The All-American Cheese and Wine Book: Pairings, Profiles & Recipes

Nation's Restaurant News, May 5, 2003 by Michael Schrader

THE ALL-AMERICAN CHEESE AND WINE BOOK: Pairings, Profiles & Recipes, Laura Werlin, 334 pages, New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $37.50.

Werlin, a food columnist for the Contra Costa Times in Contra Costa, Calif., has produced this fine study of how cheese is made and how it can be paired with wine. It offers profiles of American cheese makers and wine makers and showcases recipes that feature cheese. According to Werlin, there are seven basic styles of cheese: fresh or soft, such as cottage cheese or ricotta; semisoft, such as Monterey Jack and Teleme; and also the soft-ripened varieties, such as Brie and Camembert. In addition, there are washed-rind cheeses like tallegio and Reblochon; semihard, like Gruyere; hard, like Cotija and Dry Jack; and blue, such as Gorgonzola.

This is an excellent tribute to the high quality of cheese making and wine making in the United States. Of the 50 profiles provided, 25 are wine makers, and 25 are cheese makers.

Perhaps the most groundbreaking portion of the book is the section devoted to matching cheese with wine. Both white wine and red wine, Werlin advises, can be teamed up with cheese, with these guidelines: pair textures of cheese and wine; pair light cheeses with light wines; pair cheese and wine with comparable flavors; and pair aged, mild cheese with older, milder wines.

The 55 recipes include cherry tomatoes with herbed goat cheese and shrimp, port-roasted grapes on blue-cheese toasts and Camembert with honey-rhubarb compote on French rolls.