In the 70’s
cheese and wine parties were all the rage along with orange flares, hostess
trolleys and dodgy haircuts. Thankfully the trolleys and fashion disasters seem
consigned to the bin but the idea persists that cheese and wine are a match
made in heaven.
But I just don’t
know if this is true. I went to an event at Durbanville Hills winery last week
to celebrate the launch of their Season of Sauvignon Festival and try many of
the new releases with some fine Simonsberg cheese. The wines were great, the
cheeses were great – together, in my opinion, they were a disaster!
The problem
according to food-matching guru Katinka van Niekerk, is that cheeses often
‘have a strong taste and are pungently aromatic; they can have a high fat, salt
or acid content and some have a sticky texture which coats the tastebuds. All
of these challenging features spell trouble when it comes to pairing cheese
with wine.’ In her book, ‘The Food and Wine Pairing Guide’ she suggests a
series of points to note when you are trying to make your pairings which
include:
· Consider
the acid of the cheese and make sure you pair it with an equally acidic wine –
this is why goats’ cheese and Sauvignon Blanc is such a good pairing.
· Check
the tannins – most cheeses object to strong tannins in red wines so try softer,
older styles or white wines.
· Salty
and pungent cheeses such as blue cheese suit sweet wines best of all – balance
the sweet and salt for a perfect match.
· Be
careful what other sweet things you serve with your cheese – green figs,
watermelon preserve, chutney all go great with cheese, but will clash with dry
wines. Again, sweet wine is best.
· Protect
the wine – it probably cost more than the cheese! Also, since cheese is the
dominant flavour, it is unlikely to be affected by a bad wine match, but an
unwise cheese can make a wine taste dreadful.
At my event
last week, I discovered that the Simonsberg Cambrini, which was beautifully
ripe, truffley, gooey and delicious, made all the Sauvignons taste corked – and
they were all screwcapped wines! However, when I took the tub of Cream Cheese
flavoured with Blue Cheese home, stuffed it into a chicken breast and wrapped
it in bacon, my husband pronounced it ‘divine’ with the Durbanville Hills
Chardonnay we drank with it. Different
strokes……
If you want
to go and try out some combinations for yourself, then head out to the Seasons
of Sauvignon Festival at all the wine farms in Durbanville from Saturday 2nd
to Sunday 3rd October. They’ve got activities for young and old,
lots of music, lots of tastings, lots and lots of food including all the
Simonsberg cheeses and plenty of great wine, particularly all the new releases
of Sauvignon Blanc – all the details are on www.durbanvillewine.co.za. And I hope you find your perfect cheese and
wine match made in heaven on the way.
Do you have
a favourite cheese and wine combination? Tell us your ideal match made in
heaven!