Cheese and wine combine not only the complexity of their production processes, but also the necessary care in the processing of natural raw materials - milk and grapevine - from which they are produced. Another common denominator of cheeses and wines is also their frequent similarity in taste and aroma.
"Sometimes, on the contrary, cheese and wine can be combined even more interestingly with their taste. E.g. a combination of a great salty and spicy blue cheese with a sweet dessert or with ice or straw wine, " explains Ing. Jiří Kopáček, CSc., Chairman of the Czech-Moravian Dairy Association.
Principles for Cheese and Wine Matching
The more cheese is soft and less pronounced, the light and usually white wines should be served to it.
On the contrary, the cheese is more mature, tastier to piquant, so the wine should be stronger and predominantly red.
The best choice is to choose wine from the same region where the cheese comes from.
"The current general recommendations give quite a simple advice - let everyone choose their own cheese for their cheese, because the most suitable choice is almost always based on individual taste. Cheese and wine are "living" and ever-changing products. And that's how our ideal flavor combines, " says the expert.
Here are a few tips to choose the right wine for cheese
When choosing the right wine for cheese, it is best to take care of what you personally taste.
If you can secure, choose a type of wine that comes from the same production area as the selected cheese.
Generally, the richer the total bouquet of cheese, the more robust and "more robust" the served wine should be.
White wines are best suited for cheese. White tasteful full varieties harmonize usually with many cheese species. Varieties with fine acid with not too high alcohol content and low tannin content are recommended.
Dried wines and lush pink wines are well suited for fresh and soft cheeses, for example made from goat's milk.
Choose light wines with fruity undertones when selecting red wines. Tasty heavier wines with more pronounced tannin are served rather as aromatic cheeses, for example, with a slate on the surface or a so-called washed bark.
For dessert, ice and straw wines, always look for the flavor contrast, such as cheeses with blue mold inside the mass.
Observe the principle that the cheese and wine served are always properly grown. For fresh cheeses the temperature should be between 15-17 ° C, cheesy cheeses should have a room temperature of around 20 ° C. White wines must always be chilled, red wines should be tempered to 15-18 ° C.
Recommendations to the conclusion
At ceremonial occasions, several types of cheese are often served and combined with different types of pastries, other cold products, such as meat products (ham, pâté), or vegetables, fruits and nuts. Which wine to choose for these delicacies?
"In this case, it is hardly possible to serve several types of wine at the same time. Therefore, a maximum of two wines are offered, one being white and the other red. The choice of variety should always be based on cheeses with the strongest or most aromatic bouquet, " adds Ing. Jiří Kopáček, CSc., From ČMSM.
A clear guideline for combining wine with cheese can be found in the table in the photo gallery.
Source: tz
Author tz: Šárka Podlenová