Mark's New Year Cheeses, Beer and Wine Pairings:

La Tur Italian Cheese with
St. Michael-Eppan
Pinot Grigio Wine

Ford Farms Wensleydale with Cranberry Cheese and
Anchor Brewery Porter Beer

Columns to Savor
Mark Todd

Holiday Cheese Pairings. Cahill's Whiskey Cheddar Cheese and Shiner Bock Beer. Marcarpone Cheese and Moscato d' Asti Wine

Tilsiter Cheese and Octoberfest Beer, and
Alsatian Munster Cheese and Alsatian Gewurztraminer Wine

Classic Pairings from France and England: California Crotin and Sauvignon Blanc from Quincy, and Montgomery's English Farmhouse Cheddar and Samuel Smith's India Ale

Picnic Cheeses: Fiscalini Cheddar with Chemay Ale, and Lesendairy Blue Roomkass with J. Lohr Beaujolais Wine.

Picnic Cheeses that Celebrate Summer.

Spring Cheeses: White Stilton with Lemon Zest and German Hefe_Weisse Beer, and Blue Stilton with Australian Tokay Wine.

Irish Cheeses: Cashel Irish Blue Cheese and Late Harvest Zinfandel, and Cahill's Porter Irish Cheese and Guinness Stout.

Brie de Meanx with Gruet Sparkling NV Brut and French Morbier Cheese with Saison Farmhouse Ale.

Aged Gouda Cheese and Belgian Dubbel Beer, and Fourme d’Ambert and
Côtes du Rhone Wine.

Cheeses of the Alps: Allgäuer Bergkäse with Alsatian Pinot Blanc, and Appenzeller Cheese with Bock Beer.

Cheeses of the Alps: Chiantino Cheese and Altbier Beer, and Hirtenkäse Cheese and Gewürztraminer Wine.

Spanish Wines and Cheeses.

History of Beer, Cider, and Mead: Cheese's Other Companion Beverages with two pairings.

Read more about
Mark "The Cheese Dude" Todd.

Get more information on great Alpine and specialty cheeses at Fond O' Foods.

Cheese Expert
Mark Todd

Italian Cheese Pairings

This month we explore two dramatically different pairings. From Italy, we experience the sinfully luxurious La Tur paired with Pinot Grigio—in my opinion the premiere white wine grape among the myriad grown in Italy. These two Northern Italians are sure to woo your taste buds and win your hearts.

And if you have any heart left, you can leave it in San Francisco, where we pay tribute to the Godfather of American microbrews, Fritz Maytag, and his historic Anchor Brewery. This pair started because I was trying to pair Dutch Leyden (gouda with cumin and/or caraway seeds) with an Anchor Brewery beer. To say it mildly, I was unsuccessful. As I tried to think of another path to explore, it struck me: Anchor Brewery Porter tastes like coffee, why not go with a cheese that tastes like coffee cake? Into the cellar I trotted looking for something cheesecakish or danishklike, and low and behold, there lay Wensleydale with cranberry! The rest is culinary history.

Cheese and Wine
Pairing

La Tur Italian Cheese with
St. Michael-Eppan
Pinot Grigio Wine

The Cheese
Originating in the lush pastures around the northern Italian town of Alba, this exquisite cow-sheep-goat milk blended cheese is truly a treasure. When you first view La Tur, the packaging gives a hint at the texture to come. It is wrapped in a pleated paper cup the size and shape of a cupcake, then placed in a ridged plastic cup with a raised bottom to keep the cheese out of any accumulated moisture as the cheese ripens. Be gentle when beginning this relationship. When you disrobe this cheese (and believe me, it is that sexy), you are treated to an aroma of rich pasture, with a sweet-tart hint of fresh mown hay. The wrinkled rind calls to mind a goat’s milk Crottin, but is much softer.

With the first taste, you’ll understand that this is a mixed milk cheese. It has the aroma and some of the flavors of a rustic Jersey milk crème fraîche, but with the richness of a sheep’s milk Pèrail and the tanginess of goat Crottin. It reminds me of one of my early favorites, the Norman-French triple crème cheese Boursault, but way more complex. The texture ranges from almost like cheesecake in the center to so soft it is practically beside itself near the rind, particularly on the bottom. It is almost reminiscent of a mousse or custard. Just thinking about it makes me weak in the knees. Some of the cheeses I review are for niche tastes, but not this beauty. It is a seductive pleasure for the seasoned cheese maven and the neophyte alike. This cheese needs to be in everyone’s arsenal.

Cheese and Beer
Pairing

Ford Farms Wensleydale Cheese with Cranberry and Anchor Brewery
Porter Beer

The Cheese
Wensleydale would be unknown in America were it not for the claymation films from England featuring Wallace and Gromit, the cheese-obsessed amateur inventor and his hyper intelligent, long-suffering dog. Unfortunately for American fans of this pair, the cheeses offered in the US labeled as Wensleydale usually have little resemblance to the farmstead cheeses Wallace raves about in England. Like Cheshire or Caerphilly, most Wensleydale is produced in large factories and lacks the texture and delicate interplay of flavors available in the handmade versions of these traditional cheeses.

Texture is what truly defines many English cheeses. While the cheeses of Holland tend to be almost waxy, and Alpine cheeses are often quite elastic in body, many English cheeses are unique in that they are crumbly. It’s an unusual quality that takes some getting used to for most people.

The version offered here from Ford Farms, while not in the running for most authentic Wensleydale, is a very good cheese in its own right. The texture is crumbly as it should be, and the cranberries offer the perfect flavor accent. The cheese itself is slightly sweet, and when combined with the fruit it really does call to mind Danish pastry or cheesecake. This is not a cheese to launch a thousand ships, but it is a fun alternative and I always enjoy something different.

Created for Barbara Admas
Beyond Wonderful
by Cheese Expert,
Mark "The Cheese Dude" Todd.

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