Slaying the Funky Cheese Beast
Some cheeses are so strong/pungent; they can literally erase most wines without so much as a hiccup.
Take, for example, a strong blue cheese like Bleu d'Auvergne (from France). It has a hefty strong gamey/spicy/salty flavor. I didn't have much luck pairing it with white wine. It also slew my Chianti and Cotes du Rhone Villages. What to do?
I pulled out my Ace - Tawny Port (well, actually an Australian, Port-style wine, called Clocktower - about $10). This wine is fiercely woody and sweet with a dose of acidity. This 'sticky' wine successfully dueled the cheese-beast and turned it into a creamy, sweet, lightly savory purring bleu-kitty.
The next time a funky, blue-veined cheese bullies your table wines around, crack open the Port and taste pairing success.
I completely agree. For an Australia Day dinner this year, we paired an Aussie "Roaring 40's" blue cheese with a Hardy's Whisker’s Blake Tawny Port from McLaren Vale, with great success.
Posted by: Sandy Kemsley | 28 July 2005 at 04:03 PM