Eric Breckoff, M.B.A. David Barrish, M.P.A., CHA October 26, 2007

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Eric Breckoff, M.B.A.David Barrish, M.P.A.,
CHA October 26, 2007

• Creating Memorable College Events

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Session Objectives
Discuss the types and origins of different cheeses in relation to particular applications. Discuss wine recommendations to create a symbiotic table of food and wine. Combine this knowledge to create memorable college events.
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• Cheese

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What is Cheese?

• Cheese is defined as a food product made from the
  pressed curd of milk.
• Cheese is thought of as a living food because of
  the friendly, living bacteria that are
  continually changing it.
• It is believed that sheeps and goats milk were
  first used to make cheese, as these were probably
  the first domesticated animals appropriate for
  milking.

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Cheese

• Wines, sausages, dried foods, and cheeses are all
  the results of preservation practices known to
  ancient peoples, then refined, recorded, and
  evolved over time
• The Bible includes numerous references to cheese
• The Romans were the first to mass-produce cheese
  to be carried on long journeys and used by their
  armies as a convenient form of concentrated
  nutrition.

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Cheese

• During the Dark Ages, the tradition of cheese
  making were preserved and refined by religious
  houses and monasteries, as were the traditions of
  wine and spirit making.
• Until the early to mid-1800s, cheese production
  continued on an individual home or cottage level

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Cheese Making

• The techniques used today to produce cheese have
  changed little since the times of the Romans and
  the medieval monasteries, but scientific
  discoveries have led to better control of the
  natural processes involved in cheese making.

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Cheese Making

• In the nineteenth century, scientists were able
  to identify the many bacteria present in the
  milk, the air, and the caves used for ripening.
• By the turn of the century, pure cultures were
  made available and allowed for more uniform
  results from cheese maker to cheese maker when
  producing cheese within a single variety.

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The Cheese-Making Process

• The basic stages in the modern production are
• Milk and its pretreatment, including
  homogenizing, pasteurizing, or heating
• Acidification of milk, to change the pH level

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Milk

• The type of milk the cheese maker chooses is
  critical to the development of the cheese. Not
  only are there different milks, there are also
  various ways to collect, combine, and treat milk.
  
• Parmigiano Reggiano, is traditionally made by
  combining the richer milk collected in the
  evening with the leaner milk of the next days
  first milking.

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Ripening

• Originally cheeses were aged in caves, where
  conditions were perfect for ripening to take
  place.
• Cheeses may be ripened in leaves, ashes, wax
  rinds, pr no rind at all.
• Some are rubbed or washed.
• In some cases, holes are made in the cheeses to
  allow gases produced by bacteria to escapes in
  others, the gases are confined Swiss cheese.

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Ripening

• Special addition bacteria cultures or molds are
  introduced in many cheeses by injecting,
  spraying, or washing them.
• Once these steps are done, the rest of the work
  is left to nature.

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Cheese Classifications

• There are several categories by which they can be
  referenced. Milk type, country of origin,
  region, handling, aging, and texture are some of
  the various classification strategies.
• For the sake of discussion, broad groups of
  cheese that have been loosely categorized
  according to texture.

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The basic cheese categories

• Fresh
• Rind-ripened
• Semi-soft
• Blue cheeses
• Pasta filata
• Hard
• Very Hard

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Soft Fresh Cheeses

• Soft fresh cheeses are those cheeses that are
  un-ripened and generally have a fresh, clean,
  creamy flavor. Examples of soft fresh cheeses
  are cottage cheese, queso blanco, and cream
  cheese.
• Ricotta cheese, made from recooking whey,
  actually began in Italy as a by-product of the
  cheese-making industry.
• Mascarpone is a fresh cheese made by curdling
  heavy cream with acid.

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Soft Ripened Cheeses

• Soft ripened cheeses are those that have
  typically been sprayed or dusted with a mold and
  allowed to ripen. Two most popular varieties are
  probably Brie and Camembert.
• Soft ripened cheeses are available in varying
  degrees of richness. Single, double, and triple
  cream cheese have 50, 60, 70 percent butterfat,
  respectively.
• Soft ripened cheeses can be served at room
  temperature as a dessert cheese or as an
  appetizer.

