Last weekend, my two friends got married. During their welcome dinner, I conducted a small cheese and wine pairing with our other friend who's in the wine business. As promised from last week's post, following are the exact pairings that we decided on. Truly, all three were delicious. And you can replicate them quite easily.
We talked about how the tenets of wine and cheese pairings are pretty translatable to the subject of marriage. An ideal marriage of wine and cheese is one in which each element is better when with the other. And in the food marriages that work, you prefer them both together than apart. Sometimes, one element will even improve when paired with the other. Same with people. So it turned to be a pretty great way to talk about our two friends.
1. Like with Like: Sancerre with Goat Cheese
The first pairing was a 2010 Sancerre Cherrier Les Fleuins with two of my favorite goat cheeses: Vermont Butter and Cheese Company's Cremont and Bonne Bouche. The Cremont has just a bit of cow milk in it, which adds a really delicious richness. They're each excellent alone, but the Sancerre was crisp and floral, and could cut through the creamy paste of the cheeses. The wine had a great level of acidity, which matched the tanginess of the goat milk. We called this our like with like pairing, and compared it to two people who work well together because their characters are similar. The marriage analogies weren't in short supply.
2. Opposites Attract: Riesling with Taleggio
Next was a Dr. Loosen "L" Riesling from 2011. Aromatic, slightly sweet, but with excellent acidity. I picked Taleggio: Washed rind, pasteurized cow milk, slightly funky, super creamy and milky. Its stinkiness was offset by the sweetness of the wine, in the same way that sometimes two people who are very different from one another make great partners. This is the opposites attract concept at work.
3. Tried and True: Rioja with English Farmhouse Cheddar
The last pairing was a 2005 Castillo Ygay Marquis de Murrietta Rioja Reserva with Keen's cheddar, a clothbound English farmhouse cheddar. I also picked up a few wedges of Wisconsin's Sartori Stravecchio, which tastes almost like a really mellow parmesan: not as salty and much more sweet. Really delicious with the Rioja, which was pretty robust with definite notes of fruit and spice. You'd not necessarily think of a cheddar to pair with it, but everyone agreed that they couldn't imagine one without the other.
I've always been a proponent of cheddars with big reds, and so we referred to this pairing as a tried and true matchup. We related this pairing to our friends getting married: each of them elevates the other, and is better for it. Tried and true, indeed.
Nora Singley used to be a cheesemonger and the Director of Education at Murray's Cheese Shop. Until recently she was a TV Chef on The Martha Stewart Show. She is currently a freelance food stylist and private chef in New York City.
Related: The Cheesemonger Meets the Winemonger
(Image: Maxim Khytra/Shutterstock)
Thread NY NBC New York Get the latest New York fashion, fashion news, and the latest NY fashion trends. The inside line on New York fashion including sample sales, boutique openings ... Slate Magazine - Politics, Business, Technology, and the Arts ... Weigel: Will the Family Research Council Shooting Be Politicized? What To Look For. Manjoo: Groupons Crummy Business Model Is Finally Dead. Larry's Albuquerque Food Musings Everything Tastes Better Here A unique and highly popular newish restaurant in Santa Fe. First visit: August 11, 2011. Jambo Cafe is Santa Fes newest, award winning, ethnic restaurant. Culinary Getaways, Cooking Classes & Wine Tastings at B&Bs. Travel ... Culinary Travel. Food and wine, cooking classes, culinary getaways. Worldwide B&B listings and travel gift certificates available. Enjoy Food Wine.com A great article appeared this week in the Wall Street Journal, about pairing wines with unusual dishes. A quote: Successful food and wine pairings have long been ... Binny's Beverage Depot - Lakeview - Chicago, IL Category: Beer, Wine & Spirits. 3000 N Clark St (between Wellington Ave & Barry Ave) Chicago, IL 60657 Neighborhood: Lakeview (773) 935-9400 Food and Beverage Articles - Find Food and Beverage Related ... Wine takes the center stage of our food and beverage articles. The amazing versatility of wine is one article that incredibly describes its many different uses ... Austin FOOD & WINE Festival April 27-29, 2012 Austin, TX Relive The Weekend. We were on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all weekend long! Our Festival staffers was at Auditorium Shores and Republic Square Park during the ... Main Ingredient: Main Ingredient's MENU wine, food and ... Here is our calendar of current and upcoming wine and food-related events for 2012. It may be updated at any time, so watch this space. (Click on the ... Events St. Louis Craft Beer Week Saturday, July 28th. B33r and Brats 33 Wine Shop and Tasting Bar 11AM-5PM Free Event (Food and drink available for purchase) If youre trying to avoid the ...
No comments:
Post a Comment