Wines & Cheeses with Liz Wheadon

Washed Rind Cheese

Some of my favourite cheeses in the world are washed rind cheese. They are surface ripened by washing the cheese through the cheese making process. Usually ripened with brine, but they can be ripened with beer, wine, brandy or a mixture of different things. The washing of the cheeses encourages the growth of bacteria on the outside of the cheese. The resulting rind may vary from orange to brown, be soft or quite a strong taste.
Washed rind cheeses can be made from raw or pasteurised milk, and in New Zealand pasteurised milk is used for Washed rind production. There’s a number of international cheese super stars in this style;

Italy

Taleggio
One of my favourite. It’s best to purchase and consume it quite quickly (which in fact is the best with all cheese, purchase what you need, buy regularly and let he experts store it). Taleggio is a washed rind cheese form Lombardy in Northern Italy, it is quite pungent, has strong meaty notes and is fantastic with fruity Italian reds. A favourite dish in our house is a caramalised onion tart with Taleggio on top.

France

Munster
The super star of Alsace, Muster is a perfect choice with Gewutrztraminer and Pinot Gris. Made from milk produced by cows living in the Vosges mountain range in Alsace. A little more delicate than Taleggio, it’s still not shy.
Raclette
Another brilliant French washed rind. Raclette is an excellent melting cheese and traditionally served melted over potatoes with cornichons and bread. A buttery, creamy washed rind cheese.
Pont l’Evêque
Pont L’Eveque is from Normandy in France, it’s a buttery rich washed ring with a delightful fruity under-current. An excellent match with Champagne and Riesling

Didas Takapuna, Victoria Park and Jervois all stock the washed rind cheese described here.

Alsace and the wonderful winemaking of Gisselbrecht

Whitestone Creamy Havarti Alsace is the wine growing region located in the North East of France, close to the German border. The region and its wines have been influenced historically by its neighbor. Alsace is one of France’s smallest, yet diverse wine growing areas. It’s extremely very long and narrow, stretching 50km along the border between France and Germany. On one side there’s the impressive Vosges mountains and to the east the Black Forrest. This protection on both sides leads to a sheltered microclimate producing some of the world’s best white wines.

Almost all wines from Alsace are aromatic whites ,and reds produced are made from the Pinot Noir grape. The sparkling wines from this area are known as Cremant d’ Alsace. The quality level ratings in Alsace are one of the easiest French classifications to understand, there’s AOC – for white, red, rose and one for sparkling then the top classification - Grand Cru.

AOC refers to the Appellation d’Origine Controlles – a classification that controls what can be planted where, and to an extent how it is produced. The Grand Cru classification is reserved for only 4% of the total production that comes off Grand Cru Classified vineyards, specific parcels that have been deemed to have this top rating.

The main Grape varietials in Alsace are Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Blanc. The style of wine from each varies greatly between producer, vineyard, year and type of wine. From the very dry to the very sweet, thankfully it’s becoming more common for producers to indicate on the label whether the wines are dry or with increasing sweetness.

There are approximately six thousand wine growers up and down this area, all very proud of their wines and their village. Each village is rated each year on its floral displays, and as you drive into the village the flowers star rating appears. In the tiny village of Damach la Ville, on the wine road, is the winery of Gisselbrecht. A family winery started in 1936 with Willy Gisselbrecht and is now run by the third generation – Claude Gisselbrecht. The family owns a domain of 17 hectares in some of the best vineyard land in the area. Gisselbrecht product a large range of outstanding wines including the traditional varietals, Cremant, Late Harvest, as well as Grand Crus from Frankstein and Muenchberg.

A must try this month is the Gisselbrecht Pinot Gris 2008, This is a great value wine; the nose offers floral, spice and crystallised fruit aromas that are echoed onto the beautifully focused and balanced palate. Brilliant with the washed rind cheese featured this month.