French Wine and Cheese
French Wine
Winemaking in France dates back to pre-Roman times, also it was the romans who disiminated the culture of the wine and the practice of winemaking throughout the country.
Wine is the product of the juice of fresly picked grapes, after natural or cultured yeasts have converted the grape sugars into alcohol during the fermentation process. The yeasts, or less, are normally filtered out before bottling.
The range, quality and reputation of the fine wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhone, and Champagne in particular have made them role models the world over.
France's everyday wines can be highly enjoyable too, with plenty of good value wines now emerging from the southern regions. Each of ten principal wine producing regions has its own identity, based on grape varieties and terroir. Appelation controlee laws guarantee a wine's origins and style.
French Wine Regions and Varieties
Alsace (ahl-zass)
Dry, white and fruity, the wines of Alsace are ideal for a wide variety of foods and go wonderfully with exotic, spicy cuisines. These are the only French AOC wines named for grape type.
Beaujolais (boe-zhoh-lay)
Beaujolais Nouveau, basic Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages and the 10 Beaujolais crus are all best served when slightly chilled. Beaujolais is “the red that drinks like a white.”
Bordeaux (bor-doe)
Since the first century AD, Bordeaux has been creating wines that have earned their reputation as the epitome of the winemaker’s art.
Bourgogne (bor-gun-yuh)
For centuries, Burgundy has produced wondrous whites from the Chardonnay grape and remarkable reds from the Pinot Noir grape.
Champagne (shahm pahn-yuh)
If it’s not from France, it’s not Champagne. Individual houses create and maintain bubbly of remarkable consistency from year to year with their delicious blends of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes. Each house has its own special proportion, which imparts the signature style/taste of the house.
Corsica
Off the southern coast of France, the island of Corsica is known as the birthplace of Napoleon. Wine is an integral part of life on this sun-soaked Mediterranean isle.
Languedoc-Roussillon(lahng-duc rue-see own)
The vineyards of this southern French region represent the world’s most extensive wine-growing area. In the past ten years, it has emerged powerfully, burgeoning with new vines, new wines and a new sense of importance.
Loire Valley (lwahr)
Historically known as the playground of the French kings, the Loire extends the entire length of France’s longest river, for which it is named. Most of its wines are fruity, crisp whites with a good level of acidity.
Provence (pro-vahns)
The home of bouillabaisse, salade niçoise, and hearty stews, Provence is also home to strong and aromatic red, white and rosé wines.
Rhone Valley (roan)
The Rhône is known for spicy reds grown in vineyards dating back to pre-roman times.
The Southwest
Next to Bordeaux, the Southwest is an enormous wine-producing region, especially noted for Bergerac and Cahors. Amazingly, its vineyards, which were blighted in the 19th century, bloom again with rediscovered local varietals.
French Cheese
France's 400 sorts of cheese could puzzle Mickey mouse ... Here are some of the more famous French cheese varieties.
SAFR Port Salut
Semi-hard cow’s milk cheese. First developed by Trappist monks in 1816 - smooth, mild, creamy and all-natural. Great with fruit, crackers and your favorite French wine.
Good with red wine.
Couturier and Soignon Goat Cheeses
Couturier is the number one goat cheese in America, molded by hand for a delicate texture, made from fresh curd for rich flavor and dependable quality. Available in plain, ash, garlic & herbs, four pepper, basil and rosemary. Comes in 4-oz., 5H-oz., 11-oz. logs. Spreadable Soignon goat cheese is perfect for sandwiches, crackers and dips.
Good with red wine.
Marquis de Lafayette • Martin Collet • King Louis XIV
Soft-ripened cow’s milk cheese. All of these delicious soft-ripened cheeses offer the sinfully rich taste of genuine French brie. They are three of the leading French brands imported into the U.S. and are guaranteed to please anyone who appreciates this glorious cheese, one of the great gastronomic wonders of the world!
Good with red wine.
