Clark Wolf's Rants, Raves, Diatribes...and a few other Thoughts

Don’t Take Wine and Cheese Pairings Too Seriously

They’re actually kinda lousy together. Here’s why, and how to deal.

by Clark Wolf August 23, 2011

Wine and cheese make a lousy match. There, I’ve said it. It’s sad, Iknow, but it’s what science tells us. I had to confront this unfortunate reality when I was writing a book about American cheeses. My editor wanted me to add wine and cheese pairing notes, and I had to tell the truth: That our obsession with the perfect wine and cheese pairing was always a kind of well-intentioned mistake.

 

Look at it this way: The end of a great meal, when the cheese course is served, is no time for new, big decisions. The best wine to round things out is almost always whatever’s left in the bottle already on the table.  

But here’s the bigger issue: We harbor the assumption that finding the right wine for your cheese will make them both sing. But really, much of the nuance and many of the most treasured flavor dimensions of a wine—berry, dried fruit, oak, mushroom, vegetal and bell pepper aromas—are actually greatly diminished (if not lopped off totally) when your mouth is full of butterfat. The proof comes from a 2006 study done at UC Davis, thrillingly titled, “Sensory Effects of Consuming Cheese Prior to Evaluating Red Wine Flavor,” which asked a panel of tasters to describe a variety of wines before and after tasting them with cheese. All the wines pretty much flattened out after getting cheesed, so a fine (and expensive) bottle tasted much closer to a cheap, decent one.  

And it makes sense, too, when you learn how cheese-folk learn to taste cheese. A classic English way to introduce yourself to a pushy, stinky washed-rind or blue-veined wheel of something sexy is to slather some black bread with unsalted butter, top it with a tangy chunk, and scarf. That is: Calm the wild beast, then chew, swallow, and repeat with less butter each time as you get acclimated to the cheese. The extra fat from the butter smoothes things over and makes nice, so you can ease your way into the cheese’s flavors. By that same logic, why wouldn’t cheese itself, which has 50 to 75% butterfat in the solids (not counting the water, which is about half of most cheeses) have a flavor-calming influence on a fabulous wine? Ask your favorite winemaker if he’d like you to try his vintage baby in a way that significantly diminishes the delicate details. Then duck.

So what does pair well with cheese? Beer, ale, hard or soft cider, pear juice, smoky single malt scotch…plenty of punch to go around. And port. The cheaper the better. In fact, toss a few walnuts into the mix and those hard edges get smoothed and the bargain porto gets silky and becomes a sexy two-stepper for a pungent, creamy blue.

That’s not to say that wine is never OK with cheese. Sauvignon blanc with goat cheese, oaky chardonnay against an aged sharp cheddar, sparkling wine with a creamy triple crème all work well enough, and there’s a broad range of combinations that anyone can enjoy. But it would be a shame to go all American Express Platinum on some extraordinary collection of handmade artisan cheeses, sport for a major bottle of world class deliciousness, and diminish both in the process.

Wine and cheese have gone together for hundreds of years, mostly because it’s what was on hand in the rustic agraria still living large in our fantasies of simpler (read: dead at 35) times long gone. Most wine is just fine with most cheese, but exhaustive, precise, and expensive pairings? Let those pass gently, if not quietly, into history too.

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10 Tips for Buying Cheese

Buy cheese from a person not a refrigerator, preferably from behind the same counter and at the same shop or farmer’s market table, if only from time to time.

If you don’t know the cheese ask for a taste and ask what it is expected to taste like.

Unless you have a cave at home, don’t buy large amounts of cheese without being prepared to nurture it along, give it away, call in a big crowd or toss it.

When serving go for one perfect cheese, three varieties of different tastes, textures and milks, or maybe five. I don’t know why odd numbers work, they just do.

Serve sweetly mild and pleasant table cheeses to children and in-laws.

Truth is, while white wine and sparkling wines can be ok with cheese, beer, cider, apple juice, pear nectar and some whiskeys are usually better pairings than red wines that lose their nuances when you have a mouthful of fat.

Almost all cheeses are best served at room temperature which means leaving them out for at least an hour prior.

Almost all leftover bits are really good in a mix and match mac ‘n cheese.

Wrap cheese in the refrigerator in wax paper, plastic or whatever, but be prepared to scrape off little dry spots or mold, they’re no big deal.

Almost every cheese has a really wonderful story. Know it and tell it.

Celebrating the bitter, and the sweet

Bored with hearts and cards? Try falling in love with the thorns … and the roses of Valentine's Day

 

Heart-shaped foods: Coeur a la creme means "heart in cream," and that's exactly what this simple but prepare-ahead dessert is. You'll need cheesecloth and eight individual heart-shaped molds for this recipe and 24 hours to drain the cheese. This recipe from Tory Miller, chef/co-proprietor of L'Etoile restaurant in Madison, Wis., calls for fresh chevre from Fantome Farm in Wisconsin. You can use any fresh artisan goat cheese. The recipe was published in "American Cheeses" by Clark Wolf.

Coeur a la Creme

Prep: 24 hours. Cook: 10 minutes. Makes: Eight servings

1 pound fresh chevre or goat cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

For the raspberry sauce:

1/4 cup sugar

1 pint fresh raspberries (or blueberries or strawberries)

Garnish:

Fresh raspberries

Fresh mint sprigs

Biscotti or decorative cookies

1. One day before serving, using a spatula, combine the chevre with the sugar until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks. Fold into the cheese mixture until thoroughly incorporated.

2. Line each mold with a square of cheesecloth cut large enough for the ends to cover the mold once it is filled. Fill the molds with the cheese mixture. Cover, refrigerate until the molds are firmly set, about 24 hours.

