COLUMNS GASTRONOME APRIL 2005

WORDS BY JANE BLACK ILLUSTRATION BY KARINE FAOU

The calculating art of finding the right cheese and wine pairing enhances the flavor of both.

At a recent cheese and wine session, I had the pleasure of tasting a most unusual white wine, Michel Torino Torrontes’ Don David. The Argentinian wine has an intense aroma of honeysuckle and orange blossom, yet the taste is bone dry. My host had paired the wine with a lovely French goat’s cheese, Bonde de Gatine. Greedily, I gulped down my sample, then looked for another pairing. I settled on a triple-créme French cow’s milk cheese called Pierre Robert. I ate the cheese, sipped the wine and was overwhelmed by the powerful flavor of rotting garbage—a good cheese mixed with a good wine can still produce a foul flavor.

So how do you make a good match? Cheese and wine pairings are more art than science.

I turned to Max McCalman, fromagier of legendary New York restaurant Picholine and the dean of curriculum at New York’s Artisanal Cheese Center.

McCalman warns against rules but says a good place to start is to look for wine and cheeses that hail from the same region or terroir (soil). The theory is that similar weather conditions, soil and water supplies are likely to produce wines and cheeses that just taste good together.

For example, Loire Valley goat’s cheeses such as the classic Selles-sur-Cher or Crottin de Chavignol are enhanced by local Sancerre. But all terroir marriages are not meant to be. A Loire Valley Chinon made from Cabernet Franc clashes mightily with local goat’s milk cheese, Sante-Maure.

Next, consider a cheese’s organoleptic profile— its aroma, balance of sweet and salty flavors, the PH level, texture and umami (that savory or meaty taste). The goal is to find pairings with a contrast or balance of flavors. If, for example, you’re looking to match a fruity Cabernet Sauvignon full of puckering tannins, you’ll need a cheese that’s slightly sour, full of umami and, of course, fat such as a triple-créme Red Hawk from California’s Cowgirl Creamery. The cheese’s salt blocks bitterness and makes the wine less harsh. Fat lubricates the mouth and tongue. The two go together just as peanut butter goes with jelly.

To assess wine and cheese combinations, first taste the wine, then the cheese. Get a sense of their individual flavors and textures. Next, taste both together: Place a small slice of cheese in your mouth and crush it up against the back of your front teeth. Then, take a sip of wine. If it works, the flavor of both the wine and cheese will be enhanced. At the finish, you will still be able to sense the wine’s flavor, instead of an overpowering taste of cheese. The best pairings—and the worst—may be elusive. Thankfully, the fun is in trying to find them.

THREE MARRIAGES MADE IN HEAVEN
Garrotxa and Chablis
Pronounced “Garrocha”, this goat’s milk cheese from Catalonia is semi-soft with a mild herb flavor. It is a perfect match for the dry, mineral whites of Chablis of northern Burgundy. (illustrated)

Piave and Amarone
This cow’s milk cheese from the mountains of Italy combines the smoothness of Cheddar with the texture of Parmesan. Amarone’s rich flavors of dried plums and cherries will bring out the cheese’s nutty character.

Red Hawk and Gewurtztraminer
The Cowgirl Creamery is California’s favorite cheesemaker. Surprisingly, their pungent Red Hawk cheese doesn’t only cater to heavy reds. It’s equally lovely with the sweet, floral notes of Alsatian Gewurtztraminer.