The Unsophisticated Woman

Wine drinkers make the best friends.  Great conversations always arise over a glass (more likely a bottle) of wine. One day The Drunken Diva ran into The Unsophisticated Woman.  She is a lover of wine, cheese, and is full of fun, educational stories. She happened to be teaching a cheese pairing class at The Woodlands Cheese Course and I decided to check it out.  I love wine and cheese, but when it comes to pairing, I usually stick with red wine and bleu cheese.  So I was excited to find out more about my two favorite things.

The Cheese Course is a lovely little place that serves soups, salads, sandwiches, and of lots and lots of wonderful cheese.  I expected to sit down and be told which cheeses to pair with sparkling wines, whites, and reds.  Instead it was more of a flavor journey. I was given a chart that listed five cheeses and five wines along with a grading key to score each pairing.  The five cheeses were Fol Epi, Ossauriaty, Truffle Tremor, Robiola, and Bleu d'Auvergn.  The wines were La Crema Pinot Gris, Cambria Chardonnay, Decero Malbec, Freemark Merlot, and Chianti Classico.  I was instructed to first try each cheese on its own and describe the flavors.  Was it creamy, nutty, or tangy?  Next, each cheese was to be tasted with each wine and rated based on whether the combination was fantastic, horrible, or meh.

It was interesting to see how certain combinations appealed to some, but not to others. Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods always says, "If eat looks good, eat it!" I believe the same is true for wine and cheese.  There is no set rule.  Find a wine you like, find a cheese you like, throw in a dollop of honey or fig jam, some nuts, crackers, and enjoy!

To see The Unsophisticated Woman in action, check out her next class at The Cheese Course .  To reserve a spot call (832) 246-8884.  She is also available for at home wine and cheese parties, seminars, and consulting.  Cheers!