Which cheese with which wine? (mild-ish)

[KevC]

So I want to buy some wine and cheese. Time to make myself feel somewhat decadent. However, I don't know much about either. Any at all really. All I know is I like Gouda and Havarti. Haven't tried much other cheese, but not daring enough to do so (just yet).

Can you recommend some inexpensive red (and white... but I'm aiming for reds now) wines to go with cheeses that are mild like Gouda/Havarti? Thanks!

[Smoke]

funny you mentioned this

i go to george brown (1st semester - culinary management) and we had a cheese tasting session a week ago, and we got a little booklet listing 30+ different cheeses and what types of wines go well with them...

i'll see if i can dig it up and give you a better response later tonight...

[Keelie]

google: wine and cheese pairing

i just looked this up a couple of hours ago.. there is some good information.

[bananaman]

So I want to buy some wine and cheese. Time to make myself feel somewhat decadent. However, I don't know much about either. Any at all really. All I know is I like Gouda and Havarti. Haven't tried much other cheese, but not daring enough to do so (just yet).

Can you recommend some inexpensive red (and white... but I'm aiming for reds now) wines to go with cheeses that are mild like Gouda/Havarti? Thanks!

Since harvarti and gouda are relatively mild cheese with relatively little aftertaste, you might want to pair it with a wine to heighten the experience. Try a chardonnay which has buttery notes. This would be a wine that would be a good complement to the cheese.

Or you could try a fruitier red wine, something like red california zinfandel. I would imagine that type of wine and brie would be an excellent match. This wine would be a good contrast.

Also, when tasting various cheeses, always start with the mildest cheese and finish with the strongest.

[Smoke]

this is what my booklet says for milder cheeses:

cheeses: canadian bocconcini, brick, havarti, young provolone, swiss, emmental, mont-saint-benoit, mild cheddar, saint-paulin, colby, caciocavallo

wines: light dry whites, roses, or reds - alsace, orvieto, entre-deux-mers, cabernet sauvignon, chablis, moselle, beaujolais

beers: light ales and lagers

the ^^^ top are for milder cheeses, but since you mentioned gouda as well, gouda falls under the second category of cheeses according to what i have (with a slightly stronger flavour):

cheeses: canadian vacherin, farmers', noyan, camembert, brie, gouda, oka, cantonnier, le migneron de charlevoix, monterey jack, medium cheddar or provolone, smoked gruyere

wines: dry roses or fruity reds with milder cheeses (gouda and soft cheeses), pinot noir, valpolicella, minervois, or a white such as a macon village. robust reds (bordeaux, cotes-du-rhone, zinfandel, rioja, chianti) with stronger cheeses (medium cheddar or provolone)

beers: european-style lagers, pilsners, belgian beers and british-style ales

[CK4U]

goat cheese and gewurtraminer...even people who normally don't like goat cheese will like this combination!

[trini]

Gewürztraminer like i mentioned in another thread goes with anything except curries it intensifies the heat in the curry that will make it unbearable.
Champagne or sparkling white also goes with anything.

[KevC]

I think I'm gonna stick with a bottle of Dancing Bull Zinfandel and some Havarti... how do you even eat cheese properly? I'm going to a deli and asking them to thinly slice it. Haha... such a newbie.

[ji2o0k]

Human cheese with human wine:

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=421743

[NorthYorker]

I think I'm gonna stick with a bottle of Dancing Bull Zinfandel and some Havarti... how do you even eat cheese properly? I'm going to a deli and asking them to thinly slice it. It is not a sandwich. Buy piece of cheese. Before eating (cheese do dry) cut it to 1/2 inch cubes.

[CoffeeAddict]

or better just buy a cheap cheese knife set from ktichen stuff plus ($10 or so)
If you cut the cheese into cubes you'll dry out those sections of the cheese left to be exposed to the air. Also, if you have leftovers they won't story very well.

Finding good cheese and wine combos is quite fun

Some restauarants to cheese and wine flights. One of my fave places to do it is out on the back patio of the Jackson Triggs vineyard in Niagara. Beautiful spot, usually pretty quiet, and good deal on the wine and cheese flight.

Flight here means a few wins and a few cheeses. They deliberately bring out a wine and cheese that will pair well together.

As mentioned before start from weakest to strongest cheese

[Smoke]

I think I'm gonna stick with a bottle of Dancing Bull Zinfandel and some Havarti... how do you even eat cheese properly? I'm going to a deli and asking them to thinly slice it. Haha... such a newbie.

:-0

after all of these suggestions, and you STILL stick with the same cheese you've been eating before?

where's your sense of adventure (if you have one)?

i'm guessing we all wasted our time replying to this thread then ;)

[Keelie]

nice choice for wine, makes me want to go buy a bottle!

[Manda]

This is kind of off-topic but if you're usually more of a beer drinker than a wine drinker, the current issue of Food & Drink (from the lcbo) has suggestions for beer and cheese pairings.

As an example, they suggest an easy drinking fruity beer like Hacker-Pschorr Weisse with havarti.