Epoisses and marc de Bourgogne

Epoisses has to be one of the most difficult cheeses to match, not least when it gets to the almost liquid stage shown in this photo (a stage too far IMHO)

It’s one of France’s most notorious ‘stinky’ cheeses - so described because the process of washing the rind in marc de Bourgogne contributes to the cheese’s pungent smell and fluid texture.

The locals like to drink it with red Burgundy (the natural terroir-based match as it's also made in the Côte d’Or) but in my view it almost always slaughters the wine. It’s also - unlike many cheeses - a bit rough on the local dry whites.

The most successful matches I’ve come across are Sauternes, strong Belgian beers and, on my recent trip last week, marc de Bourgogne itself which makes a lot of sense given that it’s used in the cheese’s production. It’s strong but then so is the cheese and it’s woodiness and spiciness deal better with its bitter notes than the intense sweetness of fortified wines like port (though I suspect drier Madeiras and possibly whisky could work too).

If you feel deprived if you don’t have a glass of red wine in your hand while you’re eating cheese try a strong funky red (an old vintage of Chteauneuf-du-Ppe, for example). We tried a slightly less far gone cheese at the Beaune wine bar Le Comptoir des Tontons with Philippe Jambon’s Les OH de Balmont, a vin de table from a natural wine producer in in Beaujolais and they paired remarkably well.

Palais Royal and Roquefort

We’ve been down in the Languedoc for the past week, revisiting some of the winemakers we haven’t seen for a while. They included Domaine de l’Arjolle, one of the first wineries we bought from when we bought a holiday home down here in the early 1990s.

Like most wineries in those days they were running the whole thing on a shoestring and the winery was pretty ramshackle. I seem to remember an old mattress being propped up against the cellar wall (maybe for some unfortunate cellar hand who was deputed to keep an eye on the tanks overnight) but nowadays they have a pukka tasting room and cellar and obviously welcome a fair number of visitors.

The owner Louis-Marie Teisserenc (right) remembered that I was interested in food and wine pairing and produced a series of impromptu snacks to partner the wines as we went along. I have to confess I couldn’t resist trying some superb foie gras sprinkled with red wine-flavoured ‘sel de vin’ which was sensationally good with their late picked - but dry - Dernier Cueillette Chardonnay 2007.*

What Teisserenc referred to as ‘black pooding’ (aka boudin noir) was a pretty good match with their oddball Zinfandel ‘Z’ de l’Arjolle though the 2008 vintage was much lighter than the luxuriant 2007 I enjoyed earlier this year (which still seems to be available in Oddbins at £16.49).

But the pairing I think worked best was which the domaine has modelled on Banyuls. It's less sweet than port which I think worked particularly well with the salty Roquefort, just adding a nice touch of macerated cherry fruit. I'm sure it would be terrific with dark chocolate too.

Frustratingly the wine only seems to be available in France and Holland but I’d give Banyuls a try as an alternative.

* This is, I have to confess, the second time I’ve eaten foie gras recently, despite my resolution to give it up a couple of years ago. I can resist it on a menu - it's just hard when someone waves it under your nose. I just wish it wasn’t so delicious.

Roast chestnuts and Bernache

I’ve been in the Loire for the last two days enjoying a fascinating range of wines but the pairing that stood out for me was one I’d never come across before: roast chestnuts and Bernache.

Bernache is not strictly a wine at all but sweet semi-fermented grape juice - much as it tastes when it comes out of the tank. You can see an excellent description of how it’s made and drunk here.

We found the chestnuts lying round the base of a chestnut tree and couldn’t resist taking them back to our friends Jim* and Carol to roast in the embers of the fire. They even had an old chestnut roaster but despite that it took an age to get them properly roasted and the shells were hard to peel off. (I’ve since discovered that it helps if you put the chestnuts in a bag as you would to peel off the skins of roast peppers.)

That aside, the smoky chestnuts and the sweet grape juice made a lovely pairing. I’m not sure what I’d drink with roast chestnuts otherwise. A light sweet sparkler like a Clairette de Die or a Moscato d’Asti, maybe. Or a strong sweet beer like a barley wine. Oh, and if you have a foolproof method for roasting chestnuts let me know!

Jim, by the way, has an excellent wine blog, a must-read for anyone who wants to keep up to date with what’s happening in the Loire.

Smoked haddock and apple salad with New Zealand Riesling

I was overwhelmed with good wine pairings last week but given that quite a few were similar to ones I’ve written about before I’m making this my star match.

It was the starter at the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival supper - a terrific event laid on by the organisers of the event for the sponsors and speakers. I liked the fact that it was billed as a ‘supper’ rather than a ‘dinner’. Apart from the starter, which was plated up beforehand, the food was served family style down a huge long table (right). It made for a particularly relaxed and convivial evening.

East Anglia is known for its smoked fish so the starter was based on Pinney’s smoked haddock which was served raw like a carpaccio with local salad leaves, a julienne of apple and sour cream.

It was partnered with a crisp, dry Riesling from Forrest Wines which had a note of apple and citrus itself which matched the dish quite beautifully. (Riesling is generally good with smoked fish too). You can buy it from Adnams for £9.99 a bottle or £8.99 by the case.

The main course pairing was excellent too: an almost gamey beef and oyster pie with mash and braised red cabbage with elderberries, matched with a Domaine St Anne 2007 St Gervais, Cotes du Rhone Villages (also from Adnams at £15.99 a bottle.) Another good match to add to the Grenache list.