Gruyère and 20 year old tawny port

Port and cheese is one of those combinations that hardly needs questioning but there are some variants on the theme that still have the ability to surprise as I discovered when I worked my way through a selection of Taylor's ports and Paxton & Whitfield cheeses the other day.

My favourite - partly because it’s one of my favourite styles - was a 20 year old tawny with a deeply savoury reserve (in other words, aged) Gruyère (bottom right) which brought out exotic quince notes in the wine. I also liked a salty Manchego which made the accompanying, slightly retiring 2002 Quinta de Vargellas port taste of Elvas plums.

As you’d expect a 10 year old tawny was a spot on match with a mature cheddar but more unexpectedly a very young ruby port (First Estate Reserve) went surprisingly well with a Bosworth ash log - like having a rich fruit compote on the side. The only combination I wasn’t really convinced by was a spicy 2010 late bottled vintage with a creamy Brillat-Savarin which needed a wine with more acidity.

Of course this is not typically the way you eat cheese - you’re much more likely to have a selection - and in my view the 10 year old tawny and late bottled vintage styles are the best all-rounders. But it does show that if you have a decent piece of Gruyère in the fridge you can nibble it as well as cook with it. Dry oloroso, as I discovered a few years ago, is also a good partner.

I was sent the ports and cheeses to try by Taylor's port and Paxton & Whitfield cheese.

Cheese fondue and Chasselas

I was beginning to think we’d managed to skip winter this year before last week’s icy blasts and snow came as a timely reminder we’ve got a good few weeks to go yet. So there’s still time to enjoy one of winter’s great favourites - a Swiss cheese fondue.

Fondue is one of the very few dishes where your choice of drink is critical. The worst thing you can do, according to a Swiss restaurateur I once interviewed, is to down several glasses of iced water which solidifies the cheese in your stomach and makes it indigestible. Red wine also doesn’t match well at all (the warm, slightly acid cheese accentuates its tannins).

Crisp dry fruity whites such as Chasselas from Switzerland or Chignin from Savoie are the best pairings - a refreshing counterpoint to the richness of the cheese though if you don’t have access to either of these you could pick a dry Pinot Grigio. Artisanal cider can also work very well particularly if the fondue is made from cider rather than the usual white wine. And a glass of chilled kirsch or other white eau de vie or grappa makes a welcome digestif at the end of the meal.