Stories and news about Wine & Cheese
The ‘rules’ of serving and drinking wine make sense as a culmination of centuries of experience and wisdom. But sometimes they are a fashion (think of Beaujolais Nouveau) and sometimes they are just plain wrong (like ‘coupe’ champagne glasses, as used in 1950s Hollywood movies). So what about the temperature of wine? The ‘rules’ say serve red at room temperature, serve white chilled. Continue reading Wine Temperatures Revisited
The festive season brings out the desire for cheese in just about everyone. Even people who don’t eat cheese the rest of the year seem to feel compelled to have a selection of cheeses in the fridge at this time of year.
For people familiar with the delights of assembling a cheese board, Christmas cheese holds no fear, but for others whose cheese familiarity is limited to strong Cheddar coupled with something soft, it can be a challenge. Most supermarket staff have very little knowledge of the cheeses they sell, and are not much use if you need help and advice. Supermarket cheeses themselves are generally made in a factory from blended milk of unknown origin and can be pretty uninspiring. So, if you really want to enjoy some delicious cheeses that are at their peak for Christmas and the New Year find a reputable cheesemonger who can advise you and allow you taste their cheeses on offer. Cheese selection is really a matter of personal taste. However, there are a few cheeses which seem to play an integral part in the traditional festive larder. Continue reading My Festive Cheeseboard
Even the most casual reader of this column will have noticed that I’m a ‘terroirist’.
That is to say, my approach is that the taste of a wine reflects the interaction between grapes, soil, rock, climate, altitude, the slope of the vineyard in relation to sun and wind, etc. Bordeaux will always taste like Bordeaux and nowhere else can make wine that tastes the same. The role of man is to facilitate the expression of the terroir. Continue reading It’s not all about the terroir
Lucie Inns of Cheesology writes for the love of cheese…
On the continent, the cheese course is often eaten between the main course and desert. In Britain we tend to favour eating it after desert and accompanied by either Port or a desert wine. Whichever you prefer it’s important to give some thought to the balance of cheeses you are going to serve. Personally I think if your budget is limited it is better to buy one or two really good cheeses of high quality than say 5 or 6 cheeses of indifferent quality. Continue reading The Perfect Cheese Course
Andrew Polmear writes for the love of wine…
I like to go wine tasting with my friend Dave. We must look a funny pair because we are usually the only ones conscientiously spitting out everything we taste. I do it because I don’t want to get cancer of the mouth or gullet (see The Whistler December 2012); Dave because wine gives him a severe headache about an hour after starting to drink. He doesn’t get migraine so it’s not that. And it’s too early to be a hangover. Fearful of losing him as a tasting partner, I’ve been looking into the cause of wine-induced headache and what can be done about it.
Continue reading Wine Induced Headache
The Whistler 