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Soft Ripened Cheeses

• Soft ripened cheeses should be eaten only when
  properly ripened. An under-ripe cheese will run
  when cut, and a cheese ready for eating will
  bulge when cut and barely hold its shape.
• Soft ripened cheeses will ripen only until they
  are cut into. After that they will begin to dry
  and deteriorate. An overripe cheese can be
  identified by an ammonia odor.
• It still remains a matter of taste as to whether
  soft ripened cheeses should be eaten with the
  rind.

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Semi-Soft Cheeses

• Semi-soft cheeses include a wide variety ranging
  from mild and buttery to very pungent and
  aromatic.
• These include Havarti, Edam, Gouda, Fontina,
  Port Salut.
• They are allowed to ripen in several ways.

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Rind-Ripened Cheeses

• Wash-rind cheeses are periodically washed with
  brine, beer, cider, wine, brandy, or oils during
  the ripening period.
• This remoistening encourages bacterial growth,
  sometimes known as smear. Popular examples of
  this type of cheese include Limburger, intensely
  pungent, Muenster, Saint Paulin, and Port-Salut.

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Dry-Rind Cheeses

• Dry-rind cheeses are those that are allowed to
  form a natural rind during ripening.
• Havarti, another popular dry-rind cheese, has a
  buttery flavor that is often enhanced with herbs
  or spices such as dill, caraway, and basil.

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Waxed-Rind Cheeses

• Gouda and Edam are semi-soft cheeses that are
  sealed in wax prior to the aging process.
• These cheeses, which get their names from two
  towns in Holland, have been made for eight
  hundred years.
• Gouda is made form whole milk and tends to be
  softer and richer than Edam.

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Blue-Veined Cheeses

• Blue or blue-veined cheeses are thought to have
  been among some of the first cheeses produced.
• In the modern production of blue cheeses, needles
  are used to form holes that allow gases to escape
  and oxygen to enter to support mold growth within
  the cheese.
• Some of the most famous blue cheeses are the
  French Roquefort, Italian Gorgonzola, English
  Stilton, and American Maytag blue.

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Blue-Veined Cheeses

• Roquefort is made strictly from raw sheeps milk.
  
• One of the things that makes Roquefort unique is
  the fact that the mold is not grown in a
  laboratory, as are molds for many other blue
  cheeses.
• Instead, Roquefort mold is developed naturally
  from rye bread.

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Blue-Veined Cheeses

• Gorgonzola is made from cows milk.
• Gorgonzola is made with evening milk and the
  following days morning milk.
• There are two varieties available sweet, which
  is aged three months, and naturale, which is
  aged further and has a fuller, more robust
  flavor.

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Pasta Filata Cheeses

• Pasta filata literally means spun curds or
  spun paste. During manufacture, the curds are
  dipped into hot water and then stretched or spun
  until the proper consistency and texture is
  achieved.
• They are then kneaded and molded into the desired
  shapes.
• Pasta filata cheeses are group of cheese that are
  related by the process used in their manufacture,
  rather than by their texture.
• The textures of pasta filata cheeses run the
  gamut from soft to hard.

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Pasta Filata Cheeses

• The most common cheese of this category is
  mozzarella. There are two types of mozzarella
  available the traditional fresh style, which is
  available in a variety of shapes and sizes, and
  the newer American invention of low-moisture
  mozzarella, which has a longer shelf life than
  the fresh style.

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Pasta Filata Cheeses

• Provolone is another popular pasta filata cheese
  that is similarly handled but is made with a
  different culture. Once the curd is stretched
  and kneaded, it is rubbed with brine and tied
  into shape. It is then hung and left to dry in.
  Provolone is often smoked and/or aged additional
  character and firmer texture.

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Hard Cheeses

• Cheddars, originating in England, and Swiss-style
  cheeses are among the most well known.
• Cheddar derives its name from the process used in
  its manufacture. The cheddaring process
  involves turning and stacking the slabs of young
  cheese to extract more whey and give the cheese
  its characteristic texture.
• The yellow color of some cheddars is achieved
  through the addition of annatto seed paste and
  had nothing to do with the flavor.

