Mark's Winter Wine, Beer, and Cheese Pairings:

Taleggio Cheese and Double Chocolate Stout

Blu Del Moncenisio Cheese and
Korbel Rouge
Sparkling Wine

Columns to Savor
Mark Todd

Fol Epi Cheese and La Chouffe Beer and Two Rock Valley Cheese and Dashe Zinfandel Wine

Pugs Leap Pavé Cheese and Woodenhead Halfshell White Wine and Pont l’Evêque Cheese
and Hennepin Belgian Farmhouse Saison Beer

Bonifaz Porcini and Chanterelle Brie Cheese with Viognier Wine and Vella Dry Jack Cheese and New Belgium Fat Tire Ale.

Romatic Winter Cheeses: Fromager Des Clarines and Monesteriolo Cava Brut Wine; and Le Vache de Chalais Cheese and Smithwick’s Irish Ale

Italian Cheese Pairings: La Tur Italian Cheese with St. Michael-Eppan Pinot Grigio wine; and Ford Farms Wensleydale Cheese with Cranberry and Anchor Brewery Porter Beer

Holiday Cheese Pairings. Cahill's Whiskey Cheddar Cheese and Shiner Bock Beer. Marcarpone Cheese and Moscato d' Asti Wine

Tilsiter Cheese and Octoberfest Beer, and
Alsatian Munster Cheese and Alsatian Gewurztraminer Wine

Classic Pairings from France and England: California Crotin and Sauvignon Blanc from Quincy, and Montgomery's English Farmhouse Cheddar and Samuel Smith's India Ale

Picnic Cheeses: Fiscalini Cheddar with Chimay Ale, and Legendairy Blue Roomkass with J. Lohr Beaujolais Wine.

Picnic Cheeses that Celebrate Summer.

Spring Cheeses: White Stilton with Lemon Zest and German Hefe_Weisse Beer, and Blue Stilton with Australian Tokay Wine.

Irish Cheeses: Cashel Irish Blue Cheese and Late Harvest Zinfandel, and Cahill's Porter Irish Cheese and Guinness Stout.

Brie de Meanx with Gruet Sparkling NV Brut and French Morbier Cheese with Saison Farmhouse Ale.

Aged Gouda Cheese and Belgian Dubbel Beer, and Fourme d’Ambert and
Côtes du Rhone Wine.

Cheeses of the Alps: Allgäuer Bergkäse with Alsatian Pinot Blanc, and Appenzeller Cheese with Bock Beer.

Cheeses of the Alps: Chiantino Cheese and Altbier Beer, and Hirtenkäse Cheese and Gewürztraminer Wine.

Spanish Wines and Cheeses.

History of Beer, Cider, and Mead: Cheese's Other Companion Beverages with two pairings.

Read more about
Mark "The Cheese Dude" Todd.

Get more information on great Alpine and specialty cheeses at Fond O' Foods.

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Beyond Wonderful
by Cheese Expert,
Mark "The Cheese Dude" Todd.

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Cheese Expert
Mark
"The Cheese Dude" Todd

Winter Cheese Pairings

Taleggio Cheese and Double Chocolate Stout

Blu Del Moncenisio Cheese and
Korbel Rouge
Sparkling Wine

Life is uncertain, eat dessert first!

That has been my motto for years. This month, I put my motto where my mouth is! We explore two takes on finish courses. The beer is appropriately named Double Chocolate Stout, and when paired with Taleggio, it forms a kind of chocolate mole float! The wine pairing is a new twist on the old classic blue cheese and pear. But with a dry sparkling red wine, this traditional duo gets a complete update.

These pairings are certainly appropriate before a meal, but I think they would just sing as a final course, after a big meal (like we all have during the holidays). Enjoy!

Cheese and Beer
Pairing

Taleggio Cheese and
Double Chocolate Stout

The Cheese
Italian Taleggio is born in the mountains of Northern Lombardy, near the Swiss border. Somewhat like a large Pont l’Evêque in shape, it is unique in its flavor. The rind is washed with brine and whey to create a distinct pumpkin orange color. When ripe, the color of the paste is ivory to straw, and its texture is soft, with cut sides gently swelling (not runny), succumbing gracefully to the will of gravity. Aromas are distinct, without being overpowering. Meaty, or beefy are usually the first mentioned, but with further investigation, this cheese yields nuances of sweet-hot red peppers (read – South African peppadews), pumpkin pie spices, roasted hazelnuts and dried apricots. The flavors follow from the aromas, but less assertively; beefy, creamy and the taste of clabbered cottage cheese with black pepper.

When buying Taleggio, avoid two giant dairy concerns in Southern Lombardy, Colombo and Galbani. The cheeses from these huge factories have little resemblance to their more authentic competitors. My favorite label is Mauri. Look for a raw milk version (quite legal in the U.S.), as they are much more flavorful. If you see the whole Taleggio, look for a 4 ring pattern pressed into the surface; this is evidence of the real deal. The rind is typically not eaten, but as always, this is a personal choice. At an in-store event years ago, a beautiful Japanese woman walked up to a piece of Taleggio easily 3 inches square, picked up the entire piece and proceeded to eat the whole thing, rind and all, while remarking, as best she could in English, how much she loved the flavor of the rind! And they say the Far East doesn’t like cheese!

Cheese and Wine
Pairing

Blu Del Moncenisio Cheese and
Korbel Rouge
Sparkling Wine

The Cheese
Italian Blu del Moncenisio suffers from living in the shadow of its better known big brother, Gorgonzola. And while they are from different regions (Gorgonzola from Lombardy, Del Moncenisio from Piedmont), they are both gorgeous mountain blues.

Produced in the Valle di Susa, just across the French border from Grenoble, Blu del Moncenisio is actually closer to its French cousin, Fourme d’Ambert, than its country-mate Gorgonzola. Made in a tall horn, like Colby and Fourme d’Ambert, this cheese is always raw milk (like the best Fourmes), and has a distinctly “blue” coloring, less greenish than Gorgonzola.

In its depth of flavor, Del Moncenisio has been likened to fine chocolate, melting on your palate and releasing wave upon wave of gradually increasing flavor intensity. Aged about 90 days prior to release, this cheese does not benefit from too much additional aging, becoming increasingly intense and developing a noticeably “hot” bite on the finish. Look for cheeses that have a uniformly pale paste, right to the rind. Browning extending from the rind into the paste is an indication this cheese has been around a while and may be too assertive. The bluing should be even and bright blue, not graying, and the cheese should have a creamy texture, not cracking or crumbling, as this is another indicator of old or mishandled cheese. Hard to find, but well worth the effort, Blu Del Moncenisio will reward the devotee with an incredible new Italian Blue experience. Mangia!