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Pairing Wines and Cheeses for Perfect Harmonies Here’s a trendy idea for a simple but elegant way to create flavor-filled, multi-sensory experiences that will marvel your guests – a wine and cheese pairing party! You don’t need to be a snooty sommelier and a gourmand to host such a party with confidence. Just follow my 4-step suggestions. They reflect much time spent researching and achieving “perfect harmonies,” when just the right cheese and wine meld and bring out the best in one another. One: Work on the ambience of your event, making sure to invite guests who like each other. Serve them a welcoming glass of champagne or sparkling wine to warm up their palates. Try dry Asti at $10/bottle, on up to Don Perignon @ $95. Two: Select three complementary French cheeses and wines, each pairing originating from the same geographic region: Petit Basque ($17/1.4 lb.drum), a semi-hard sheep-milk cheese handmade in the French Pyrenees -- paired with Georges Duboeuf Beaugolais ($11/bottle), made from Gamay grapes from Macon, Burgundy Crottin ($4/2-oz.. drum), a soft whole-goat-milk cheese from the Loire Valley -- matched with Sauvignon Blanc, Touraine ($15/bottle) from Sancere, the Loire Valley Roquefort ($25/lb.), a soft, sharp, salty cheese made from ewe milk, processing of the curd “penicillium roqueforti” and matured in damp natural caves – paired with sweet Sauterne ($30/half bottle) from Bordeaux. Buy cheese cuts containing both rind and center -- the flavors differ; plan for two ounces each per guest, plus buy some larger cuts for a table centerpiece. Three: Set a lovely table! Have dinner plates, forks, spoons (for Roquefort), napkins, stemware (two white, one red per guest). Cut cheeses into small pieces. On each plate, decoratively arrange them in three respective groupings, clockwise, an hour before guests arrive; cheeses at room temperature deliver better aroma and taste. Arrange the rest of the cheeses into an attractive centerpiece. Set the stemware behind the plates, left to right: Beaugolais (3 ounces/guest poured early to reach room temperature), Sauvignon Blanc and Sauterne (3 ounces/guest both chilled, then poured just before guests take seats). Display opened bottles as part of the centerpiece. Four: Once guests sit, introduce the cheeses and wines, both of which each round should be viewed, smelled and then tasted. Start with the Beaugolais alone, followed by the Basque cheese alone, then both together. While tasting, tell guests the background of the cheese and wine. Let them comment on the wine alone, cheese alone and then both combined. Chew the cheese slowly, working it around the mouth, then halfway through sip the wine. Voila, you’re there! …savoring magical moments of two distinct tastes merging into a third. Perfect Harmony. Do the same with the second pairing. The third. You’re experiencing an incredible, multi-sensory crescendo of aromas, tastes and flavors. Follow the tastings with a light supper – pasta, salad and soup, or other dish that contains no cheese. Pairing simple foods with the right wines in an elegant setting is a precious formula for producing perfect harmonies your guests will enjoy and remember. |
