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There’s been a longstanding tradition dictating that wine and cheese are among the world’s great pairings, not unlike Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Morrisey and Johnny Marr (The Smiths), Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, all of whom worked so well together, and, notoriously, hated each other on occasion. The Smiths were offered $75 million to get back together and turned it down. Now there’s an especially bitter pairing.

Likewise, Camembert was supposed to tour with cabernet sauvignon but refused to share a cracker with the tannic red grape. Chocolate and zinfandel were supposed to hook up because matchmakers said they were good together and that experience left a bitter taste in its wake. Rock stars and comedians can be a temperamental lot, but when it comes to wine and cheese there’s actual chemistry at work that can allow the two to get on famously.

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To get to the bottom of the wine and cheese union, I headed off to my local cheese monger, Peasant Cheese, and spent some time with owner and cheese expert Crystal McKenzie. She has two shops in Calgary, the original Kensington location that opened in 2014, and a new addition in Mission. She has been inducted into the Guilde Internationale de Fromagers based in Carpentras, France, sort of the Nobel prize for cheese mongers, and has been involved in the food industry in one form or another since she was 14. Every time I go into her shops I feel like I’ve stepped into a little slice of France, a country that takes its cheese very seriously. For the French, it’s a part of daily life, as is wine, and as such, they’ve had plenty of time to figure it all out.

We talked about freshness issues when buying cheese, I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of making a purchase from a supermarket chain and noticing a slight ammonia aroma when you get it home. This is not a good sign, especially with soft-ripened cheeses, and a good indication that the product has been around too long.

We talked at length about the process of wine pairing, and she suggested there are three prominent factors to consider: complimentary, contrast and terroir. A good example of both complementary and terroir would be aged Parmesan and Chianti (although Parmesan hails from the neighbouring Emilia-Romagna). The bright cherry fruit and high acidity of the Chianti cut through the sharp/salty flavours of the cheese and as such it’s a lovely match. Crystal explained that the fat molecules in a sheep’s milk cheese are shorter and, as such, coat your palate longer, another consideration for wine. If the wine has some notable tannic structure, as in a cabernet sauvignon, you’d want a sweeter cheese as the sugars counteract the acid in the wine (gouda is an example of a sweeter cheese, as subtle as that component is). A saltier cheese has the opposite effect, making a tannic wine taste even more so. A classic example of contrast would be a blue cheese, such as Roquefort, and a sweet white, such as Sauternes, or the classic port and stilton combo. The salt/sugar components both offset and compliment each other perfectly, and it’s a great alternative to dessert at the end of a meal.

As a rule of thumb, white wines have a better affinity with cheese, especially true with soft-ripened cheeses such as brie or camembert. Sauvignon blanc is not always the most food-friendly of wines but it does work well with some notoriously difficult foods and cheeses. Asparagus is a tricky one for wine but sauv blanc works well there and, with cheese, it stands up nicely to the pungency of goat’s milk cheese. Other good matches include pinot noir and gruyere, riesling and raclette, and Champagne can work nicely with soft-ripened cheeses. Looking for something to go with tomato and fresh mozzarella salad? A nice dry rosé will typically have enough acidity to stand up to the acid in the tomatoes while the fruit component is subtle enough to not overwhelm the delicacy of the fresh cheese.

When I was in Montreal this past summer, I finished a great meal with some local blue cheese served with some toasted almonds and local honey drizzled over the two. With a glass of sweet Vouvray the sommelier had suggested, it was one of those perfect gustatory moments.

In the end, pairing wine and cheese is not rocket science but it is a science, and one that most can master without spending time in university. Peasant Cheese has knowledgeable staff on hand that can help in this regard, as do many of Calgary’s better wine shops. Wine and cheese? Yes, please.

Geoff Last is a long-time Calgary wine merchant writer, instructor, and broadcaster. He can be heard Fridays on CJSW’s Road Pops from 4 to 6 p.m. He was awarded a fellowship at Napa Valley’s Symposium of Professional Wine Writers for articles that have appeared in this column. lastcallforwine@gmail.com

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