The world has not changed for centuries. The preservation of the earth's bounty, in this case, cheese and wine, has been with us for thousands of years. When nature has not been to good to us, we learn how to hold onto earth's treasures in many ways.
Let's look at grapes. We pick them at their peak and turn their juice into wine for our future consumption. The same is true for cheese. Summer milk from cow's, goats, sheep, buffalo and even yak's provide cheese for the winter months.
Many locations worldwide are temperate enough, climatically, to have both grape vines and dairy animals. It, then, would be of no surprise, to assume that both wine and cheese are savoured together, in harmony.
As a daily ritual,for centuries, specifically Europeans, have enjoyed wine and cheese. For most of us in America, unfortunately, our time has not come. But, that is no reason, that you, The Wine Hub reader, cannot partake in this time-tested marriage.
To start off with, there a few time-tested facts that help this marriage between wine and cheese work successfully. Learn these facts and they will work stimulate your curiosity intellectually.
Harmony is the true goal of all wine and cheese combinations. the objective is always the same. Never diminish the flavor of either the wine or the cheese.
The wine should taste just as good on it's own as it will with the cheese. And vice versa.
Normally, we think how a cheese will affect a wine, not how a wine will affect a cheese.
Now is the time to learn about both wine and cheese, so, we can better understand them together for our daily ritual.
CHEESE FACTS
All cheese really is, is 'SPOILED MILK' that has been controlled.
Below are a few basic facts that you should learn about cheese. These are general facts and have little or nothing to do with wine pairing.
1) NEVER freeze cheese.
2) SAVE the rind from Parmigiana-Reggiano and use it for the base of soups and sauces.
3) IT takes ten pounds of cow's milk to make one pound of cheese.
4) THERE are over fifty breeds of cows whose milk is used for cheese making.
5) CHEESE will often grow a blue, green, yellow, orange, white or red mold after being stored. The mold is normally harmless, natural and edible. You can either eat the mold on the cheese ( my wife says 'gross') or scrape the mold off. It does not affect the taste of the cheese.
6) STORE cheese in your refrigerator, preferably in the fruit or vegetable compartment.
7) WHEN storing cheese, wrap it in wax paper, butcher paper or aluminum foil. Always re-wrap the cheese every four to five days.
8) PLASTIC wrap can be left on cheese for a short period of time. After time, the cheese will have an unpleasant, chemical taste.
9) CHEESE should be taken out of the refrigerator an hour before serving. Leave the cheese wrapped until it reaches room temperature.
10) IT takes four pounds of sheep's milk to make one pound of cheese.
WINE FACTS
1) PRIMATIVO is a wine variety from southern Italy. when the grape was introduced to California, the name of the grape changed to Zinfandel.
2) THE French Syrah grape traveled to Australia and is known as Shiraz.
3) PINOT NOIR is known as Pinot Nero in Italy and Blauburgunder and Spatburgunder in Austria and Germany.
4) WITHOUT the Gamay grape, there would be no Beaujolais.
5) TEMPRANILLO, Spain's best known red grape is called Tinta Roriz or Aragonez in Portugal.
6) NEBBIOLO, known for the great wines of Italy's Piedmont region is grown throughout Italy.
7) SANGIOVESE is the main grape from Tuscany and the main variety used in Chianti.
8) CHAMPAGNE is considered a white wine, even though it is made up of two-thirds of red grapes. Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are red, while the third grape, chardonnay, is white. Skins are taken off of the two red grapes to produce the Champagne.
9) CHABLIS is made from the Chardonnay grape.
10) SAUVIGNON BLANC is the grape used to make Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume.
COME ALONG FOR THE JOURNEY
THIS is a very small introduction to a much larger picture.
PHILIP S. KAMPE
Philip.Kampe@thewinehub.com
