Brisk but sunny afternoons make perfect moments to enjoy flavorful cheeses with zesty wines. Use the opportunities to discover distinctive parings to delight the taste buds. The following “can’t miss” cheese and wine combinations from Alsace, Burgundy and the Loire provide intriguing possibilities.
ALSACE: MUNSTER CHEESE AND AUXERROIS WINE
Autumn’s cool nights and sunny days create gloriously colorful scenes in Alsace’s hillside vineyards. Brightly colored yellow and red leaves shimmer in brilliant sunshine. The Vosges Mountains along Alsace’s western flank provide shelter from rains just to the west in Lorraine. This enchanting terroir creates terrific conditions for producing Munster, an aromatic cheese which pairs well with local white wines made from Auxerrois grapes.
Munster cheesemaking traditions reach back to Middle Age monasteries. Grass-fed cows delivered rich, flavorful milk which the brothers transformed into cheese rounds. The monks regularly washed and rubbed the rinds with local spring water. The process creates Munster’s light terracotta exterior color and its pungent, herbal aromas. Meanwhile the cheese’s interior texture remains creamy with distinctly meaty and slightly sweet flavors.
Since the 1920’s, the Haxaire fromagerie in the village of Lapoutroie in the heart of the Vosges Mountains has continued traditional Munster cheesemaking. Haxaire’s “Petit Munster” exported to America comes from pasteurized milk, but it still offers pungent aromas and delicious flavors. Its strong personality calls out a crisp Alsace white wine.
The 2017 Domaine Trapet, Auxerrois “Ox,” Alsace (average national price on wine-searcher.com: $25) makes a delicious partner with the cheese. Winegrower Jean-Louis Trapet hails from Gevrey-Chambertin in Burgundy, but his spouse, Andrée, hails from a winemaking family in Riquewihr in Alsace. In 2002, Andrée took responsibility for the family’s Alsace domaine and today the Trapets’ sons, Pierre and Louis, assist closely with operations in both Burgundy and Alsace.
This tasty white wine comes from Auxerrois vines grown on chalky brown soils over substrates of limestone and clay. The vines receive only organic treatments and biodynamic preparations. After harvesting by hand, the grapes ferment with natural yeasts and then age in neutral barrels and concrete eggs. Bottling occurs with minimal sulphur added.
The resulting wine offers aromas of white flowers, grapefruit and nutmeg opening to flavors of quince and ripe peaches. The wine has rich concentration with bright, fresh acidity and a dry, refreshing finish. It provides a perfect foil to the cheese’s strong aromas, meaty flavors and creamy texture. Crisp and delicious!
BURGUNDY: ÉPOISEES CHEESE AND SAINT-BRIS WINE
Famed French gourmand, Brillat-Savarin, called Époisses “the king of all cheeses.” Yet Époisses cheese starts simply enough. The milk comes from Brune, Montbéliarde, and Simmental Française cows grazing between Auxerre in the north of Burgundy and the famed Côte d’Or vineyards in the south. (Some Époisses cheese in France comes from unpasteurized milk, whereas Époisses cheeses exported to the United States come from pasteurized milk.)
After heating the milk, the cheesemakers mold the curds into rounds which are then rubbed with salt before going to maturing racks in cool, damp cellars. The magic begins as workers brush the young cheeses with a “cocktail” of watery brine, Brevibacterium bacteria and marc de Bourgogne, a raw distilled spirit. As the rubbing process repeats over the next four to six weeks, les ferments du rouge (i.e., red molds) naturally develop on the Époisses’ rinds.
The cheese’s vivid reddish, orange color grabs the eye. Draw closer, and Époisses’ powerful, unabashed aromas also demand attention. The pungent, heady perfume exudes fruitiness, wild garlic and barnyard aromas. Then cut into a properly aged Époisses, and the creamy, glistening texture oozes. The French call it, coulant, i.e., runny. The cheese that “runs away!” On the palate, mild, deliciously fruity and savory mushroom flavors prevail. In the United States, go with the reliable Berthaut Époisses, an 8.8 ounce round available online for shipping from the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company for $21.49.
Pair Époisses with the delicious 2018 Guihelm et Jean-Huges Goisot, “Exogyra Virgula” Saint-Bris (average national price on wine-searcher.com: $23). The Saint-Bris appellation lies in northern Burgundy just to the west of Chablis. For this wine the hard working father and son team at Domaine Goisot uses Sauvignon Blanc vines growing in Kimmeridgian limestone containing oyster fossils called exogyra virgula. The domaine farms these distinctive vineyards by hand with organic and biodynamic methods. Their sturdy, vibrant vines deliver low yields of flavorful grapes.
The Goisot’s ferment the fruit with indigenous yeasts to capture pure, fruity aromas of pink grapefruit, limes and honeysuckle. On the palate, crisp citrus and ripe tropical fruits balance with zesty, crisp acidity and creaminess. It finishes dry and fruity with perfect mineral notes to delivers perfect contract to the distinctive Époisses. Don’t miss it!
LOIRE AND BURGUNDY: LE CHEVROT CHEESE AND BOURGOGNE-ALIGOTÉ
The western Loire Valley has long been known for producing terrific goat milk cheeses such as Le Chevrot. The cheese comes from the Cooperative Sèvre-et-Belle in the village of Celles-sur-Belle near Poitou. In France, Le Chevrot uses raw, unpasteurized goat’s milk. The version exported to America uses pasteurized milk.
Le Chevrot’s name refers both to “chèvre,” the French word for a female goat, and “cerveaux,” the French word for brains. Mature “Le Chevrot” has a round “brainy” shape with a wrinkled, ivory colored rind. The cheese itself has a savory, creamy texture with good density and herbal flavors. Just below the rind, a nutty, peppery cream line gives a little intense bite.
And what better wine to pair with Le Chevrot cheese than a crisp, well-made white wine from the Chevrot family in Burgundy. Try the delicious 2018 Domaine Chevrot, Bourgogne-Aligoté “Cuvée des Quatre Terroirs” (average national price on wine-searcher.com: $20) from Cheilly-lès-Maranges in the southern most part of Burgundy’s Côte-d’Or.
When made from grossly over-cropped vines, Aligoté wines offer minimal aromatics, indistinct flavors and little body. But not so with Pablo Chevrot’s Aligoté. He works diligently to produce an Aligoté wine “…off the well-marked trails.” Chevrot is one of the founders of “Les Alligoteurs,” an association of growers dedicated to preserving older Aligoté vines and to producing Aligoté wines of outstanding quality and distinct personality.
The delicious 2018 Domaine Chevrot, Bourgogne-Aligoté “Cuvée des Quatre Terroirs” comes from four parcels with relatively low-yielding vines between 35 and 50 years old. Pablo and his brother work organically in the vines and are in conversion back to certification. Fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks.
The wine’s golden color offers light floral and tropical fruit aromas. In the glass, pure, ripe peach and tangerine flavors with ample concentration open to fresh, lively acidity and a zesty, dry finish. It’s a refreshing wine full of lively pleasure and a perfect complement to the savory, creamy Le Chevrot cheese.
Do you have favorite cheese and wine pairing? Please share them in the comment section below and cheers!