Are wine and cheese breaking up?

Wine and cheese. Wine AND cheese! The “it” couple of food! However, there are rumbling rumors that the two may be approaching an amiable split, deciding they just weren’t right for each other in the first place.

In an article for Gilt Taste, Clark Wolf, founder and president of his own New York and Sonoma-based food and restaurant consulting firm, says the duo make a “lousy match.” He cites a 2006 study in which winetasters reported flattened results when cheese was involved in the process. Apparently, the concept that wine and cheese compliment each other is a myth!

What’s next — peanut butter and jelly announce they actually hate each other?!

“We harbor the assumption that finding the right wine for your cheese
will make them both sing,” wrote Clark.  “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.”

If this is all too much to bear (or if you have a wine and cheese party planned this weekend), don’t panic. Wine and cheese might be inclined to engage in a few post-break-up booty calls. Clark says some combinations are perfectly “OK,” like sauvignon blanc with goat cheese or oaky chardonnay with an aged sharp cheddar.

Clark also says beer, ale, hard or soft cider, pear juice, smoky single malt scotch and port are all better partners for cheese. We know it’s hard to imagine, but remember how jilted you felt when Brad Pitt split from Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie? But now enough time has passed and we’ve accepted them as a couple and must admit, they’re pretty good together. Maybe someday cider and cheese will be the new Brangelina.

For now, we drink to you, wine and cheese! It was great while it lasted.