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By The Glass Lyle Fujioka |
Benefit capitalizes on
growing isle interest
The upcoming "Joy of Food and Wine" benefit for the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific celebrates a classic pairing in the tasting session, "Please Make Time for Cheese and Wine." The fabulous fromage to be showcased reflects Hawaii's explosion of interest in cheese. With ever increasing varieties being carried at markets and restaurants, wine lovers are faced with the delicious dilemma of finding the right wine to complement their cheesy delights.
Joy of Food & Wine
Grand tasting: 5:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday
Place: Tapa Ballroom, Hilton Hawaiian Village
Tickets: $90 in advance; $100 at the door.
Call: 566-3451
While the complex, cross-cultural dishes prepared by chefs today continue to challenge the "red with meat, white with fish" caveat, cheese remains a much more traditional affair. Producers are faced not so much with evolution and innovation as the with the preservation of time-honored methods and techniques to achieve unique regional flavors.
Because of this, the ideal wine pairings with cheese maintain a strong sense of heritage and history unmoved by whimsical culinary trend and fancy.
Soft cheeses such as brie, camembert, fontina and taleggio are wonderful with champagne, prosecco or riesling. These wines possess the crisp acidity needed to balance the high butterfat content and palate-coating texture of the cheeses. Earthy, funky, gamey and ammonia-laden aromas emerge with the extended aging of some soft cheeses, making wine pairing difficult, if not impossible. Aged red burgundy, earthy Rhone wines, dessert rieslings and sauternes are likely candidates.
Hard cheeses are perhaps the most versatile for pairing with white or red wines. As the complexity and maturity of the cheese increases, think about that bottle of big, red wine you've been saving for a special occasion. Cheeses in this category include Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged gouda, dry Jack, cheddar, and my personal favorite, aged gruyere.
Goat- and sheep-milk cheeses demand crisp, acidic white wines such as New Zealand sauvignon blanc and the Loire Valley's sancerre to match their natural tangy flavor. Cypress Grove's Humboldt Fog, Purple Haze and Hawaii's Surfing Goat Dairly cheeses are creamy, delicious favorites.
Salty, rich blue cheeses such as Roquefort, maytag, gorgonzola and stilton require dessert wines. Their sweet, viscous texture offsets the cheeses' natural creaminess. Sauternes, port, and Austrian dessert wines are fantastic.
Wines to consider for your next cheese course:
Cattier Premier Cru Champagne Vintage 1996 ($31.95): Toasty light cherry, lemon, mineral and integrated acidity run long and clean across the palate.
Robert Craig Affinity 2000 ($27): Delicious with hard cheeses! Loads of blackberry and black cherry laced with minerals and sweet, ripe tannins.
Pacal Jolivet Sancerre 2003 ($18.95): Bring on the goat cheese! Light tropical notes, citrus and chalky minerality end on a note of bright, racy acidity.
Chateau MŽmoires Cadillac 1999 ($16.95/500 milliliter): Sweet, ripe apricot and nectarine flavors with lemony accents and mild acidity will make a memorable impression with your next blue cheese.
Lyle Fujioka of Fujioka's Wine Merchants is an organizer of "The Joy of Food & Wine."
This column is a weekly lesson in wine pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals. Write to features@starbulletin.com