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Hard Cheeses

• Once the cheddaring process is complete, the
  cheeses are wrapped in cheesecloth dipped in wax
  allowed to ripen. Cheddars are categorized by
  age.
• Current Cheddar is aged for thirty days, mild for
  one to three months, medium for three to six
  months, sharp for six to nine months, and extra
  sharp for nine months to five years.
• Colby is another truly American cheese that was
  invented in the town of Colby, Wisconsin, in
  1874.

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Hard Cheeses

• Monterey Jack is also an American original
  produced in the style of Cheddar.
• The family of cheese generically referred to as
  Swiss are also hard cheeses. Are characterized
  by holes, sometimes called eyes, that range in
  size from tiny to the size of a quarter.
• Some of the more well-known varieties of Swiss
  cheese include Gruyéer, Emmentaler, Beaufort, and
  Jarlsberg.

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Very Hard Cheeses

• In Italy, these cheeses are known as grainy
  cheeses, because of their granular texture. The
  most popular of these cheeses are Parmesan and
  Romano.
• Very hard cheeses are most often grated or
  shaved, but they are also traditionally eaten in
  chunks broken off with a special knife.

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Very Hard Cheeses

• True Parmigiano-Reggiano require it is be aged a
  minimum of fourteen months, although most are
  aged for twenty-four months. Stratvechio, or
  extra aged, is ripened for as much as three
  years.
• Romano cheeses-named for the city of Rome.
  Pecorino Romano is made with sheeps milk.
  Caprino Romano is very sharp goats milk version,
  and vacchino Romano is a mild version made from
  cows milk.

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Presenting the Cheeses

• Cheeses should be allowed to come to room
  temperature before they are served.
• This process, known as aromatization, brings out
  the fullest flavor of the cheese, so that all its
  nuances can be enjoyed.

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Caring for Cheeses

• Storage and Handling
• It is critical to maintain the highest standards
  in sanitations during handling activities.
  Cheese may be a potentially hazardous food, it
  handled improperly.
• If cheeses become unnaturally moldy, it should be
  discarded.

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Partners Accompaniments for cheeses

• Three types of foods have a natural affinity for
  cheese wine or beer, bread and bread variations
  such as crackers, and fruits.
• Wine, particularly tannic wine, offers a perfect
  counterpoint to the richness of cheese because
  the acidic quality of wine cuts through the
  butterfat.
• The sweet juiciness of many fruits also pair well
  with the earthy richness of cheeses. Classic
  examples include apples and Cheddar or pears and
  blue cheese.

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Wine
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Types of Wines

• Still wine
• Effervescent wine
• Table wine
• Aperitif wine
• Dessert wine
• Port
• Fortified wine

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Introduction

• Wine has been an integral part of the human
  experience for nearly 70 centuries.
• Wine is the result of the fermentation of juice
  from grapes.
• Fermentation is a natural process that acts to
  stabilize grape juice and allow it to be stored
  as wine for later consumption.
• The alcohol in wine that is produced by
  fermentation also prevents the growth of
  pathogenic microorganisms.

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The History of Wine

• Wine was first consumed in the areas of Persia
  (modern day Iran) around 5000 to 6000 BC.
• Though the exact nature of the wine is uncertain,
  it was probably made from dates or other tree
  fruits native to the region rather than grapes.
• Around 3000 BC, winemaking from grapes began with
  the Egyptians and the Phoenicians producing wines
  from grapes.

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The Twentieth Century

• Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, wine production
  and consumption grew at an increasing pace.
• In America producers began naming their wines
  after the grape varieties they were made of
  (e.g., Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay) instead
  of following the common practice of using French
  geographic names, such as Burgundy or Chablis, to
  identify their wines.

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Globalization

• In Europe, the lesser known regions of southern
  France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Hungary, and even
  the former countries of the Eastern Block are now
  making wines that are on par with those of some
  of the best traditional growing regions.
• In the United States, New York, Washington,
  Oregon, Virginia, and Texas are now recognized
  wine producers.
• Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina,
  Hungary, and South Africa have also become known
  for producing wines of excellent value.

