Port pairing with Cheese

[Roy Hersh]

California Wine and Food Magazine
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American Restaurants Pairing Premium Ports and Artisan Cheese
March 26, 2007


Growth in sales and interest for premium Ports (Reserve, Late Bottled Vintage, Aged Tawny and Vintage bottlings) and artisan cheese in the U.S. have exploded in recent years as Americans refine their tastes for wine, food, and pairing them together.

“Today the origin of food and wine is becoming an increasingly important factor for the American consumer, with the rise of the ‘farm fresh, farm local’ ideal,” said cheese expert Raymond Hook. “Attendance at farmers markets is on the rise in major metropolitan areas and wine consumers are looking to specific regions that consistently produce quality wines, such as Portugal.”


Reserve Port is the category growth leader. It accounts for 30 percent of U.S. imports, which rose nearly 20% in 2006. Aged Tawnies showed the strongest growth during that same period, with shipments up 26 percent. Overall, Port imports were up nearly 13% in 2006 to total almost 470,000 cases.

Growth in demand for artisan cheese is also on the rise, with an increasing number of artisan producers and specialty cheeses being introduced annually. According to the California Milk Advisory Board, two-thirds of California’s more than 50 cheesemakers comprise the specialty, artisan and farmstead category. The number of artisan entries in The American Cheese Society’s Annual Competition increased 26% in 2006 to total 940.“The growth in artisan American cheese results from the emergence of the cheese course as part of fine dining in metropolitan restaurants,” said Phillip Tong, director and professor at California Polytechnic State University’s Dairy Products Technology Center. “Additionally, the increase of travel abroad educates and exposes Americans to different cultures and availability of specialty cheese for consumers in the marketplace.”

Dow’s Port, producer of true Port from Portugal for over two centuries, took the idea of a cheese course one step further in February 2006 by announcing a pairing partnership with two award-winning cheese makers, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company of Point Reyes, California and Sweet Grass Dairy of Thomasville, Georgia. The trio is offering the Dow’s Cheese Course as a unique and delicious dessert alternative, and suggests Point Reyes “Original Blue,” aged six months, with its Late Bottled Vintage and Vintage Ports. The Sweet Grass “Green Hill,” a rich double cream cheese with a white bloomy rind that softens as it ages, is paired with the Dow’s Aged Tawny Ports, which are offered in 10, 20, 30 and 40 year bottlings.

“The Dow’s Cheese Course was developed to simplify the experience of pairing and serving Port with artisan cheese as consumption in both categories continues to rise throughout the U.S. Dow’s, Point Reyes and Sweet Grass have enjoyed excellent sales growth in the past year, with the former two up 28% and the latter up 38%, respectively,” said Rupert Symington, Joint Managing Director for the Oporto, Portugal-based Symington Family Estates which owns Dow’s.

Dow's has been producing top Ports in Portugal’s Douro Valley for over two centuries. One of the first companies to establish its own vineyards, Dow's acquired Senhora da Ribeira, located in the remote Upper Douro, in 1890 and Bomfim, which lies in the heart of the Alto Douro, in 1896. Their respective wines, Ribeira with its soft fruit and violet aromas, and Bomfim with its concentrated intensity, provide the backbone to the recognized drier style of Dow’s Ports. In 1912, Andrew James Symington became a partner in Dow’s and today, six members of the fourth generation Symington family own and manage this historic house.

Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, founded in 2000, is the only classic style blue cheese made in California. The Giacomini Family, located in Point Reyes Station, handcrafts small batches of its “Original Blue” and “Monte’s Reserve” from the fresh, raw milk of the farm’s 300 Holstein cows.

Sweet Grass Dairy, also founded in 2000 and located in Thomasville, Georgia, is an American Cheese Society medal winning farmstead. Its nine cheeses are handmade in small batches at the Little Family Farm from the milk of their 550 Jersey and Normandaise cows from Green Hill Dairy

Editor’s note: Links to the websites of nearly all of California wineries, be they Zin makers or otherwise, can be found in the Resource Directory of Taste California Travel. Also in that directory are links to thousands of lodging and dining opportunities, all organized in an easy-to-use geographic sorting.

[Todd Pettinger]

A Portuguese Port producer partnering with two American Cheese producers. Certainly some revolutionary thinking and marketing ideas at okay here. This is some innovative thinking here. I wonder if we may see more producers (or individual house names) begin partnerships with other such businesses, both locally in Portugal, and abroad?

Todd

[Moses Botbol]

I do not like the traditional pairings for port and cheese. I'll take Parmesan, Bica, or Manchego over Stilton or blue cheeses any day. I find there's not enough acid in port to cut through the "traditional" port cheeses.

Am I the only one? Seems like they're beating a dead horse rather than trying to be innovative or adding real value to enjoying port...

[Andy Velebil]

I'm not a major cheese person, but I loved Serra de Estrella with Port.

[Todd Pettinger]

Moses, I also do not like the blue cheeses... I enjoy a bit of a sharper cheddar - aged cheddar being my favourite. I find that the good cheddars will complement most ports that I drink on a daily basis... a bit of complementary bite, but mellow enough to not turn my palate all funky.

Aged permesan would be a good match, although GOOD parmensan is a bit tougher to find.

Call me crazy, but one combination that I have found and absolutely LOVE is smoked gouda with the LBVs or even some of the rubies (Graham's Six Grapes, etc.) It is a bit different, but the creamy, smokey cheese is to my liking a great deal. It is abulous with cashews or almonds and the LBV.

Todd

[Roy Hersh]

I agree with smoked gouda, but one of the very finest pairings I have had was a delicious 5 year old aged Cheddar from (Ontario?) Canada. I had it while up in Edmonton as there is a fantastic cheese shop up there with the best Cheddars I have ever tasted, all from E. Canada (I forget exactly where).

I also like Manchego, Cambazola (combo of Gorgonzola and Camembert which is produced in Germany) and my favorite is ripe Sera de Estrela.

[Todd Pettinger]

Now I'm definitely going to have to seek out this shop, because if there is one thing that can be given the nod as my weak spot (besides Port) it is cheese! :)

I'll let you know what I find Roy! (All in the name of science!!! )
Todd

[Michael M.]

I love the 2 years old Gouda cheese "Reypenaer V.S.O.P".

[Ronald Wortel]

Reypenaer is a very good cheese. Actually the only example I know (for Dutch cheese) where they managed to combine a good commercial concept with exceptional quality.

Smoked Gouda????? I know the type of cheese, but I don't recall having tried it since my youth. Well, I guess I should give it a try once.

I also prefer either hard cheeses (like parmesan, manchego and dutch old cow milk cheeses) or creamy cheeses (like serra da estrela or azeitao) to blue cheese. The blue cheeses are mostly to overpowering for the port. The only example where it works alright for me is in combination with young, powerful rubies, like crusted, unfiltered LBV or a young Vintage.

[Roy Hersh]

The occasional Stilton is tasty, but rarely do I like it with Port. Actually, I prefer Port on its own ... most of the time.

However, I agree with this:

The blue cheeses are mostly to overpowering for the port. The only example where it works alright for me is in combination with young, powerful rubies, like crusted, unfiltered LBV or a young Vintage.

[Ronald Wortel]

I love blue cheese, it just doesn't work with port for me... in most cases.