Jodi @tampawinewoman

Here’s what Ray Isle (of Food & Wine magazine) suggested today at http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/01/09/best-wines-for-grilled-cheese/:

American Cheese & White Bread
The classic. Shouldn’t be scoffed at, even by foodies, and never scoffed at by seven-year-olds, this ur-version of grilled cheese pairs mighty well with a rich California Chardonnay (the butter on the bread helps that along). Or give the grilled cheese to the seven-year-old and keep the Chardonnay for yourself. Either way. A pair of good choices: the pear-scented 2010 Bishop’s Peak ($14) and the citrusy 2009 Bridlewood ($12)

Cheddar & Bacon
The cheddar ups the sharpness and earthiness of the cheese, and the bacon just makes the whole thing better (of course). Red is the way to go, but not too heavy. Pinot Noir would be ideal, like the bright 2009 Poppy Pinot Noir from Monterey, CA (about $12) or the silky 2009 Wine by Joe Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley ($19), but any light- to medium-bodied red with reasonable acidity would work well: Beaujolais (made from the Gamay grape), Bardolino, a basic crianza Rioja.

Gruyère & Caramelized Onions
Nutty Gruyère and sweet caramelized onions. This is an excellent grilled cheese option, and the way to go wine-wise is Riesling. Off-dry – i.e. lightly sweet – whether from Germany, the Finger Lakes of New York, or Washington State. If you simply can’t stand the idea of lightly sweet Riesling, then open a dry one from any of those regions, or from Australia (dry Rieslings from its Clare and Eden Valleys are great realms to explore). The 2010 Urban from Germany’s St Urbans-Hof is a terrific option (about $11); so is the peachy 2009 Mercer Estate from Washington ($13).

Robiola & Mortadella
Funky, earthy Robiola and mortadella, the classic Italian cooked sausage with pistachios, cubes of tasty pork fat and black pepper, on toasted ciabatta, will transport you to Italy. And there you would be likely to order a tasty Dolcetto to go with this sandwich, or really any juicily flavorful, not-too-tannic red—Barbera would be great, too. Or you could do the same here: The berry-rish 2009 Cascina Bongiovanni Dolcetto ($17) would be ideal, as would be juicy 2009 Fontanafredda Briccotondo Barbera ($15).

This is definitely one of those types of posts where Twitter has preempted the discussion! There was a fast and funny back-and-forth there; I’ll try to capture some of the reactions here:

RT @JesseInDisguise: Nice work. How about Comte and Macle?

RT @trouty: Champagne… my answer for everything. RT @drvino: Grilled cheese: impossible food-wine pairing? http://j.mp/zYHdCw Thanks, @corkhoarder

RT @kel_russell: @JesseInDisguise @drvino @corkhoarder That’s what I told Bryan that night! Where’s the Jura!?

RT @corkhoarder: @JesseInDisguise @drvino oh, fo’sho!

RT @corkhoarder: @trouty @drvino Selosse and grilled cheese was my initial thought but modesty prevailed.

RT @JesseInDisguise: @drvino @trouty @kel_russell @corkhoarder These foods often work very well with crazy good wine. Krug & Nachos, Montrachet & Mac n Cheese…

RT @trouty: @drvino @jesseindisguise @kel_russell @corkhoarder I’m experimenting more w/ absurdly-expensive-wine-and-cheap-foods. Coche & Twinkies next?

RT @VictordelaSerna: @trouty @drvino @jesseindisguise @kel_russell @corkhoarder Why in heaven?

RT @corkhoarder: @VictordelaSerna @trouty @drvino @jesseindisguise @kel_russell precisely for heaven!

RT @VictordelaSerna: @corkhoarder @trouty @drvino @jesseindisguise @kel_russell Oh – you mean there’s heaven in, say, Yquem and Twinkies?

RT @JesseInDisguise: @VictordelaSerna @corkhoarder @trouty @drvino @kel_russell I’ve yet to go down that water slide, but it’s worth trying once I suppose.

RT @montesquieuwine: @trouty @drvino @jesseindisguise @kel_russell @corkhoarder Ha! A friend swears that pork rinds with 10+yr old Hermitage is fab!

RT @corkhoarder: @VictordelaSerna @trouty @drvino @jesseindisguise @kel_russell the road to heaven is paved in Twinkies & Yquem!

RT @montesquieuwine: @drvino @corkhoarder @trouty @jesseindisguise @kel_russell
Jean-François’ ears must be on fire right now!

RT @VictordelaSerna: @corkhoarder @trouty @drvino @jesseindisguise @kel_russell Then I’m hellbound for sure

RT @JesseInDisguise: @corkhoarder @trouty @drvino @kel_russell RE: Selosse and grilled chez…let’s score some Rolf Bieler swiss and see what happens?

RT @corkhoarder: @VictordelaSerna @trouty @drvino @jesseindisguise @kel_russell that road is all Cornas and deep fried pork belly #winwin

RT @corkhoarder: @montesquieuwine @trouty @drvino @jesseindisguise @kel_russell Hermitage & Pork rinds…I’ll try it and report back!

RT @VictordelaSerna: @corkhoarder @trouty @drvino @jesseindisguise @kel_russell That sounds a lot better than the Twinkies

RT @corkhoarder: @JesseInDisguise @trouty @drvino @kel_russell Sounds good to me! Where can we get the cheese?

RT @JesseInDisguise: @JesseInDisguise @corkhoarder @trouty @drvino @kel_russell Looks like Ideal has it: http://www.idealcheese.com/rolfbeelerreservegruyere.aspx

RT @JesseInDisguise: @corkhoarder @trouty @drvino @kel_russell I vote for @blueribbonnyc bread – their pullman loaf makes great sammies all around.

RT @kel_russell: @JesseInDisguise @corkhoarder @trouty @drvino Cheese sounds great.. Lately I’m partial to @FairwayMarket challah…SO good in #grilledcheese

RT @JesseInDisguise: @kel_russell @corkhoarder @trouty @drvino @FairwayMarket Sounds like we’ll be having more than one per person.

RT @invinumveritas: @JesseInDisguise @trouty @kel_russell @corkhoarder @drvino simple food is a blank canvas on which a great wine it’s free to express itself

RT @pawpawapps: @trouty @jesseindisguise @kel_russell @corkhoarder @drvino Champagne and Egg McMuffin goes pretty well.

RT @gvillewinebeer: @drvino I swear, when in doubt, go Rose — especially Tempranillo. Don’t know why, but it usually works.

RT @claffee: @drvino Krug and grilled cheese was how my wife and I celebrated our first anniversary a few years back – great #wine pairing!

BTW, is that really a grilled cheese in the photo? It does not look appetizing!