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Grapes Used for Winemaking

• Grapes are the preferred fruit for wine
  production.
• Grape juice has all the attributes necessary for
  fermenting the juice.
• The outside of the grape berry is covered with a
  waxy layer that contains naturally occurring
  yeast.
• The great majority of wine produced in the world
  is from grapes.

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Vitis vinifera

• There are many indigenous species of grapes
  worldwide, but the overwhelming majority of wine
  produced is from the species Vitis vinifera.
• This species is native to Asia Minor.
• Within the species Vitis vinifera there are over
  5,000 named cultivars only a fraction are grown
  commercially.
• Grapevines can be propagated by using cuttings to
  form a separate vine that is a clone of the
  original vine.

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Terroir

• Terroir is the French term to describe all the
  environmental factors that nature imparts to a
  given vineyard.
• Terroir is a holistic philosophy and relates to
  all the properties of the soil, topography, and
  all the climatic conditions.
• The concept of terroir is not only having the
  proper environment to grow grapes but also
  matching the variety and vineyard management to
  suit the terroir.

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Major Grape Varieties

• Although there are thousands of varieties of
  Vitis vinifera that are grown for winemaking,
  only a few make up the vast majority of
  production.

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Barbera

• Barbera produces intensely colored, tart wines
  with moderate tannins.
• It is native to the Piedmont region of Italy.
• The grapes tendency to hold on to its acid in
  warm climates made it popular as a blender in
  wines from warm areas.
• Interest in growing premium Italian varietals
  have led to increased plantings in the coastal
  growing regions in California.

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Cabernet Franc

• From the Bordeaux and Loire regions of France.
• Has small berries and loose to compact clusters.
  Related to Cabernet Sauvignon, it typically
  produces wines with less complexity and lighter
  tannins and color than its relative does.
• It is most often used for blending with Cabernet
  Sauvignon and Merlot in a Bordeaux-style blend.

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Cabernet Sauvignon

• The classic variety of Bordeaux, it is one of the
  most popular varieties grown worldwide.
• It is a late season ripener with loose clusters
  and thick-skinned berries that make it resistant
  to rot.
• It is known for its excellent color and tannins
  combined with complex flavor.
• In 1997 DNA research determined that Cabernet
  Sauvignon is a cross between Cabernet Franc and
  Sauvignon Blanc.
• While 100 percent of Cabernet Sauvignons are
  often made with great success, blending with
  other Bordeaux varieties makes a more balanced
  and complex wine.

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Chardonnay

• One of the best known white varieties, Chardonnay
  comes from the Burgundy and Chablis regions of
  France.
• It is a mid-season ripener allowing it to be
  grown in cool regions.
• A versatile variety can be made in a number of
  styles.
• Chardonnays popularity resulted in extensive
  planting in California throughout the 1980s and
  1990s.

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Chenin Blanc

• Chenin Blanc is native to the Loire Valley of
  France.
• It is a prodigious producer and adapts well to a
  number of different soils and climates.
• It is popular throughout the world, although in
  most areas outside of France it is considered a
  simple grape and used for making inexpensive
  wines.
• Usually made into a clean, crisp, wine with a
  minimum of oak aging, it can be made in either
  sweet or dry styles.

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Gewürztraminer

• Gewürztraminer is a white grape, but unlike other
  white varieties, it turns a deep russet color at
  ripeness instead of staying green or yellow.
• Cool growing conditions help to bring out the
  distinct floral-spicy aroma for which the variety
  is famous.
• Gewürztraminer makes a delicious dry wine
  however, it is best known for it sweeter styles
  including late harvest dessert wines.

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Grenache

• Grenache is the most popular grape in the
  Southern Rhône Valley, where it is the mainstay
  of the Rhône blend Châteauneuf du Pape.
• It has ripe, fruity, plum-like flavors with
  moderate tanninsqualities that make it useful
  for blending with Syrah, which can be more
  tannic.
• It thrives under warm growing conditions and can
  support a large cropload on fertile soils.
• In cooler areas with a lighter crop, it produces
  much better wine.

