E 26 • FA L L 2018 • 23
Feed your appetite for destruction with STRONG, HARD and AGGRESSIVE cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano and SHARP aged cheddar. Wash it all down with a swig of a BIG red, BITTER IPA, FIERY cocktail or anything spiked. As for the nosh pit, sink your teeth into flavor-packed picks like SOUR apples, SALTY salami and RICH roasted nuts. Let the headbanging begin.
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Amp up the gig with another rock star like Pecorino Romano.
IN YOUR FACE
ROCK, ROCK ON
Aged two years to create a killer flavor and crystal structure, Face Rock Creamery Extra Aged Cheddar will take on any booze you throw at it. Offset the sweet and nutty finish in the cheese with the big hop character and bitterness in Knee Deep Brewing Co. Breaking Bud IPA.
Bring a little fire to the party by pitting the award-winning Face Rock Creamery Extra Aged Cheddar against Cutwater Spirits Spicy Bloody Mary. This extreme canned cocktail takes down the cheese’s crumbly complexity with rich tomato umami, screaming pepper spice and Fugu vodka.
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RYE HARD A powerful cheese with crystal structure like Boni Parmigiano Reggiano demands a big, bold beverage that won’t be overpowered. Enter Rittenhouse Straight Rye Whisky. With its distinct spice backed by hints of dried fruits and toffee, it’s ready to take the challenge head on.
BARBARIC Intense, herbal, nutty and complex, Boni Parmigiano Reggiano has strong roots nearly 1000 years in the making. Luckily, Michele Chiarlo Barbera d’Asti can hold its own against this hardcore cheese, with a bright, acidic backbone that highlights the vibrant fruit flavors.
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HEAVY METAL With nutty, earthy tones of toasted caramel and roasted meat, Fiscalini San Joaquin Gold is about as metal as it gets. Pair with the lush, full-bodied Château La Freynelle Bordeaux, a merlot-cabernet sauvignon blend exploding with ripe tannins, dark currant and blackberry.
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Fixin’ to host a good, old-fashioned shindig? Bust out the rustic, deep and crusty flavors of aged gouda and Alpine cheeses. If you don’t have any sweet tea on hand, sip on bigger-bodied whites, medium reds, malty beers or whiskey straight up. As for the vittles, rustle up some milk chocolate, roasted nuts and dried fruit for sturdy, simple flavors that will stand by your jams.
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Whiskey River
Jeffs’ Restaurant
Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey gets its rich, toasted oak and vanilla notes from aging in charred oak barrels, a trick that made Rev. Craig a pioneer in the industry. For a terrific twosome, pair with the salty caramel flavors of Caves of Faribault Jeffs’ Select Gouda.
Handcrafted in Wisconsin and cave-finished in the big rock candy mountain of Minnesota, Caves of Faribault Jeffs’ Select Gouda is one of the few US-made goudas. Let Scotto Cellars Rich & Creamy Chardonnay strum along with its matching flavors of toasted butterscotch. TH E FI E L D G U I D E • I S S U E 26 • FA L L
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If I Had a Hornbacher Full-bodied with notes of orange blossom and honey followed by pears and apricot on the palate, Cline Viognier makes the most of what can be a fickle varietal. Enjoy with the browned butter and nutty profile of the unique Swiss cheese, Gourmino Hornbacher.
The Lager Is Wide An homage to an age-old German style, Sudwerk Brewing Märzen Amber Lager is sweet, smooth and robust. Take your taste buds on the road again with Gourmino Hornbacher, an exclusive specialty cheese handcrafted by a master cheesemaker in Switzerland.
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Blowin’ in the Wine Celebrate local, downhome roots with Cline Pinot Noir, produced sustainably in Sonoma, and Point Reyes Toma, a farmstead cheese from the California coast. The sweet and savory notes in the wine and buttery cream and herbal twang of the cheese go together like Johnny and June.
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I S S U E N O. 26 • FA LL 2018
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