Claudel • Fleurs de France • Joan of Arc
Soft-ripened cow’s milk cheese. Internationally famous for its sublime texture and subtle taste, French brie is the centerpiece of elegant entertaining. The master cheesemakers of these leading imported brands use century-old craftsmanship that makes authentic French brie an incomparable pleasure.
Good with red wine.
President & Grosjean Emmental
Hard cow’s milk cheese. Emmental, the Swiss-style mountain cheese with the French difference! This hard cheese is made the traditional way, pressed into huge wheels, weighing up to 150 pounds. It has a deliciously mild, nutty flavor, a smooth, firm texture, and large, evenly distributed holes. Perfect sliced in sandwiches or as an ingredient in cooking.
Good with red and white wine.
Madrigal Baby Swiss
Hard cow’s milk cheese. “The French alternative to Jarlsberg.” Each 25-pound wheel has a rich, chestnut-like flavor that is slightly sweet. Cut into cubes for salads, or sliced in sandwiches it will add flavor to any meal. For a special treat, enjoy with apples, pears and grapes, and with fruity white or aged red wines.
Good with red and white wine.
Societe Roquefort
Blue-veined sheep’s milk cheese. The “King of the Blues”! There’s only one Roquefort – it bears its very own delimited appellation, and must be made of 100% sheep’s milk (most blue cheeses are made of cow’s milk). Société, the world’s leading Roquefort, is especially flavorful in salads, or as a complement to meat, crêpes and soufflés. Try Roquefort with a sweet French wine.
Good with red wine and white wine.
Valbreso French Feta
Sheep’s milk cheese. Made from 100% sheep’s milk from the high mountain pastures of southeast France. This Mediterranean favorite with its rich and tangy taste is ideal crumbled or cut into small cubes in Mediterranean-style salads, or with a wide variety of fresh vegetables.
Good with red and white wine.
Chevretine and Chevre de Bellay
Goat’s milk cheese. South of the Loire Valley, the Poitou region is known to cheese connoisseurs around the world as the goat cheese capital of France. Toasted or plain, diced in salads or tossed into an omelette, Chèvretine and Chèvre de Bellay bring the best of the Poitou to your table.
Good with white wine.
Source:French Wines & Food.com
How to Choose Cheese
Here are some pieces of advice, by Raymond Felix, a cheesemonger at Androuet's
- "Don't lay in amounts of cheese, for it could lose its properties.
- The tastes of cheese depend on seasons mainly.
- A cheesemonger will offer you this or that sort because it is splendid : trust him !
- Vary your cheeseboard when making it up, so as to please everybody.
- Do never take rinds away before serving the board : it could offend connoisseurs ...
- Cheese should be served with various sorts of bread : a slice of roasted bread will enhance the flavour of livarot or a "Selles-sur-Cher". But a "Neufchâlet" or a "Chaource" will blend well with fancy bread (flavoured with raisin, nuts or hazelnut). Put butter on the table also.
- Circular and soft cheese shall be cut up like cakes. Cut squarred sorts up like cakes or in thin slices, starting by the center. Cut up tall cheese in small rounds, and small goat-milk cheese in two parts. Segment pyramidal sorts starting from the center and bevel portions with knife, in order to avoid crumbing them.
Most of the times, cheese blends well with wines from the same region of origin.
- For cooked cheese, choose white wines, or full bodied red wines (such as Arbois, Saint Emilion).
- For blue cheese, choose light red wines (Morgon).
- For soft cheese, or blooming pastes, red tonic wines (Pomerol, Médoc, Chinon) will do.
- For washed cheese, full bodied red wines (Morgon, Chateauneuf-du-Pape).
- For cream cheese, white wines and sweet rosés.
- For goat-milk cheese: dry and fruity and light wines.
At home, every kind of cheese can be kept in the refrigerator. But beware of cold ! You had better keep it in the vegetable tray, wrapped in aluminium,or enclosed in a plastic box: cheese will remain fresh and will not permeate food with its smell.
This material was reprinted from Franceway.com Web site