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Merlot

• Merlot is from the Bordeaux region where it is
  sometimes made into a wine by itself, but more
  often is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon.
• It has similar flavors to Cabernet but has a
  softer mouth feel and gets ripe earlier in the
  season.
• Merlots have become popular because the good
  flavors and the lighter body make it more
  approachable with novice wine drinkers.
• Its consumer acceptance has made it one of the
  most widely planted grapes in California. Its
  success has led to overplanting.

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Muscat Blanc

• Also called Muscat Canelli, it is a member of the
  Muscat family of grapes.
• There are more than 200 different varieties of
  Muscat with varying skin color and flavor.
• It has a distinct Muscat aroma that is
  described as intensely fruity and floral.
• It can be made in a variety of styles from a
  light-bodied and dry table wine to a fortified
  dessert wine.

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Petite Sirah

• Called Durif in France, it is descended from a
  cross between Syrah and Peloursin.
• Petite Sirah has found a great deal of popularity
  in California.
• It makes a deeply colored, full-bodied wine with
  lots of fruity aromas.
• While it makes an excellent varietal wine, it is
  often blended with other reds, particularly
  Zinfandel.

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Pinot Blanc

• Known as Pinot Bianco in Italy and Weissburgunder
  in Germany and Austria, it is a green-skinned
  clone of Pinot Gris.
• Pinot Blanc does best in cool areas and has
  flavors that are similar to Chardonnay, but more
  delicate in nature.
• In Europe, it is generally used to make crisp,
  light-bodied wines with a minimum of oak aging.
• In California, a riper style is produced with
  more body and often more oak.

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Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio

• This is known as Pinot Gris in France and Pinot
  Grigio in Italy.
• The parent of Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris itself is
  mutated from the red variety Pinot Noir.
• Although it produces a white wine, the clusters
  have a light pinkish/brown color.
• It is an early season ripener and is popular in
  cool regions with short growing seasons.
• It is currently one of the fastest growing
  varieties in America in terms of consumption, due
  to imports as well as new plantings.

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Pinot Noir

• The primary grape of Burgundy, it has a
  reputation for producing excellent, long-aging
  wines.
• It also has a reputation for being both difficult
  to grow and make into wine.
• Pinot Noir has many clones, from those that are
  suited to sparkling wine production to Burgundy
  clones for table wine.
• It ripens early and does best in cool conditions.
  
• It is a delicate wine and must be treated very
  gently at the winery so that the balance and
  flavor is not lost.

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Riesling

• Called White Riesling or Johannisberg Riesling in
  the United States, it is the most famous variety
  grown in Germany.
• Riesling is similar in character to
  Gewürztraminer.
• In cool areas, the fruity qualities and tart acid
  that the grape is known for are preserved.
• It can be made in a number of styles from dry,
  tart table wines to sweet dessert wines.
• In the 1970s it was the most expensive grape
  grown in California however, it fell out of
  favor as the public started to drink more dry
  wines.

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Sangiovese

• Sangiovese is the classic grape of the Tuscany
  region and is the major variety in Chianti wines.
  
• The varietys thin-skinned berries leave it
  vulnerable to rain and high temperatures at
  ripeness, and it can sometimes have light color.
  
• It produces tart wines with medium body and
  cherry flavors.
• Sangioveses do well on their own or blended with
  other red varieties such as Merlot or Cabernet
  Sauvignon.

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Sauvignon Blanc

• Sauvignon Blanc, also known as Fumé Blanc, grows
  vigorous vines that produce tight clusters of
  thin-skinned berries.
• The thin skins make it very susceptible to rot.
• It has a distinct varietal aroma that runs a
  spectrum that includes vegetative, grassy,
  gooseberry, and melon.
• When grown under cool conditions, the varietal
  character can become very intense.
• The classic white variety of the Graves district
  in France, it has also found acclaim in New
  Zealand and California.

