by Claudia Kwan

It’s a combination that’s tried, tested, and true—it’s hard to beat the simplicity of uncorking a bottle of wine and setting out a plate of cheese when entertaining. But if you find yourself always reaching for the same old cheddar to pair with the same old bottle of red, you just might be in a cheese rut.

There’s no chicken or egg argument when it comes to expanding your horizons, according to Alice Spurrell of Les Amis du Fromage. There are two locations of the tremendously successful retail cheese operation she co-owns with her daughter Allison, one in Vancouver’s Granville Island neighbourhood, and the other in West Vancouver. A third is being planned for the Strathcona area of Vancouver.

You can either have purchased your bottle of wine first, in which case they will know exactly which year and which grape they’re dealing with, or you can buy cheese and then see if a wine expert can help you find a match.

The key is balance, says Spurrell. “You want to have a good taste in your mouth when you have both (the wine and the cheese) in your mouth together, a well-rounded taste. Neither product should be dominant.”

She also says price isn’t the main indicator for how good a cheese is. Very inexpensive cheese usually isn’t very good quality, but for other products, the price tag relates more to what type of cheese it is and in which condition you’re getting it.

Spurrell says you always want to check the age of a cheese before buying. “When things are too old, then you get a reaction between the wine and the cheese that’s not always pleasant, so you want to make sure you’re getting a nice fresh product,” she points out. “There’s a difference between strong or ‘full-flavoured’ cheese and overripe—it’s overripe if it’s too old for that style of cheese. But if you choose a cheese that’s meant to be full-flavoured, that is quite different.”

Now that you have those guidelines in mind, it’s time to head off to a cheese shop to tell them you want to explore your wine and cheese options. Spurrell has a number of suggestions.

Be colour-diverse
Pick up goat’s milk, sheep’s milk, and washed rind cheeses, to pair them with white wine. Many people often assume white wine won’t work well with cheese, but she says something about the acid balance in the wine makes it a true taste treat.

Experiencing equals entertainment
Make the experimentation part of the party, instead of worrying your guests might not like some of what’s being served up. Get five small pieces of cheese and mix and match them with different crackers or breads, spreads, and types of wine to see what you like. It may turn out that not everyone likes all of the combinations, but then you know for next time, and it’s a pastime guaranteed to provide an icebreaker at the start of a function.

Brown bag it
For those wanting to climb quite a distance out of their cheese rut, she suggests getting the equivalent of a dollar store mystery fun bag. On Saturdays at her store, she puts 5 or 6 different cheeses into a brown bag—telling customers only what type of wine it will go with—and they don’t learn what they have until they get home. It forces you to try something you might not have otherwise chosen, because you’ve already purchased it and it’s sitting right there waiting to be consumed.

The Spurrells offer advice through semi-regular seminars at their stores for those truly dedicated to getting the most out of their cheese experiences, but the sessions sell out astoundingly quickly. If you don’t want to be left out, it’s a good idea to put yourself on their e-mail list to get as much advance notice as possible.

Les Amis du Fromage

1752 W. 2nd Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V6J 1H6
604.732.4218
Toll Free: 1.877.676.1166

#518 Park Royal South
West Vancouver, BC
V7T 2W4
604.925.4218
www.lesamisdufromage.com

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