Wine and Cheese… yes, please!

Experience the world, by simply raising a glass. Hosting your own wine tasting party allows you to travel all over the world and sample different vintages from various regions (and even go back in time, depending on the year it was corked). And you don’t even have to step out, should the occasion call for an indoor celebration at home.

Product consultant Anthony Tanovi, for the LCBO in Toronto’s Liberty Village, shares his advice for throwing a successful wine tasting at home. Of course, the effort wouldn’t be the same without an array of accompanying foods, including cheese. Author Kathy Giudi, of Canadian Cheese: A Pocket Guide, also shares her expertise to help elevate your sommelier-inspired soiree.

Types of wine tastings — the basics
Depending on the types of wines that will be showcased, there are various tastings they would match with. Tanovi breaks down several of the common ones.

Connoisseurs (or perhaps aspiring ones) may wish to take a journey into the Old vs. New World of wines in a vertical tasting. This type consists of wines from several different vintages or years that were produced by one winery. Its purpose allows for comparison of aging process, says Tanovi. Some good examples to choose from would be French burgundy, and Bordeaux.

A horizontal tasting involves wines that come from the same vintage or year, but are represented by different wineries. These allow for much more flexibility, says Tanovi. Here, a California zinfandel might be compared with a wine of the same variety and from the same region.

To make the event even more fun, incorporate a blind tasting. In this case, each wine is poured without identifying the label, which allows for guests to use all of their senses to pick up on the different aspects of the wine. For example, you can give the labels descriptions and see who can match the wines accordingly. Or score who is able to recognize the most about the wine’s characteristics, such as country of origin.

Pairing wines with food
A wine and cheese party needs a bit more than… well, wine and cheese. Although providing artisanal breads and crackers are a safe choice, don’t forget a mix of other choices. Caviar, anyone? A fruit platter can be refreshing, to balance the flavours of the cheeses. Finally, some coffee might also be in order at the end.

With respect to cheese pairings in particular, Tanovi says there is a general misunderstanding of matching certain wines with cheeses. Depending on the style of the wine, whites tend to pair more easily with complex cheeses than red. For example, vertical wine tastings also pair well with the sharpness of aged cheddar, Giudi told The Globe and Mail in December.

“To really appreciate what aging does to the quality of a cheese, do what professionals do and have a vertical tasting,” she says. “Explore three to five different cheddars of the same age or three to five different ages of one brand.” 

In general, mild hard cheeses match a wider range of wines than soft, ripe or mature cheeses. Typically, white wines go better with cheese than red wines. Furthermore, sweeter whites tend to be more versatile than drier whites. The more tannic the red, the harder the cheese needs to be, advises Giudi.

But no matter your fare, Tanovi explains it is always important to have foods that will cleanse people’s palates, such as breads or crackers.

During the tasting
When tasting wines, you will want to work from dry to sweet with white wines and progress from light to full-bodied with red wines, says Tanovi.

During the event, it is also customary to provide each guest with their own tasting card, which should include type of wine, vineyard, year and brief description (usually found on the label). On these cards, guests can record notes on the wine’s appearance, aroma, flavour and pairing nuances, just to name a few.

Other useful tips
Keep decor simple. If you are using candles, it’s best not to use scented, as they may interfere with the aroma of the wine.

Above all, don’t neglect to bring yourself to your own tasting, as nothing quite lightens up the ambiance as a host who has a great sense of humour and is also warm and inviting towards their guests. Our experts agree that often, hosts and hostesses become so wound up by the stress of planning a successful party that they leave themselves behind. So having said that, it’s perfectly alright to trade your worries for a toast. •

 

WHAT YOU NEED
Opening up your home to guests for a party of any kind, be it a wine and cheese party, a reunion, or a simple get-together, is a great way to reconnect, while meeting new people and establishing more connections through the experience. This list encompasses a few basic items (some already mentioned above), if a wine and cheese gathering has tempted your palate and taste buds.

Checklist:

• Four to six wines

• Appetizers — you might consider offering some light snacks before the tasting

• Loaf of bread — for guests to cleanse palate between wines

• Wine glasses — one per guest

• Pitcher of water — for rinsing glasses and palates between wines

• Dump bucket — for discarding wine before next pouring

• Tasting cards — for describing and recording each wine tasted

• Aluminum foil or brown bags to cover wine bottles if you opt for blind tasting

• Pens and paper