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Tempranillo

• The dominant grape used in Rioja wines of Spain
  and widely planted in Argentina, Tempranillo has
  vigorous vines that ripen early in the season and
  produce thick-skinned berries.
• It makes an intense wine with excellent color and
  tannins, and its aroma typically has notes of
  strawberries and plums with earthy overtones.
• It is also grown in Portugal where it is known as
  Tinta Roriz.

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Viognier

• From the Rhône region, this distinctive grape is
  difficult to grow and has low yielding vines.
• It makes a relatively low acid wine with very
  intense tropical and floral fragrances.
• Sometimes it is blended with other varieties to
  add structure and tone down the strong aromas.
• It is becoming increasingly popular in
  California, but is still not widely planted.

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Zinfandel

• Native to Europe, Zinfandel is best known in
  California.
• Recent DNA analysis has determined it to be the
  Croatian variety Crljenak Kastelanski.
• In Croatia only twenty vines were found to be
  still in production.
• It has large, thin-skinned clusters that have a
  tendency to become overripe in hot weather,
  resulting in a high alcohol wine that has a
  raisiny character.
• It makes a full-bodied wine with blackberry and
  pepper flavors and light tannins.

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Sparkling Wine

• Sparkling wine is defined as wine with bubbles or
  effervescence.
• It was developed in the Champagne region of
  France in the 1700s, and was the result of two
  seventeenth-century winemaking inventions the
  cork and the wine bottle.

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Dryness vs. Sweetness

• Extra-brut
• Brut
• Extra-dry
• Sec
• Semi-sec
• Doux

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Dessert and Fortified Wines

• There are multitudes of unique dessert and
  fortified wines that are produced throughout the
  world.
• Dessert wines are made with appreciable sugar and
  often have higher alcohol to stabilize the wine
  and prevent it from fermenting in the bottle.

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Dessert and Fortified Wines (continued)

• Dessert wines are an excellent dessert in
  themselves as a digestive after a meal, or they
  can be a complement to a sweet dessert course.
• We examine the production methods used in some of
  the most common types of dessert wines
  late-harvest, Port, and Sherry.

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Late-Harvest Wines

• Late-harvest wines are made from grapes picked at
  a much higher sugar level than those for table
  wines.
• They achieve this higher level of sugar
  concentration due to the fruit partially
  dehydrating on the vine.
• This high sugar means that the yeast will have a
  difficult time fermenting due to the combined
  inhibitory effects of alcohol and sugar
  concentration.
• When the fermentation eventually stops without
  finishing, a microbial stable, sweet wine is
  produced.

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Late-Harvest Wines (continued)

• This dehydration is increased by an infection of
  a mold that is usually considered a vineyard
  pest, Botrytis cinerea or noble rot.
• This mold is a common problem in vineyards and is
  normally discouraged by applying sulfur dust.
• Under the right conditions, it has the ability to
  make some of the worlds best wines.

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Late-Harvest Wines (continued)

• The Botrytis begins its infection when ripe
  grapes are exposed to high humidity.
• When wet weather is followed by dry warm weather,
  the berries dehydrate to reach the high sugar
  levels needed.
• Two excellent examples of this are the
  Trockenbeerenauslese, or TBA, of Germany and the
  Sauternes wines of France.

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Late-Harvest Wines (continued)

• Late-harvest grapes, because of the high solids
  and sugar, are notoriously difficult to press and
  ferment.
• The unique weather conditions that are required,
  combined with the difficulty of their production,
  make late-harvest wines both rare and expensive.
• Late harvest wines can also be made without the
  growth of Botrytis cinerea.

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Late-Harvest Wines (continued)

• Wines that are made from frozen grapes are called
  Eiswein or ice wine.
• As the water in the berries freezes, the
  remaining juice is concentrated.
• The pressing is done slowly, and as the juice is
  removed from the grapes, some of the water in the
  berries remains behind as ice.
• Thin-skinned varieties like Zinfandel will
  shrivel up in hot weather and concentrate without
  the presence of mold.

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Port-Style Wines

• Port wines are full-bodied red wines with about
  10 percent sugar and 20 percent alcohol
• They are native to the gorge of the Douro River
  in northern Portugal.
• Historically in this region brandy was added to
  red wine to stabilize it for export.

