Wine and Cheese Pairings Part 1
As one of Temecula’s finest wineries, Ponte Vineyard Inn and Winery knows that wine and cheese are two of life’s greatest culinary delicacies and finding and creating the perfect matches between the two can be a truly delicious endeavor. Like any other wine and food pairings, there are a number of factors to take into consideration like: texture, acidity, fat and tannin. With wine and cheese pairings, the possibilities are endless, but it is truly the experimentation part of it that is the absolute most fun. To keep things simple, we have gone ahead simplified the wine pairing strategy by dividing cheeses into four major categories:
1. Bloomy cheeses – creamy, velvety and decadent cheeses that feature a soft rind.
2. Hard cheeses – Stiff or hard cheeses that are often times sharp and or salty. These cheeses can also be aged.
3. Blue cheeses – these are pungent and usually salty cheeses that feature a blue tinge.
4. Fresh cheeses – these are softer, often times more spreadable cheeses, that have a tendency to be tangy or mild. These types of cheese tend not to be aged.
The simplest rule of thumb to keep in mind when wine pairing is that lighter wines tend to go much better with lighter foods heavier wines tend to go best with heavier foods. To help you, our Temecula hotel and winery has put together a simple and very tasty wine pairing that you can start your wine tasting off with.
1. Delicious Goat Cheese and a Light Dry Wine – goat cheese has a delightful earthy and mild flavor with the slightest bit of tang to its bite. This spreadable cheese will often times be labeled as “chevre”, which is a French word for goat. Just as its name suggests, these cheeses are made from goat’s milk and is a favorite among artisanal cheese makers.
Suggested wine pairing – try pairing goat cheese with a delightful Beaujolais, a dry sparkling wine or a nice Sauvignon Blanc
Maximize flavor – goat cheeses go great with Concord grapes as their sweet acidity complements the cheese nicely. Even grape jelly tastes great with goat cheese. Other great pairings include: figs, dates, honeycomb, apples, and pears all of which are great fresh, dried or as a jelly.
This is just one of many great wine and cheese pairings to indulge in. In each of our upcoming blogs, we will be showcasing additional great wine and cheese pairings that you can try out for yourself. As one of the finest Temecula hotels and wineries, Ponte loves the idea of great wine, great food and great settings. For more information on our Temecula hotel and be sure to visit www.PonteVineyardInn.com or www.PonteWinery.com today where you can explore our winery and hotel as well as read up on great recipes, events and pairings.
Ponte Vineyard Inn is a Temecula hotel and winery. Unlike other Temecula hotels, the Ponte Vineyard Inn is located right in the heart of Temecula’s wine country. Visit www.PonteVineyardInn.com today for more information and to book your stay.