3. Make the raspberry sauce, combining the sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar caramelizes to a rich amber color. Add the raspberries and 1/4 cup water. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 seconds. Begin stirring the mixture and simmer about 5 minutes, until the berries are soft. Remove from heat; strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Refrigerate the sauce.

4. When ready to serve, remove the cremes from the molds, place on dessert plates and discard the cheesecloth. Pour raspberry sauce around each serving. Decorate with fresh raspberries and mint. Serve with biscotti.

— Bill Daley

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American cheese: Forget the yellow squares

 

Clark Wolf gets excited when he starts talking about cheese -- American cheese.

The restaurant and food consultant, who is also an author and occasional magazine contributor, is passionate about the wealth of American cheeses he now has at his disposal when he hosts classes in San Antonio, Texas.

That was not the case in 1976, when Wolf ran a small cheese shop in San Francisco or in 1980 when he helped open Oakville Grocery, also in San Francisco.

"There was nothing to sell, American," he says. "There were all kinds of imitation cheeses; there was dry jack and there was Oregon blue.

"Now, we can actually do a whole class in Cheese 101, really learning all about cheese, using American-made cheeses."

Wolf spent years smelling, tasting and researching the growing number of artisan cheese made in this country. He's fascinated with cheese, and he's not alone.

"There's a huge interest. It's got a lot of good nutritional value. It's a perishable food that isn't real perishable. It's got this sense of freshness," he says.

His book, "American Cheeses," is a guide to "The Best Regional, Artisan and Farmhouse Cheese, Who Makes Them and Where to Find Them" (Simon and Schuster, 2008). He's most proud of the fact that every one of the artisans featured in the book is still making cheese. His favorite is Laura Chenel's California Chevre. Chenel was the first to hit it big making goat cheese in the late '70s. Wolf loves it for several reasons:

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Immortal Milk at Central Market

 

Clark Wolf loves cheese -- and cheesy wit. As I adjusted my camera to capture the gorgeous array of artisanal cheese and fruit displayed at the front of the room during his Cheese Tasting 101 course Sunday evening at the Central Market Cooking School, the author, consultant, and cheese expert piped in, "They say cheese!"

When asked if I could get his picture in front of the display, he laughed, "Yes!" and posed, "I stand before my cheeses."

The class would be peppered with such humor, along with Wolf's infectious enthusiasm for fromage.

Wolf explained that cheese was what first ignited his passion for food. After working as a waiter on a railroad line, he then opened a cheese and wine shop at the base of Nob Hill in San Francisco, where a chance meeting led to a friendship (and dinners, once a week) with the Godfather himself, James Beard. When asked what was served on these occasions, "It was always a surprise. Once I arrived to find the old, 350-pound man wielding a blowtorch over a four-quart pan. He took a spoon and said, 'Listen to this!' and (thwack), 'That's what crème brûlée should sound like!' Then I learned what crème brûlée should taste like. We ate the entire thing...and I learned about the importance of benchmarks." Wolf, like Beard, believes in order to accurately judge whether something is good or not, one must first taste the standard-setters in that arena. It's a simple concept that made for an all-around decadent and delicious Sunday evening.

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Smile and say cheese

 
 

Ring in a new year and (unofficially) a new decade with an ancient foodstuff: Celebrate with cheese.

More and more people are getting turned on to cheese. Cheesemakers are popping up around the country. New cheese books are published seemingly every week.

The first consumer cheese magazine, a quarterly called Culture, debuted a year ago. And you can increasingly find and buy all sorts of cheese at farmers markets, in ambitious cheese stores, and even the dairy and deli cases of your local supermarket.

Clark Wolf, the New York City-based author of “American Cheese,” said people turn to ages-old basics when life gets complicated. That’s why cheese, particularly American-made cheese, is surging in popularity during these hard economic times.

“We re-entered the macaroni-and-cheese economy in a good way,” he said. “There’s nothing kitschy about this stuff. It’s heartfelt and real. They’re using ancient wisdom and new ways, and that’s just good.”

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American Cheeses book reading at NYU

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CBS Sunday Morning!

Mac and Cheese segment with Serena Atschull for CBS Sunday Morning.

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After a decade of "search and nibble" book research for his recently published American Cheeses: The Best Regional, Artisan, and Farmhouse Cheeses, Who Makes Them, and Where to Find Them, restaurant/hotel consultant and menu Svengali Clark Wolf, ever at one with the tastes and tenor of the times, suggests three American regional matchups that could be turned into one-time promotions or year-round menus.

American cheeses have come of age, a boon to diners and restaurateurs. Whether as basic bar snack or penultimate climax to a grand tasting menu, what could be more appealing than a plate of artisan foods swiftly delivered and attractively plated? I propose cheeses on three different tiers, in terms of price point, presentation, regional spread, and engaging backstories.

Tier One
Start with the basics: three distinctively delicious cheeses that will appeal to nearly every palate. Classic, buttery, mellow, and just a bit sharp, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar is cave aged by the folks at Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont, who are not only at the forefront of cheesemaking and ripening but are also advocates for the burgeoning American cheese movement. Then, for something creamy and award-winning that everyone will love, try the triple crème Brie or the creamy soft-ripened blue called Le Petit Bleu from Petaluma, California's Marin French Cheese Company. Very smooth. Finish the plate with world-class Roth Käse Grand Cru Surchoix from Madison, Wisconsin. Folks should recognize it as a Gruyère, and as extraordinarily delicious.

Believe it or not, sparkling wine or an oaky Chardonnay are some good, underpromoted pairings, along with dried fruit and organic walnuts.

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NBC San Diego Cheese segment

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