Stories and news about Wine & Cheese
Lucie Inns of Cheesology writes for the love of cheese
They say that somewhere in the world there exists your perfect partner and so it goes with cheese. The purists amongst you may feel that cheese requires no accompaniment and you will be happy to eat it on its own. However, many of you will be wanting to enhance it in some way, perhaps with a cracker or an apple or just simply some really good bread. Continue reading Find Your Perfect Partner
Andrew Polmear writes for the love of wine…
There’s a saying in the wine trade: “a glimpse of the label is worth 20 years of tasting experience”. That’s true if you are trying to impress. But for those of us who just want to enjoy wine I think the opposite is more true: “blind tasting will show you what you really like and save you money”.
This was brought home to me recently at a tasting organised by The Wine Society in Lewes. Two hundred members gathered in the Assembly Rooms, where we found ten tables, each with two bottles, whose labels were masked. We were given a booklet of questions in which to write our answers. For instance, the first table had two bottles of bubbly and the question was: which one of these is champagne and which is a New World sparkling wine at less than half the price? Not all the pairs were wines of different price. Table 9 had a Pauillac (Bordeaux’s ‘best’ village) matched against a New Zealand Cabernet-Merlot at the same price. At the end of the session the organiser asked us to vote for the alternatives before revealing the answers. Continue reading Blind Tasting
Lucie Inns of Cheesology writes for the love of cheese…
In the UK we now have over 700 handmade cheeses – more than the French, apparently. Broadly speaking, cheeses can be categorised into texture and type. Within these categories there is a wide range of variations and with every year that passes more cheeses are created. Here’s an outline of the main styles of cheese.
Fresh cheeses – these are cheeses that are really young, a matter of days old and so young in fact that they have no skin or rind. Their flavour tends to be fresh and delicate with a soft spreadable texture. Some of these cheeses have a coating of herbs or peppercorns for decoration or to add a distinctive taste. The most recognisable of these cheeses tend to be made from goat’s or ewe’s milk. Continue reading Style and Stubstance
Andrew Polmear writes for the love of wine…
There’s a wine on sale at Naked Wines called La Gare Old Vine Carignan from Domaine Jones. It’s a sumptuous Languedoc red; rich, complex and full of the sunshine of the south of France. But when you look to see where it’s from all you find is Vin de France. This is an appellation that only became legal in 2010; before that these wines had to be called Vin de Table – the lowest description possible in France. The French do love to categorise everything, especially everything that can be eaten or drunk. Continue reading Vin de France
Lucie Inns of Cheesology writes about…cheese
The artisan cheese-making process is a mixture of science, art and alchemy. Even now as an experienced cheesemonger, it amazes me that something as simple as milk can be transformed into such a wonderful foodstuff with so many variations and I’m constantly in awe of the cheesemakers whose knowledge and skill enables this transformation to take place. Continue reading Art or Alchemy?
The Whistler 