Dorset Blue Vinney and Bristol Supreme Sweet Sherry

This is the most interesting and original wine and cheese pairing of the four* I devised for my talks at the Bristol Wine and Food Fair over the weekend. I wanted to come up with a variation on the usual port and Stilton combo and this was it.

Dorset Blue Vinney, which was supplied by Chandos Deli in Bristol, is a lovely cheese that has been revived by Michael and Emily Davies at Woodbridge Farm in Dorset after falling into disuse (possibly because it is alleged that the cheese was originally blued by dunking old boots and bits of harness in the milk!) It’s creamier and less crumbly than a Stilton, slightly saltier - more like a Gorgonzola in taste and texture. A really delicious cheese.

With it I paired Avery’s Bristol Supreme Sweet Sherry, a gorgeous Spanish style oloroso sherry made for the company by one of the best sherry producers, Lustau, and an absolute snip at £7.29 for a full size bottle. Although it’s very sweet it’s not remotely cloying and the flavours - plump raisins, black treacle and Christmas cake - are so complex it makes the perfect foil for the cheese, one that you could accentuate by adding raisins, fresh Medjool dates, apricots and some grilled walnut bread to the cheese plate. One to remember for Christmas.

* The other pairings were Dorstone goats cheese with Avery’s Touraine Sauvignon Blanc, Berkswell sheeps’ cheese with 2001 Marques de Solariego Rioja Reserva and Keen’s Cheddar with Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Chile. All the wines came from Avery's and the cheeses from Trethowan's Dairy, both exhibitors at the show.

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