Cheese & Port wine matching guide

[Roy Hersh]

While the contents are worthy of a look, I am not as thrilled when seeing the journalist link Port wine consumption being consumed for a special occasion. Not because it is Christmas, but giving consumers the impression that Port is best consumed on such a holiday, is a disservice to Port wine. Ok, maybe this is an over-reaction to the first paragraph, but this is something that I often find at this time of year and Valentine's Day. It would be great if the indication was that Port was great to drink all year round. This old mindset really needs to change and writers are on the front lines when it comes to modernizing Port's image.

Here now, the cheese and Port pairing suggestions: http://www.decanter.com/learn/cheese-an ... de-283936/

[Moses Botbol]

One "cheese" that will wine everyone over no matter the port (or no port at all) is Pão de Queijo

[Glenn E.]

At least he got past the tired old "Port + Stilton!" refrain.

[Moses Botbol]

Pecorino is a little strong for me with Tawny and would swap with Grano Pandano instead.

[Edward J]

I thought he did a good job with sentence #2

The seasonality of Port is a real shame and wines lovers should remember that ‘Port is for life, not just for Christmas’, to borrow a well versed slogan.

Port has several different issues that prevent wider market share, but that is another matter. Needless to say that once you hit the $30 a bottle level, the vast majority are not "daily drinkers". This pretty much excludes Vintage Port.

As for cheese, in the U.S. the cheese tray is most often served as an appetizer before dinner, right before the salad (I know we have things backwards). To go along with this thinking I might prefer a tawny or white port before dinner and save the vintage for later.

Blue cheeses are far from just Stilton. Neal's Yard Dairy in London has a selection that is world class (7 blues and only 1 is a Stilton). To me British cheese just seem "right " with port. Appleby's Cheshire, Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, and Stinking Bishop would be good choices. Port Salut, Aged Gouda, Pt. Reyes Blue and more. I find certain combinations can really hit and with a different port, miss. Individual tastes also vary a great deal, I'd rather have a Tawny with a Cuban and some chocolate.

[Scheiny S]

i'm hoping to see a friend for her birthday in the next month. she drinks port, but the cheap stuff, American Taylor's. i'm going to give her a bottle of Fonseca bin 27. it's my favorite, it will still be special at 2-3x the price of what she usually drinks, but she might be willing to start buying in that price range, herself. i'd like to bring a cheese or two to have with it, i'd like to introduce her to the experience one can make Port as opposed to something tasty that'll getcha more soused than wine.

does anyone have recommendations? no blue cheese, please.

[Bradley Bogdan]

I'll say that my preference for cheese with port tends to not be the strongly creamy or strongly flavored with the more complex ports. A nice blue such as Point Reyes by Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese like Edward noted, or a creamy "Camembert" from Marin French Cheese, or a chèvre style cheese like Humboldt Fog by Cypress Grove all seem to go well with filtered LBVs or Reserve Rubies.

If I'm breaking out a more middle of the road (flavor, not quality), less intense cheese like the Grana Padano like Moses mentioned, with beautiful and clear, but less intense nutty and salty characteristics, a more complex 20+ y/o tawny is more appropriate to me. If one half of the pair is strong and loud, no need for the other to be shouting over it.

With VP, I tend to stay away from cheese all together, as I don't often find much improvement from either end of the pairing. If it's good, it's worth drinking on its own or with some biscotti or something vaguely sweet and after dinner-y.


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[Moses Botbol]

No posts on the Serra cheese so far...

Queijo Serra da Estrela cheese is available at my local super markets. They're about $25 and there is also another Serra cheese that is slightly smaller, thicker and a touch yellow (less expensive too). The Serra cheese stores pretty well, but we can only eat so much... I end up cutting it long slices, wrapping the cloth around whatever remains to the wheel. Not sure if that is the right way, but seems to be the only way to keep it from oozing out...

Pao de Queijo is our go to with port. Why not have the cheese and bread in one shot? Ready in 30 minutes; they come in handy for port or dry wine.

[Glenn E.]

Queijo Serra da Estrela cheese is available at my local super markets.

You lucky dog!

Is it real Serra da Estrela, or is it just Queijo da Serra? As I recall a while back we thought we'd found an importer of true Serra da Estrela, but it turned out that it wasn't. It came from a place that also makes Serra da Estrela, but what was being imported was the more generic variety.

[Scheiny S]

hm. i'll write those down and see whether the big cheese deli has any of those. my hopes aren't high.
my favorite cheese is smoked gouda, i can't recall whether i've ever tried it with Port. any ideas whether it would go with Reserve Ruby? i like it with cabernet, but those aren't so similar.

i hadn't considered nuts! what kind of nuts would you recommend with bin 27?

[Glenn E.]

I love Gouda with both ruby and tawny Port, but prefer an aged Gouda over a smoked one.

[Scheiny S]

i've been eating so much smoked gouda that an aged one hadn't even occurred to me! that would make a difference. like a Beemster or would that be too strong?

[Eric Menchen]

I like smoked Gouda, but it is a bit more subtle than the aged ones, and this might not stand up to Bin 27. That's a powerful Port, so stronger flavored cheeses are needed IMHO.

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[Eric Menchen]

Beemster makes a range of cheeses, so I can't directly answer that. Of Gouda in general, oude might be too strong, and belegen a closer match. But if it were me, I'd buy a few of different ages to try. Sorry, I don't know how the Dutch terms match to the English labels, but I think oude might be 3+ or 5+ years aged, and belegen is a little younger, but not jong .

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[Scheiny S]

oh, i didn't realise Beemster is the brand. i should have, though. i've had something by them aged enough to have the salty crystals.
trying a variety of aged goudas, this sounds just terrible. oh no, anything but that. thanks for the suggestions!

[Moses Botbol]

Queijo Serra da Estrela cheese is available at my local super markets.

You lucky dog!

Is it real Serra da Estrela, or is it just Queijo da Serra?

I don't know for sure, but that is what it says and is similar looking and priced as Estrela in Fall River. It's too much cheese for the two of us, so I don't buy it. I would take us like a month to finish that. There's a few different ones on offer from Portugal. You should see the selection of Portuguese olive oils for sale. More varieties than most liquor stores have of Portuguese wine. Many places make their own linquica too; I buy that all time

If I can muster enough people for a proper port tasting I will buy Estrela for sure.

[Eric Menchen]

If I can muster enough people for a proper port tasting I will buy Estrela for sure.

And with multiple Estrelas available in your parts, we could have a tasting of those too.

[Moses Botbol]

If I can muster enough people for a proper port tasting I will buy Estrela for sure.

And with multiple Estrelas available in your parts, we could have a tasting of those too.

I'd rather do a linguica tasting of both the local and regional brands; any friends participating with IBS would agree . I picked up butter from Portugal a week or two ago. I keep leaving out on the counter to use and Elys keeps putting it back in fridge... I end up forgetting I bought it.