Perfect Partners
Cheese is far more compatible with beer than wine, so why don’t we serve the two together more? Ben McFarland goes on a road test
Wine and cheese parties were all the rage in the 70s. That’s when wine and cheese first really got together. For years the two were joined at the hip and happening social gatherings. Back then, they seemed such a nice couple.
But they were also impressionable, unripened and un-aged – far too young to realise their differences and the fate was awaiting them. Cracks soon appeared and, a few decades on, the relationship is now crumbling like a Danish Blue.
They still pretend to get on but, deep down, they’ve both got their doubts. But there’s no reason why wine and cheese should like each other. In fact, I expect chalk has a less rocky rapport with cheese than wine does.
The fact that the two often meet on the dinner table after a meal is a touching ritual, but hardly a foundation for a solid future.
Why do they insist on pursuing such a pointless marriage of convenience? A lot of things seemed like a good idea way back then but would you wear a Tank Top today?
Harsh I know, but it’s time for the two to go their separate ways.
A full-bodied wine, that’s improved with age, shouldn’t have any trouble finding a partner away from the cheeseboard while cheese can set himself free and do what he’s always wanted to do – namely go and sow his wild oatcakes with beer.
It’s the perfect partner, proper whirlwind affair material, a match made in heaven. Beer and cheese have a lot in common you see. Both are traditional farmhouse products with the same agricultural ancestry. Cheese is.....
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By Ben McFarland
Section : Beer and Food
Page number : 40
