They are 5 types of cheeses:
1) Fresh
2) Soft
3) Semi-hard
4)Hard
5) Blue
From those different cheese, you also have the rind where you will find 3 types of it
1)Bloomy
2)Washed
3)Natural
I decide to follow the rinds as it is ,for me, more important, I will separate them from categories from mild to strong which will make it easy to pair and also to find..
Bloomy cheese are white and soft. Long time ago, the cheese were getting the bloom from natural way. It used to aged in cave, and in there the bacteria was already present. So with the humidity and the bacteria the bloom appeared on the cheese.
Now, as production had increase the natural way is not enough. The cheeses are kept in rooms with a certain percentage of humidity as it encourages the mold to grow and then spread the cheese with the bacteria called Bacteria Camemberti, Candidum or Penicillum. . This rind might sound a bit unappetizing but it adds flavor to the cheese. an it is eatable.
*NV: Non Vegetarian/ V: Vegetarian
Here are some example: Coulommiers (Fr, NV), Bath (ENG, V), Sharpham Brie (ENG, V), Brillat-Savarin (Fr, NV), Schneifloki (SW, NV)
All of those cheeses have a very soft center, and are very mild. The flavor are nutty, buttery, creamy and sweet.
You should pair those cheeses with a red wine that has soft tannin, and fruity.
3 grapes that I will recommend: Pinot Noir/ Syrah and Merlot
Yes, those grape varieties are also known to make full bodied wine, but from the area or country I will mention, you will find the perfect pairing. The wines are light to medium bodied, with smooth tannin and fruity.
Pinot Noir is a fragile variety due to its thine skin, a bad weather can be a disaster. The flavor will depend of which area or country you will choose but in France it will be mainly red cherry, red currant with a very light note of oak. and smooth tannin. If you go to New World country, the flavor will be from strawberry, black cherry, red currant, smoky, with a little sweetness..
Example: France:Burgubdy (Cotes Chalonnaise, Cotes de Beaune), Loire Valley (Sancerre)
America: Oregon
South America: Chile
Australia: Mornington Peninsula, Tasmania
Syrah is very juicy grapes, it will make from the following area, light to medium bodied wine, with blackberries, blackcurrant, red berries and spices. The wines will be smooth, mellow tannin and very well balance.
Example: France: Northern Rhone Valley (Cotes du Rhone Village, Crozes-Hermitage, St Joseph)
South Africa: Swartland
At last, Merlot is a grape while not blended it will give supple wines, with plumy notes.
Example: France: Bordeaux (Right Bank), South West
South America: Chile
Oh dear, I nearly forgot! I wrote about all hose wines but there is an other one to talk about. CHAMPAGNE/ SPARKLING!
The fine bubbles will enhance the creaminess of those cheeses. You should go with a fruity one, not to mineral (To dry) and not to high in acidity.. Champagne can be a bit expensive and used on big occasion, so Sparkling wine is the perfect one too. Cremant from Burgundy, Loire Valley, Prosecco or other sparkling that you can find in supermarket such as I love .... (not to dry once again) white or rose as the little berries note will pair beautifully. I won't recommend Cava or bubbles that spend time on lies, or more simply that have an oaky flavor.
I hope you enjoyed reading the first part of the "A Bite of Cheese". It has taking me a bit of time I do apologies as my little one just love playing with my work and computer!
Please feel free to leave a comment as it will help me for the next one and also if you have any particular cheese or wine you would love to have and pair.
A Wine Lover