Cheese and wine facts

The world has not changed for centuries. Man has tried to preserve the earth’s bounty for times when nature is not so generous to us.

Grapes that last only a few days at their peak are turned into wine for our future consumption. Summer milk from cows, sheep, goats, water buffalo and, yes, even yaks become a cheese for the winter months.

For the many locations worldwide temperate enough climatically to have both grapevines and dairy animals, it is no surprise that both wine and cheese are savored together.

As a daily ritual for centuries, the Europeans have enjoyed wine and cheese. For most of us in America, unfortunately our time has not come.

That is no reason for you not to partake in this time-tested marriage. To start off with, all you need to know are a couple of rules that help this marriage work successfully. And you need to know some facts about wine and cheese to help stimulate your intellectual curiosity.

The true goal of all wine and cheese combinations is harmony. The objective is always the same: Never diminish the flavor of either the wine or the cheese. Wine should taste just as good on it’s own as it will with the cheese. And vice versa.

We normally think how a cheese will affect a wine, not how a wine will affect a cheese.

Cheese facts

All cheese really is, is “spoiled milk that has been controlled.” 

Note: These facts are general cheese facts, not wine and cheese pairing tips.

Never freeze cheese.

Save the rind from Parmagiano-Reggiano and use it for the base of soups and sauces.

It takes 10 pounds of cow’s milk to make one pound of cheese. There are 50 breeds of cows whose milk is used for cheese making.

It takes four and a half pounds of sheep’s milk to make one pound of cheese.

Cheese will grow a blue, yellow, orange, red, green or white mold after being stored. The mold is harmless, natural and edible. You can either eat the mold on the cheese (my wife says, “gross”) or scrape the mold off. It will not affect the taste of the cheese.

Store cheese in the bottom of your refrigerator, preferably in the fruit or vegetable compartment. When storing cheese, wrap it in wax paper, butcher paper or aluminum foil. Always re-wrap your cheese every five to six days.

Plastic wrap can be left on cheese for a short period of time, but, after time the cheese will have an unpleasant, chemical taste.

Cheese should be taken out of the refrigerator an hour before serving. Leave the cheese wrapped until it reaches room temperature.

Wine facts

Primativo is a wine variety from southern Italy.  When the grape was introduced to California, the name changed to Zinfandel.

Nebbiolo, known for the great wines of Italy’s Piedmont region, is grown throughout Italy. Sangiovese is the main grape from Tuscany and the main variety used in Chianti.

The French Syrah grape traveled to Australia and is known as Syrah.

Pinot Noir is known as Pinot Nero in Italy, and Blauburgunder and Spatburgunder in Germany and Austria.

Without the Gamay grape, there would be no Beaujolais.

Tempanillo, Spain’s best-known red grape, is called Tinta Roriz or Aragonez in Portugal.

Champagne is considered a white wine, even though it is made up of two-thirds red grapes. Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are red, while the third grape, Chardonnay, is white. Skins are taken off the two red grapes to produce the white Champagne.

Chablis is made with the Chardonnay grape. Sauvignon Blanc is the grape used to make Sancerre and Pouilly Fume.

Why not begin the European tradition of pairing cheese and wine on a daily basis? It will change your life and will create a daily ritual.

Posted by Phillip Kampe on February 28, 2013. Filed under Columns,Food,Opinion,Wine and Beyond. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry