Wine and cheese

Spent last night with two friends tasting different wines and cheeses. To mix and match the cheeses I had had a little help from my favourite cheese shop. Having bought cheese there for a couple of years now I know they are very good, but it was still very impressing to actually feel and taste how well the different cheeses and wine went together.

We started with a sparkling wine from Bourgogne – Geisweiler Monopol Crémant de Bourogne Brut and a cow's milk cheese called Langres. A cheese that has been dipped in champagne several times during its ripening.

Then it was time for goat cheese. One called Crottin de Chavignol coming from the Loire Valley and another one called Tommé de Chevre. Goat cheese is known to go very well with Sauvignon blanc so here we tried a New Zealand one called Omaka Springs. Just the right amount of citrus and elderberry to match the saltiness in the cheese.

Next was two hard cheeses made from cow's milk. Old Dutch from The Netherlands and Cherry Monte Veronese made in Verona, Italy. To this we tried Monti Garbi, a red wine from Valpolicella which really brought out flavours of nuts and oak in the cheese.

As last cheese we tried was a Roquefort which is rather sharp and salt, but still a fabulous blue cheese. To remove some of the sharp and salty taste we tried a sweet dessert wine - Château Menota. A perfect match, which almost made the Roquefort creamy and mild.

Having tried, mixed and matched the cheeses and wine in endless combinations I think we all realized that cheese and wine are one of the better things in life. Especially on a Saturday night.