A Cheese-Tasting Party and Wine and Cheese Combinations

A Cheese-Tasting Party
plus Wine and Cheese Combinations

A Cheese-Tasting Party

A cheese tasting follows the same rationale as a wine tasting. Start with the mildest cheese and progress to the strongest. For an almost spur-of-the-moment party that requires no cooking, try a cheese-tasting buffet, mating each cheese with a complementary fruit or vegetable. Wine enhances cheese and offers many options, from a tasting of California Zinfandels or French Beaujolais, to a choice of Merlots, Pinot Noirs, or Cabernet Sauvignons from two vintages. Offer a combination of at least six cheeses, each paired with a fruit or vegetable:

Jarlsberg with Golden Delicious or Gala apples
Havarti with red bell peppers
Gorgonzola with fennel
Boursin or herb-flavored natural cream cheese with cucumbers
Port-Salut with Comice pears
Provolone with pineapple
Brie with Muscat grapes
Vermont or Canadian Cheddar with Fuji apples
Goat cheese with mushrooms
Baguettes, focaccia, water biscuits
Wine

Shopping: Count on one-half bottle of wine and 4 ounces of cheese per person. Figure on 1-1/2 whole fruits and a smaller amount of vegetables per person. For 24 guests, offer a combination of 3 cheeses and 3 fruits and 3 cheeses and 3 vegetables. A sample list would include 12 apples, 12 pears, 2 whole pineapples, 8 red peppers, 2 heads fennel, and 4 cucumbers

Serving: Let the cheeses warm to room temperature for about 1 hour before serving, depending on the kind of cheese and the heat of the day. Serve in wedges or blocks and accompany with a cheese plane, slicer, or cheese knives so guests can cut their own. Arrange and serve the cheeses beginning with the mildest and ending with the strongest in flavor. Thinly slice the baguette, cut the focaccia into squares, and offer the crackers in a basket. If you like, place a different wine at each cheese station.

Wine and Cheese Combinations

With countless varieties of both cheese and wine, the possibilities are endless. Yet certain rules apple. Often, pairing the regional wines with local cheeses makes and ideal combination, such as Muenster with Alsatian Gewurztraminer, chevres with Sancerre, or Roquefort with sauternes. Consider other beverages, too: tart cider or Calvados has a natural affinity for soft-ripened cheeses such as Camembert, and beer is a good partner for strong cheeses. Good combinations include:

Asiago with lively Piedmontese reds or Cabernet Sauvignon
Brie or Camembert with Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux reds
Cheddar with many reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Shiraz, Burgundies, pair the quality of the cheese with a similar-quality wine, or beer
Chevre: soft types with Merlot, French country reds, and dry whites such as Sauvignon Blanc and Sancerre, aged chevre, such as taupiere or Fourmes, with Cabernet Sauvignon
Emmentaler, Gruyere, Edam, Jarlsberg, and Gouda with fruity reds or whites, Pinot Noir
Feta with dry Greek whites, retsina, ouzo
Fontina with Merlot, Pinot Grigio
Gorgonzola with Barbera, Provencal reds
Mascarpone with Moselle, light sweet whites
Monterey Jack with Sauvignon Blanc
Mozzarella with a light Chianti
Parmigiano Reggiano with wines of the Piedmont: Barolo, Barbaresco, Chianti, Pinot Noir
Roquefort with late-harvest Zinfandel, minor sauternes, Rhone reds
Stilton with tawny port, red Rioja, Barolo

Cheese:
Quick and Easy Recipes for Elegant Entertaining

Nestled between slices of fresh bread, baked into a souffle, sprinkled atop pasta, or accompanied by a glass of wine and a sliver of fruit, cheese is as perfect for entertaining as it is for everyday snacks and meals. Cheese includes a host of delectable recipes and menu suggestions featuring such international favorites as Parmesan, Gorgonzola, Edam, Cheddar, Gouda, Brie, and more.

Short descriptions of two dozen varieties of cheeses and suggested pairings with wines, fruits, and breads, as well as three dozen quick and easy recipes for cheese appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, and desserts, will help make your next family meal or social gathering a delicious success. Enjoy a French Onion Soup baked to golden brown perfection with melted Jarlsberg. Savor a tasty sandwich of Grilled Eggplant with Mozzarella or of tangy Monterey Jack with Chutney and Prosciutto. Or serve a classic Greek Seafood Casserole of Shrimp and Feta as a delightful light supper followed by a luscious Coeur a la Creme with Raspberries for a tantalizing dessert.

Illustrated with charming watercolors, Cheese is an elegant and compact guide to a tasty and versatile food-and it makes the perfect gift.

Food has been Lou Pappas's passion for most of her life. She is the author of 28 cookbooks, including 8 other titles in the Artful Kitchen series-Biscotti, Cheesecake, Holiday Feasts, Pesto, Cinnamon, Chutneys & Relishes, Ginger, and Pizzette-published by Chronicle Books. Her many food, wine, and travel articles have appeared in national magazines and newspapers. A former newspaper food editor for the Peninsula Times Tribune, Ms. Pappas lives in Palo Alto, California.

Cheese:
Quick and Easy Recipes for Elegant Entertaining
by Lou Seibert Pappas
Illustrations by Melissa Sweet
$9.95 (hardback)
Chronicle Books
Released: 1996
ISBN: 0-8118-0814-9
(Reprinted with permission)