Looking for a way to impress your dinner party guests this season? Lexington’s local wine and cheese shops have combinations suitable for any taste.
To an uncultured palate, trying to successfully pair wines and cheeses can be an intimidating task, especially when entertaining. We asked some professionals in the local wine and cheese industry to chime in with some tips and suggestions.
winemarket
A bottle of Hermanos Lurton goes well with slices of Zamorano (both at left); the two products come from the Castilla y Leon region of Spain. Chateau Jouanin, from the Bordeaux region of France, is a nice accompaniment to Saint Agur, a bleu cheese from the Auvergne region. Photos by Abby Laub
Wine + Market
At Wine + Market on Jefferson Street, owner Renee Saunier Brewer is a wine and cheese expert with a master’s degree in International Wine Marketing and Management.
Wine + Market carries a wide selection of wines and artisan cheeses from all over the world, and one trick to follow especially if new to the wine and cheese world, is to stick with a region since the heaviness of a food from a certain region will generally match the beverage.
Castilla y León, Spain
With the Hermanos Lurton, a Spanish white made of 100 percent Verdejo grape, the central west region –– or Castilla y León –– of Spain is represented.
The Verdejo is a crisp, dry wine and a citrusy wine similar to a sauvignon blanc, but not quite as citrusy, Brewer explained.
Equally as light and fresh is a Spanish cheese also from the Castilla y León region called Zamorano, an artisanal cheese made from sheep’s milk aged for about six months and rubbed with olive oil to give the rind a richer, darker exterior.
“The cheese is again citrusy, nutty, and it pairs really well with the crispness of the wine,” Brewer said. “The cheese and the wine are both very light and crisp so it’s just a very refreshing appetizer.”
Brewer said this pairing is commonly served tapas style in Spain and works well as a late afternoon snack or appetizer with dried fruits.
Bordeaux and Auvergne, France
If you are looking for a bolder pairing, look to the Bordeaux region of France.
The Chateau Jouanin, a red wine from the right bank of Bordeaux, is a blend heavy on the merlot, but also featuring cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc.
The full-bodied wine is high in tannins (the dry, astringent and also heart-healthy component of red wine) that compliment the richness of bleu cheese.
The wine –– which smells of blackberries, black cherries and cedar –– works well with Saint Agur, a double cream, cow’s milk bleu cheese from the Auvergne region (in mountainous central France).
“Bleu cheese is typically very pungent, very sharp and it pairs well with Bordeauxs because they’re typically very robust, full-bodied wines,” Brewer said. “If you were to serve a blue cheese with a light wine, it would make that wine taste like water.”
The creamy texture is strong but not overly sharp and works well with nuts and charcuterie.
“In America this would be an appetizer, but in France you typically have your cheeses at the end of the meal, between dinner and dessert,” she said, adding that typically flavors should escalate in boldness through a meal.
Boone Creek Creamery
boonecreek
The Blackberry Serenade, made locally by Boone Creek Creamery (forefront), is soaked in Smith-Berry blackberry wine from New Castle, Ky.
At Boone Creek Creamery on Palumbo Drive, owner and cheese maker Ed Puterbaugh’s small batch Kentucky Derby, Blackberry Serenade and Sassy Redhead cheeses have unique Kentucky flavors.
His cheeses are made by hand on a traditional Dutch lever press and can be found at Lexington Farmers’ Market, Good Foods Co-Op and other local markets and restaurants.
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a cheddar cheese infused with Woodford Reserve bourbon. It is a versatile cheese that works well as an appetizer, but also is a fantastic ingredient cheese.
“It’s one of the best cheeses in the world on a hamburger,” Puterbaugh said, adding that the cheese brings out the “earthy” tastes in food.
Kentucky Derby is a woody cheese with an oaky background and is a little bit sweet. And the bourbon, he said, is not overpowering. The Kentucky Derby pairs well with Woodford Reserve, or with a strong, bold, dry wine.
Blackberry Serenade
For a gruyere cheese, Puterbaugh recommends the Blackberry Serenade, a cheese infused with Smith-Berry blackberry wine from New Castle, Ky. A French Alpine cheese with a little bit of a Swiss flavor, the Blackberry Serenade pairs well with the blackberry wine and can be served with crackers before or after dinner.
Puterbaugh soaks the cheese for a month in the Smith-Berry blackberry wine, giving it a beautiful purple color to make a bold statement on an appetizer platter.
The blackberry wine is a “tremendous after dinner wine,” Puterbaugh said, and it enhances the cheese’s flavor.
Sassy Redhead
For something stronger, Puterbaugh makes the Sassy Redhead, an English cheddar-based cheese that has whole peppercorns and red pepper flakes in it. The rind is hand rubbed with paprika and as the cheese ages for at least four months, the flavors are further enhanced.
While Sassy Redhead can be paired with a bold, red wine, it also works well on a salad or pasta or in an omelette.
“It has a nice, warm glow, but won’t make your eyes water,” Puterbaugh said.
Sapori d’Italia
sapori
For Italian taste buds, local cheese producers Sapori d’Italia make many artisan cheeses, which are available at the Sapori Market on Romany Road. Paired with traditional Italian wine offerings, especially from respected winery Italo Cescon, these cheeses make excellent appetizers.
Caciotta alle Noci
Valdes Capezzuto of Sapori d’Italia pairs their house-made walnut cheese, Caciotta alle Noci, with Italo Cescon (100 percent chardonnay). The wine, which can be found at Wines on Vine, is an unoaked chardonnay aged for six months in stainless steel tanks, then another three months in bottles.
Sergio Sgro of Di Vino Wholesalers described the wine as fruity with notes of peach, apples and overtones of hazelnut. Its fresh, buttery taste makes it an ideal “relaxing porch wine” for summer, he added.
Pair the refreshing wine with walnut cheese (made by master cheese maker Giovanni Capezzuto), a cow’s milk rustico variety, from Sapori d’Italia, and a perfect summer appetizer is in order.
Cacio Fiore
Italo Cescon’s Pinot Nero is another unoaked wine that packs a fruity punch.
“This is by and large an easy porch wine, especially as summer is coming up for red wine drinkers,” Sgro said. “You’re looking at a nose of rose petals and fruits, and it’s just a little bit spicy.”
While many people might consider red wine more of a dinner wine, he added, this one is more flexible as it is a lighter to medium bodied wine that can go well with cheese and crackers.
Sapori d’Italio’s Cacio Fiore cow’s milk cheese is creamy and has a “very soft and mellow” flavor with a “strong, pungent end to it,” Capezzuto said. “You need a stronger wine, like a red wine, to complement it. If you use a white wine with it, it will get lost in the finish of the cheese.”
Capezzuto suggested using the cheese on a platter as an appetizer, with a meat, or in a caprese-style salad.