White Noise [French White Wine and Cheese]

The New York Times ^ | December 9, 2007 | FLORENCE FABRICANT

[Cincinna]

Earlier this year at Luc Salsedo, a charming little restaurant in the old city of Nice, our glasses of excellent Crozes-Hermitage 2004 were still about half full. Christine Salsedo, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Luc, the chef, suggested cheese. The selection included a St.-Marcellin, one of my favorites.

“Do you have any white wines by the glass?” I asked, and ordered a Château Trians, a Coteaux Varois, from the region.

Christine Salsedo seemed somewhat surprised. “Most of the time people drink red with cheese,” she said. “We’re French, so we definitely prefer red.”

Ever since I was taught, by none other than Aubert de Villaine, an owner of the esteemed Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy, that good red wine is not flattered by cheese, I have been annoying restaurateurs and friends on the subject. With cheeses, de Villaine pours Le Montrachet, a buttery white Burgundy, never his top-of-the-line reds. “I do not want my great wines ruined by cheese,” he told me.

I was convinced. It made sense. Beyond the natural, regional affinity of goat cheeses of the Loire, like Selles-sur-Cher, with Pouilly-Fumé, generally speaking, the acidity of white wine better balances the fat in cheese. Red-wine tannins fight it, sometimes even tasting metallic. But while the dogma of white wine with fish has been largely discarded, the hidebound notion that only red wines go with cheese seems more difficult to dislodge.

At Luc Salsedo we conducted an experiment: Tasting the ripe cheeses, first with the unassuming little Provençal white, and then with our luxurious red Crozes-Hermitage, left no doubt. The white provided better balance and kept its character alongside the cheese.

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[Cincinna]

For all the Oenophiles out there, and for everyone who loves Wine and Cheese, this is a nice article about two of the great treasures of France.

If you would like to be added to the French Politics and Culture PING List, FReepmail me.

Food Lists please copy.

[SunkenCiv]

thanks Cincinna.

‘Two-Buck Chuck’ Wins Wine Competition
North County Times/The Californian | Friday, June 29, 2007
BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer
Posted on 06/30/2007 5:05:16 PM EDT by DogByte6RER
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858923/posts

[familyop]

c’est poissons

;-b

[garyhope]

Thanks very much for posting this. I drink a lot of white wine with various foods and cheese. I live in Texas and it’s too hot there for much of the year for reds.

Sounds like a great restaurant to try.

I do like and drink a lot of reds with lamb and beef, etc. Nothing better than a good cab with grilled lamb or beef.

And God do I love cheese. I don’t eat a lot of it too much anymore because of cholesterol, etc. and all that boring stuff. Cheese is right up there with sex and ice cream for good things.

[philetus]

We be invaded?

[BunnySlippers]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_yCz5WVSXo

[philetus]

I haven’t been able to get flash working in Gutsy yet.

[JennysCool]

I have an old-fashioned doctor who says giving up stuff that you love is DEFINITELY hazardous to your health — or at least your enjoyment of life. Because when you stop enjoying it — what’s the point?

[fishhound]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7YBDKJJ-ZM

He sings Medeleine is ...my very own America. My how things have changed...lol

[Cincinna]

Your doctor sounds very wise.

Do as the French do...everything in moderation. They live the longest and have the lowest rates of Cancer and Heart Disease

[bruinbirdman]

Further on: “If you go back 100 years or more, you’ll see from menus that people were willing to shift gears during the meal,” he said. “Cheeses diminish wine, especially red wines.”

It seems it should be "Wine or cheese party". My choice would be, good cheese with water or good wine with no cheese.

yitbos

[Army Air Corps]

I have had cheese with both red and white wine. My personal thoughts are that cheeses and wines vary so much that a hard-line rule does not work well. Personally, I find a white is fine with a mild cheese, but a red goes well with something hearty. Again, a personal preference. I wonder if my boss will allow me to enjoy some merlot and some nicely aged triple creme brie in my office...

[Alter Kaker]

With cheeses, de Villaine pours Le Montrachet, a buttery white Burgundy, never his top-of-the-line reds. “I do not want my great wines ruined by cheese,” he told me.

At $1000 a bottle, Le Montrachet is a rather expensive white wine alternative to your top of the line reds, M. de Villaine. But it is excellent!

[garyhope]

“Because when you stop enjoying it (life) — what’s the point?”

Exactly. Life is not just to be endured or survived, it is to be enjoyed, fulfilled and lived happily, insightfully and meaningfully among other things.

Quality is just as important as quantity.

[garyhope]

“At $1000 a bottle, Le Montrachet is a rather expensive white wine”

Why heck, that’s only about $200 to $250 a glass, you got a problem with that?

Kind of a damn shame that I will probably never experience Chateau Petrus, Le Montrachet, Romanee Conti, etc., before I expire unless I win the lottery or go crazy and rob a really good wine store.

Another wine junkie friend of mine and I joke about breaking into some rich persons extravagant wine cellar and leaving behind a bunch of empty bottles, bread crumbs and cheese rinds with smart alecky tasting notes. What else can poor wine snobs do?

[Alter Kaker]

Kind of a damn shame that I will probably never experience Chateau Petrus, Le Montrachet, Romanee Conti, etc., before I expire unless I win the lottery or go crazy and rob a really good wine store.

My secret:

1. Expense accounts, 2. Business lunches paid for by clients with larger expense accounts.

[garyhope]

I’m free for lunch anytime you’re ready with a rich client. I can advise on the wine.

[eleni121]

Oh when men were stars...and dancers were straight ..beautiful clip—thanks

[eleni121]

Chateau Petrus? With the sweetbreads?