We decided paris was not the place to experiment with wine and cheese, so Gary and I went to a local wine and cheese mart to test out French wines and cheeses. That was only half the reason. I am also celebrating the return of my cheekbones. By eating. As you do.
The cheesemeister at Provisions asked what types of cheeses we eat now (Me: havarti, Gary: cheddar). Accordingly, he and his cheeseminion gushed over a mild Fromage d’Affinois and a tart Chabain (?) goat cheese.
I noticed that Gary and I deal with salesmen with a good-cop / moron-wife routine. I never know we are playing this game until i start speaking earnestly to a salesperson and Gary interrupts with “NONONO DON’T LISTEN TO HER. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Blah! BLAH BLAH!” For example, I repeated, “Fromaaahge Daffinwaaahzzzz. So that’s what I’ll ask for when I go to the cheese shop.” “NONONO! They will run after you with knives.” (chummy laugh with salesman) “Parisians don’t like people who butcher the language! Don’t even talk with them! They don’t like friendly people!” (How do they feel about loud guffawing people, I thought.)
The winemeister looked mournfully at me when I said I heard the 2000 Bordeaux was good, but that it tasted like pencil lead. He did explain that it tasted like red wine with “notes” of pencil lead, because of the minerals in the dirt, and that no where else could you get a wine that tasted a bit like pencil lead. Just a bit. So after a few more questions we found that I wanted something low in tannins, fruity, and light. “I think you want a 2008 Bordeaux,” he said mournfully, “Otherwise we’ll have to go to a … sweet … wine.” His tone said, otherwise, we’ll have to give you cancer. Otherwise, why don’t I just sell you a slushie? Otherwise, we’ll have to take your money for no reason. Here, have the cheapest bottle of wine we have. $10 Bordeaux-Villages. Go away now.
When we got it home Gary took a swig from the bottle. “Tannins!” he said. “Ack! Tannins!” Actually, it smelled great and I found that if you ate it with cheese or roast Brussels sprouts, the tannins weren’t noticeable. Sniffing it while I drank it helped. I think it was the wateriest wine I’ve ever had (I think they call that ‘light’).
We did have only six bites of the cheese and French bread each. Gary’s cheese was good. He described my cheese as salted butter. Really good salted butter. Pretty dead on. Salted butter with a note of cheese. Only I could taste the note of cheese because my palate is so refined.
10 responses to “Wine and Cheese”
The exact same things will taste different there from the way they taste here. You’ll be shocked. Something in the air, and light, and views (and import laws) affects the flavor.
To get the full effect order the exact same cheese in Paris. Report back!
Silk’s right. She always is.
I never dreamed in my life that I’d be sitting at a table outside in a cafe, just across from L’Universite de Paris, enjoying une verre de Bordeaux. But I did. And it was fabulous.
And the fois gras I had there was sooooo gooood. Nothing else has come close to it. Like walnuts and cream melting on your tongue.
Roquefort cheese! Forget that it’s unpasteurised ewe’s milk: just lap up that salty creaminess! My mouth is actually watering just typing this.
~~Silk – The same cheese and wine, I hope. I had read that there is something about sulfite levels and import laws, but then read that grapes contain sulfites themselves.Becs – Okay, foie gras is on the list.Big Dot – Ug! Stinky cheese! I always demand to know when Gary has washed his feet when he eats any bleu cheese.
Most of the cheese you get here is made from pasteurized milk, which destroys a lot of its essence.We are total Paris non gourmets and always go to one of the Hippo chain restaurants. The best Paris meals are where you go to a market and get fruit, bread, cheese, and salami and a bottle of wine and make a peekneek or eat in your hotel room.
Hattie – I think we’ll do that, the picnic. I doubt Gary would let us eat in the hotel room. BUT, answer me this: If milk is pasteurized, it’s heated up to kill the bacteria, and then cooled. So unpasteurized cheese was made with cold milk? And that changes the taste? Does the bacteria taste like something? Ew.
Yes, the bacteria tastes like something. How do you think that blue cheeses and swiss cheeses are made? Mold and bacteria, baby.
Ignore the process and the science, you’re too new at it to handle it, yet. You’re too American and focused on hygiene.
That felt really strange to say.
Also, I recommend that you NEVER read about how pickles are made.
Fair warning – fois gras is the silkiest most delicious fattiest thing you can ever eat, and it’s incredibly expensive. Now you know.
Tami – Hey! I have made clotted cream with my own hands! Don’t tell me about hygiene!
Where’d you get fresh, unpasteurized cream? There’s a small dairy farm two shakes from my house, I wonder if they’d sell me that.
I’m not sure how far two shakes exactly is, but the Dunkin’ Donuts is 4 minutes away by car, and I pass the cows on the way.
Tami – Well, to be fair, even if it had been unpasteurized the first step was to simmer it in a double boiler for an hour, so all the bacteria would be dead anyway. Then of course you just sit it out on the counter for days, where it can re-epopulate the bacteria.