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Port-Style Wines (continued)

• After a time the practice of adding the brandy in
  the middle of fermentation was developed.
• This had the effect of killing the yeast while
  the must was still quite sweet.
• Because a deeply red wine with lots of tannins is
  desired for Port, and the time of the
  fermentation is limited, winemaking practices are
  designed to maximize extraction from the skins.

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Sherry-Style Wines

• Sherry originated in Spain, and like Port, it is
  produced in a variety of styles.
• The Spanish have a saying that there is a Sherry
  for every occasion.
• This reflects the wide range of sherries from
  light and dry table wines to the more common rich
  and sweet dessert wines.

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Sherry-Style Wines (continued)

• The defining characteristic of Sherry is that it
  is purposely oxidized, making it high in
  acetaldehyde.
• This gives Sherry wines their distinctive roasted
  nut aroma.
• Sherry was once the most popular wine in America
  however, in recent years its consumption has
  declined significantly.

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Sherry-Style Wines (continued)

• The flavor of sherry is produced during the aging
  process, so a fairly neutral wine is desired as a
  base for Sherry.
• Sherry production starts by fermenting the base
  wine to dryness and an alcohol content of about
  15½ percent.
• After vinification, the wines are graded by
  color, taste, and body to determine which type of
  Sherry they will be used to make.

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Sherry-Style Wines (continued)

• The lighter wines are inoculated with flor yeast
  and called fino or manzanilla.
• The more full-bodied wines are fortified with
  brandy to 20 percent alcohol and called oloroso.
  
• The wines are then placed in partially full
  barrels to expose the wine to oxygen.

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Sherry-Style Wines (continued)

• The traditional method of aging Sherry is done in
  a fractional barrel system called a solera.
• Soleras are set up in 5 to 12 tiers of barrels.
• Once a year, one-quarter of the wine on the
  bottom level is removed for bottling.
• It replaced by one-quarter of the wine in the
  next highest tier.
• This process goes on until one-quarter of the
  wine in the top tiers is moved to the next level
  to make room for the wine from the new vintage.

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Wine and Food

• When done properly, the marriage of wine and food
  is a mutually beneficial relationship.
• In analytical tasting, wines are tasted by
  themselves so that one can concentrate on their
  flavors and aromas.
• In the study of food and wine pairing, the
  opposite is trueindividual foods and wines are
  matched together so that their flavors complement
  each other.

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Wine and Food (continued)

• A few basic principles will aid consumers and
  wine servers alike in selecting what type of wine
  is best suited to accompany a meal.
• Wine can serve to freshen the pallet a sip of
  wine between bites of food will help to cleanse
  the aftertaste of the food out of the mouth and
  make your senses ready to fully appreciate
  another mouthful.

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Basic Guidelines for Pairing Wine and Cheeses

• Rich cheeses are complemented by full-bodied
  wines.
• Light-bodied cheeses are complemented by
  light-bodied wines.
• Fresh cheeses accentuate the perception of acid
  and are best paired with wines that are slightly
  sweeter than the cheese.

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Basic Guidelines for Pairing Wine and Cheeses
(continued)

• Complex cheeses with intricate flavors go best
  with simple wines conversely, wines with complex
  flavors go best with simple cheeses.
• Salt in cheese decreases the perception of
  bitterness and astringency in wine.

85
Preserving Open Bottles of Wine

• A critical factor to consider is preserving the
  opened bottles of wine.
• Once a bottle of wine is opened, it begins a
  steady, often rapid decline due to the action of
  oxygen.
• In some cases, the whole bottle is poured
  relatively quickly and this is not of major
  concern.

86
Preserving Open Bottles of Wine

• Vacuum systems are available for both home and
  restaurants that pump the air out of the bottle.
• Commercial versions of these vacuum pump systems
  are more efficient at removing oxygen from the
  bottle.
• The stoppers are placed into the tops of the
  opened bottles of wine and the bottle is held up
  to the electric pump.
• In a matter of seconds, the pump removes the air
  from the bottle and creates a vacuum seal capable
  of preserving the wine.

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Q A