Comments on: Impossible food-wine pairing: Epoisses?!?

By: Rest Day: Mâcon | Les Vaches du Tour

Rest Day: Mâcon | Les Vaches du Tour — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 06:32:04 +0000

[...] made from the skins and seeds left after pressing grapes. There’s an interesting discussion here about selecting an appropriate wine match. This is definitely a case of “read the [...]

By: reader

reader — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 22:54:25 +0000

For what it’s worth, I just went to a wine and cheese pairing given by a U.S. representative of the French Cheese Club. She suggested Chablis or Sauternes with Epoisses.

By: Why Pair Food And Wine? | My Online Winery

Why Pair Food And Wine? | My Online Winery — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:36:20 +0000

[...] Impossible food-wine pairing: Epoisses?!? | Dr Vino’s wine blog [...]

By: Zoot

Zoot — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:50:29 +0000

While we’re picking on this article, the Epoisses in the photo looks too cold. It should be way more runny than that. My favorite cheese, and I do find it relatively difficult to pair. Not all pinot noirs will work with it.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:53:14 +0000

Agliote (Bouzeron) — when you’re done, flip the rind-lid back over the gooey center, wrap the round in soft cloth and drizzle a bit of the Agliote around it to keep the rind from drying out. And stick it back in its wooden container, just to be a good lad. (Many a chef, som and cheesemonger have identified this as the traditional method … and pairing, FWIW.)

By: Etty Lewensztain

Etty Lewensztain — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:58:50 +0000

I think Epoisses is actually one of the best cheeses to pair with wine provided you know what you’re doing. I love it with the Francois Pinon sparkling Vouvray or with a barnyardy, funky Gigondas or Vacqueyras from the Southern Rhone.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:42:30 +0000

There is an article/video on the Bordeaux Gold website with a Parisian affineur who mentions Sauternes as an option – yet to try that one myself…

By: wino

wino — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:24:57 +0000

Speaking of Sifton’s amateurish nature, how do you “run out a pound” of Epoisses when it comes in a roughly 8 oz wheel in this country and most of the time in France as well? It isn’t sold by weight, Sam, it is sold by the piece, and a piece ain’t even close to a pound.

By: S Essrig

S Essrig — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:21:57 +0000

Given many of Sifton’s completely off-base restaurant reviews in the NYTimes this is just another indication of his lack of taste and amateurish palate. Although there certainly are some red wine and cheese pairings that make sense, white is usually better and anything as pungent as Epoisses demands a powerful, preferably sweet white wine. With cheese, when in doubt, always go white.

By: John Gilman

John Gilman — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:35:03 +0000

I have never had any issues serving Epoisses with wine, and find it quite flexible as a wine pairing cheese. Of course, most of the wines in my own cellar tend to be higher acid wines- red and white Burgundy, rieslings, Beaujolais, Piemonte wines, Champagne, Loire reds and whites, so perhaps acidity is a key constituent for a seamless pairing of the cheese and a wine. But I have had it also work very well with old cabernets from California, aged red Bordeaux, classically-styled Rioja, old school Rhone wines and the like, so I do not believe that a higher acid profile is necessary for a good pairing with Epoisses. What is conspicuously absent from my cellar though is high alcohol wines (+14%), and perhaps the higher alcohol content of certain wines could cause a bit more of a discordant relationship between the wine and the Epoisses? In any event, I do not think that Epoisses is really a particularly strong cheese in terms of flavors- or at least there are several more steps up the flavor ladder of “stinky cheese” to be found in France- and I find that much of its assertiveness is in its bouquet and its quite salty character when it is at peak ripeness. I find that a higher acidity wine tends to generally work best to cut through the saltiness of ripe Epoisses, so this is the direction I tend to go- but I do this routinely with most food and wine pairings as I find acidity a key fundament to wine’s flexibility at the table.

By: Lisa Mattson, Jordan Winery Vlog

Lisa Mattson, Jordan Winery Vlog — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:37:49 +0000

I’ve approached Epoisses pairings the same way as Craig: red Burgundy, wines of the region. And I agree with David on the Meursault. I’ve loved Pommard and Meursault with Epoisses.
On my first trip to Burgundy in 1997, I brought a round of Epoisses back in my suitcase. The Customs agent’s dog went crazy as soon as the bag hit the carousel!
Seeing your post brought back some good memories.
Best,
Lisa
The Journey of Jordan: a wine and food video blog

By: Theo

Theo — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:14:40 +0000

The last time I was in Burgundy I visited probably ten producers from Beaujolais all the through to Chablis. Every single one of them served Epoisses, whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner (imagine a European being served BBQ for every meal when visiting the USA) with little care for the pairing. I don’t know if it was the moment, but ever Burgundy pairing seemed to work. On a side note: one producer had a six month old baby that must of weighed a hundred pounds. Everyone was amazed by the size of this baby and as the mother explains they have no idea why the baby is so big, we look over and the father is spoonfeeding it Epoisses.

By: web bond

web bond — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:04:29 +0000

The white Burg comment above is dead on, although I would recommend Epoisses paired with Grand Cru Chablis with body like Les Clos or Valmur.

By: jade

jade — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:18:35 +0000

Just did several wheels of Epoisses in the Mosel with Mosel Trocken Riesling. Very very good.

By: billy

billy — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:02:55 +0000

for my french chz & wine classes, we always pair a red burg from cote de nuits w/ a runny, sweating epoisses; always oohs & aahs