Mark's Romatic Wine, Beer, and Cheese Pairings:

Fromager Des Clarines and Monesteriolo Cava Brut Wine  

Le Vache de Chalais Cheese and Smithwick’s Irish Ale 

Columns to Savor
Mark Todd

Italian Cheese Pairings: La Tur Italian Cheese with St. Michael-Eppan Pinot Grigio wine; and Ford Farms Wensleydale Cheese with Cranberry and Anchor Brewery Porter Beer

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

Romatic Winter
Wine, Beer, and Cheese Pairings

This Valentines Day I wanted to explore bubbly beyond Champagne. I was seeking the perfect sparkler to accompany one of the most sinful cheeses on the planet, Fromager des Clarines.  I set out for that princely purveyor of price-conscious party paraphernalia—Trader Joe’s!—and I bought every bottle of bubbly that wasn’t champagne. Then I had a few friends over to help weed out the chaff. We ended up with three winners: In third place (but most expensive at $8.99) a Vouvray from Loire called (improbably) La Cheteau, as opposed to the real French term Le Chateau. This wine was intriguing with aromas of butterscotch, licorice and pepper and flavors of green apple and green grapes. A very dry Brut, it had a slight diesel aroma when first opened, which dissipated with time, and was not offensive even at first.

The second place finisher was a Prosecco Brut ($4.99) from Italy called Zonin. While not listed as such on the label, I am certain this wine is a Frizzante (2 atmospheres of pressure) as opposed to a Spumanti (a Champagne-like 6 atmospheres of pressure).* It has a wonderful crème and a rich, fruity aroma reminiscent of peach and pear with a hint of banana esters as well. Very pale straw yellow with a yeasty, French bread character and a light finish for a Brut, it closes a bit sweet.

The winner was a Spanish Cava ($5.99) called Monesteriolo, named for the 900 year old monastery under which the wine was aged. All three were good beverages, but the Cava worked a sort of alchemistic magic with the molten puddle of bovine divinity that is Fromager des Clarines.

For the beer pairing, I wanted something that would work for couples as well. Not too extreme, but with more of a flavor punch than the Cava and La Clarines. I have always loved leaf-wrapped cheeses, because they look so cool and authentic and rustic, so I tried a few, and the de Chalais was the clear winner. The beer choice was more problematic. I had to sample several before coming upon this happy match. I hope you enjoy trying them as much as I did finding them!

*For those not familiar with the term, “atmosphere of pressure” is the unit of measurement used to describe the pounds per square inch of pressure in a bottle of sparkling wine.

Cheese and Wine
Pairing

Fromager Des Clarines and Monesteriolo Cava Brut Wine

The Cheese
Fromager Des Clarines, also known as La Clarines, is a beautiful cheese from the Franche-Comté region of eastern France, made by Jean Perrin. Like his more famous L’Edel de Cléron, La Clarines owes its roots to Vacherin, the raw milk gem so highly prized, but not legally available in America. Presented in a woodchip box, this impressive cheese is perfectly ripe when the interior can be eaten with a straw.

Unlike its more muscular cousin, Edel d Cléron, La Clarines has no aromatic birch bark girdle and has a more delicate aroma, although delicate is a relative term here. As to the flavor, this cheese is certainly aimed directly at the American palate, like Vacherin for beginners. I would warn inexperienced eaters however, that there is a paper wrapper, like a cupcake liner, between the cheese and the box. Remove this wrapper prior to consuming, or be prepared for a bit of additional fiber in your diet.

This is one of the cheeses most critical on temperature; it MUST be room temp, preferably 68-72 degrees. Cooler, and the texture is too firm and the aroma is muted. When you enjoy the cheese at the proper temperature, you will be rewarded by its earthy, creamy, mushroomy and tangy aroma. Once you have cracked the wrinkled (unbelievably tasty) surface rind to reveal the glorious straw-golden, custard-like interior, I defy you to control your drooling. This is almost like cheese porn – I feel guilty just looking at this unctuous beauty! Enjoy with crusty French bread, or slathered on English muffin and topped with a fried egg, or for that matter, spread on recently vacated leather insoles!

Cheese and Beer
Pairing

Le Vache de Chalais and Smithwick’s Irish Ale 

The Cheese
Le Vache de Chalais is one of those visually superb cheeses that grabs your attention in the case. It is about the size of a hockey puck and wrapped in chestnut leaves, like the Banon it closely resembles. Unlike Banon, which is typically goat’s milk but can be made from cow’s milk, this cheese is always made from (pasteurized) cow’s milk, as indicated in the name.

La Vache de Chalais originates in Dauphine near Province, in the same region as Saint–Marcellin, a closely related cheese marketed in a small ceramic crock. When young, this cheese is chalky and crumbly, with a sweet-tart tang much like a breakfast cheese. But as it ripens and the leaves change from supple olive green to more brittle greenish-brown, the cheese takes on a creamier texture, ripening from the outside in. The rind becomes mottled yellow-white and slightly chewy. Next to the rind, the cheese becomes almost liquid, taking on the flavors of the leaves along with all the other nuances of ripening. This results in a mild but distinct tobaccoish flavor that reminds me of Chinese stick rice lotus leaf wrapper. In the final stage of ripeness, the cheese displays the even more umami-rich flavors of broccoli and hard-boiled egg. As you finish the cheese, there is a hint of tartness from the white wine wash. You’ll need several bites to get through all the flavors of this complex little cheese, and that’s before you add the beer!

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

Barbara Adams Beyond Wonderful features large recipe collections of full-proof quick and easy recipes, classic family favorites, global cuisine, and party ideas. Get illustrated cooking tips and techniques,cooking for beginners, food features, and expert advice on baking, cheese, produce, and wine.

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