Three Special Cheeses & Wine

Also in North Carolina we have the Ashe County Cheese Company. They are artesian. They have great Cheddar...not the best but very good.

Ian Hoare wrote

I have tried the C-B, and granted in my post that it is excellent. I don't however, find Stilton to be impressive to other important blues, namely Roquefort and Cabrales (Spanish)...although Cabrales pales in terms of popularity.

Which 50%?...and that was the whole point of my post. It's unfair to bash something, in this case cheese, if only considering wine. It's like test driving a BMW off road, or a Jeep on a race track.

Actually, it is sarcasm. I happen to appreciate most cheeses. Following this comment was a ridiculously broad list of cheeses that I like. I don't, however, like semi-soft bloomy rind cheese. Which leads us to...

Camembert is not a chevre. Indeed, this would be an awful combo. I can't get that stuff here, anyway. FDA regulations prevent any raw milk cheese aged less than 60 days to be imported to the USA. I don't like that regulation at all.

A good excuse to get some. I think I have just the wine, if that is the case.

Indeed, I'll give you that one. But the good Roquefort blows even the C-B away. I'd take the C-B over Societe.

John

Although I've never tried Cabrales, I don't see how you can compare Stilton and Roquefort against each other. Although they are both "blue", they are totally different styles of cheese. Stilton is much sweeter and more buttery than Roquefort, which is quite sharp and somewhat drier. It's like trying to compare Cabernet with Pinot Noir. They can each be great, but they are never similar.

Tom S

Thank you, I was waiting for this post.

About Cabrales, it is the most different of all ;-)

Powerful, almost impossible to match to wine, it is best tried on its own. Wonderful.

Mike

I ate Cabrales every chance I got when I was in Spain - not a beginner's cheese. I think you need to be a real aficionado to enjoy it.

Had another cheese best left to the real cheese-hounds last night - Vacherin de Mont d'Or. In season, you can eat it with a spoon. A few days past it's prime, and you'd best bury it deep in the back yard to keep the dog from digging it up and rolling in it!

Wonderful stuff. Sounds like your leash is a bit too long...

Mike

Mike Tommasi wrote

I think Cabrales would overpower anything.

In terms of comparing blues, it is true that none of the three are alike. Some cheeses, such as the Loire chevres that I love so much, are similar enough to compare. In the case of blues, some stand out from the pack, and there is nothing else like them. If there is a wine like this, I don't know about it. So, what *would* one compare Stilton, Roquefort, or Cabrales to, or should they only be compared to other cheeses within their domain? And is it improper to make a statement such as "I prefer California red Zin to Haut-Medoc"? (I don't, BTW)? My goal here is not to provoke, but to poll.

John