insideKENT Magazine Issue 64 - July 2017 | Seite 110

FOOD+DRINK
Cheese AND Wine cont.
Cheese and wine cheat sheet
THERE ARE AMPLE COURSES ACROSS THE SOUTH EAST THAT WILL HONE YOUR PALATE OVER A
NUMBER OF WEEKS, TEACHING YOU TO BECOME A CONNOISSEUR OF CHEESE AND WINE. TIME
SEEMS TO BE INCREASINGLY OF THE ESSENCE IN MOST OF OUR LIVES THESE DAYS, HOWEVER,
SO, IF YOU’VE GOT PEOPLE COMING OVER FOR DINNER THIS MONTH WHOM YOU’D LIKE TO
DAZZLE WITH YOUR NEWFOUND KNOWLEDGE, THIS HANDY CHEAT SHEET WILL HELP YOU NAVIGATE
YOUR WAY AROUND THE CHEESEBOARD IN NO TIME.
FRESH AND SOFT CHEESES
STINKY CHEESES
Fresh and soft cheeses such as ricotta,
mozzarella, halloumi, Brie, chèvre, crottin and
camembert pair perfectly with crisp whites,
dry rosés, sparkling wines and light-bodied
reds with low tannins, so avoid big, bold reds
like Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and
Bordeaux and instead seek out lighter, fruity
varieties with apple, tropical, melon or citrus
flavours.
BLUE CHEESE
Blue cheeses are often very savoury and very
salty, so really pair well with wines with a full
flavour, but on the sweet side, notably Port.
Beautiful blues like Bleu D'Auvergne, stilton,
gorgonzola, cambozola and Roquefort are best
friends with wines such as red Port, tawny
Port, Sauternes and oloroso Sherry.
HARD CHEESE
SEMI-HARD, MEDIUM-AGED CHEESES
Just as these cheeses are of a medium
hardness and at middle age, they suit
medium-bodied reds and whites that offer a
good balance between acidity, fruit, and
tannin. Team cheeses such as Edam,
Emmental, Gruyère, Jarlsberg and manchego
with Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Viognier,
Champagne, Pinot Noir and vintage Port.
Gloucestershire’s Stinking Bishop
An easy, but incorrect assumption is that
smelly cheeses pair well with full-bodied,
strong wines. Not so. Stinky soft cheeses like
Époisses, Morbier and our personal English
favourite, Gloucestershire’s ‘Stinking Bishop’,
love light-bodied wines with gentle aromatics
that complement not compete – Riesling, red
Burgundy and Pinot Noir to name but three.
Hard cheese is both nutty and salty, so varieties
like Parmigiano-Reggiano, extra mature
cheddar, Comté, aged gouda, pecorino,
manchego and asiago really benefit from full-
bodied whites and tannic reds such as sweet
Riesling, Viognier, vintage Champagne, red
Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barolo,
Zinfandel, red Port, tawny Port, Madeira and
Sauternes.
Last but not least…pairing port with cheese
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Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos Vintage Port
(75cl, £30, www.sainsburys.co.uk) Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage 2011
(75cl, £15, www.sainsburys.co.uk) Graham’s 10-Year-Old Tawny Port
(75cl, £20, www.sainsburys.co.uk)
The Vintage Malvedos is bold and polished in
flavour. While maintaining the blackberry fruit
flavours associated with traditional Ports, it
adds depth with hints of mint and spice. As
such, it is the perfect partner to a cheeseboard,
but works best with traditional stilton. Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage – full and complex, yet
smooth and soft at the same time – is the perfect
addition to the wine rack of any discerning drinker and
is a natural fit with any cheeseboard. The notes of
liquorice and blackberry need a powerful cheese to
stand up to its strength, so stilton, Roquefort and
gorgonzola work best. For something a little different, enjoy
your cheese with a chilled tawny Port.
This 10-year-old tawny is rich with
nuts and figs and its mature flavours
match perfectly with salty, dry, hard
cheeses, such as Comté.