Cheese The Day!

Cheese The Day!

Santa Barbara County’s Wine, Cheese, and Culinary Experts Come Together to Sip, Savor, and Share Their Knowledge

By Michael Delgado | Photos by Ingrid Bostrom | September 4, 2024

Three winemakers and three chefs walk into a cheese shop …

This sounds like the start of a joke, but it recently happened in a special event produced exclusively for the Independent. Owners Michael and Kathryn Graham invited well-known vintners to bring their wines and top chefs to bring their culinary acumen to Cheese Shop Santa Barbara, where they would sample cheeses from all around the world and spectacular wines for an investigation of the best cheese pairings. 

Culinary participants included Lucky’s Executive Chef Rene Gonzalez, Caruso’s at the Rosewood Miramar Chef de Cuisine Shibani Mone, and bouchon Executive Chef Vicken Tavitian. Winemakers were Doug Margerum of Margerum Wines, James Sparks of Kings Carey, and G. Khan Wines proprietor Roy Kim. 

The format of the evening was that with each wine served, the vintners gave an overview and then the chefs chimed in with dishes from their menus that would pair well. Together with the vintners, the chefs suggested potential cheeses. The Grahams served up either the exact cheese the guests requested or cheeses with adjacent profiles, as well as some of their own pairing suggestions. After tasting, winemakers and chefs selected the cheese that best fit the wine’s flavor profile. The evening progressed in that order through six wines and 19 types of cheese.

Winemaking Terms Cheat Sheet

acidity: the liveliness and crispness in a wine. Sounds good for a hot summer day, no?

aeration: the deliberate addition of oxygen to round out and soften a wine. Everything goes better with more oxygen.

appellation: a legally defined region known to produce fine wine. 

balance: a term for when the elements of wine – acids, sugars, tannins, and alcohol – come together in a harmonious way. 

extraction: the process of pulling important components like tannins, acids and aromatics from the skin, pulp, seeds and (if used) stems of ripe grapes into a liquid. 

lees: sediment consisting of dead yeast cells, grape pulp, seed, and other grape matter that accumulates during fermentation. It’s the stuff at the bottom of the fermentation tank.

oak/oaky: tasting term denoting smells and flavors of vanilla, baking spices, coconut, mocha, or dill caused by barrel-aging.  A description often associated with California chardonnays, sometimes not in a good way.

oxidation: this happens when a wine’s exposure to air triggers a series of chemical reactions that convert ethanol into alcohol. Oxidation can be responsible for the flat taste of wine that’s past its drinking window, but it can also be the element that unlocks the array of flavors and colors. Open-tank fermentation, pumping over, racking and stirring the lees are all processes that introduce oxygen into a wine. There’s also oxidative aging, which includes any wine that’s spent time in a porous vessel like a wood barrel and/or bottled with a cork. 

punch downs: push down the grapes, stems and seeds in the vat during the fermentation process. Think foot stomping or using a masher like tool.

sybarite: a person devoted to pleasure and luxury. 

tannins: a type of bitter and astringent chemical compound that belongs to a larger group called polyphenols. Tannins bind with other proteins, including those in human saliva, they create a
characteristic astringent, mouth-coating sensation in the mouth. 

terroir: the aggregate characteristics of the environment in which a food or wine is produced, including regional climate, soil, and topography. Location, Location, Location!

varietal: refers to specific types of grapes like chardonnay, semillion or cabernet sauvignon.  

This list was compiled from a number of wine glossaries available online. For further information on wine terminology, see sites such as wineenthusiast.com, winefolly.com, and winespectator.com.

The Results: Whites

Kings Carey, Semillon

Semillon can be sweet and fruity or light and delicate. Sparks — who makes wine not just for his own label and the G. Khan labels we sampled, but also for Liquid Farm — uses a minimalist approach. Sparks picks slightly underripe grapes from the Star Lane Vineyard in Happy Canyon and ferments in barrels full of lees, which adds to richness and creaminess. From this delicate balancing act, he produces a crisp wine with both low acidity and depth.

Both Mone and Tavitian selected a burrata. Tavitian thought bouchon’s burrata and tiger figs on fresh greens would be a perfect pairing. The Grahams selected Sofia, a goat’s-milk cheese covered in vegetable ash from Capriole Farms in Indiana, one of the first artisan creameries in the U.S. Michael’s choice of a Marcel Petite comté (aged 20 months) hit the sweet spot between a younger and older comté and delivered a not-too-soft, not-too-sharp creaminess with almond notes.

First Choice: Burrata
Second Choice: Marcel Petite Comté and Sofia tied

Margerum, Sybarite Sauvignon Blanc

After 35 years as a leader in the Santa Barbara food and wine community, Margerum hardly needs an introduction. Since starting his label in 2001, his mission to return winemaking to its handcrafted and personal roots has propelled Margerum Wines to worldwide recognition. Sauvignon blanc was the first wine Margerum made, and this batch is his 24th vintage. A big fan of wines from the Loire Valley in France, particularly Sancerre, Margerum explained that unlike a Sancerre, this sauvignon blanc does not have a burnt ash flavor because he antioxidizes the sulfur using lees and carbon dioxide, leaving the wine in very turbid state.

Margerum opined that everything sounds better in French. “To stir the lees is bâtonnage; to make wine is élevage, which means [to] raise wine and bring it up into the bottle. Ripening cheese is affinage, which means the art of ripening, because as with wine, you also have to put cheese in different environments.” 

The élevage and bâtonnage in this case results in a wine that is very bright, very fresh, and very citrusy, with grapefruit and lemongrass notes. Like the semillon, Sybarite is from Happy Canyon, a place where the soil is so low in nutrients it causes the grapes to be reductive, meaning they deliver savory flavors. As Margerum explained, “savory” used to be described as “minerally,” but there are no minerals in wine. Happy Canyon is packed with magnesium, boron, iron, granite, and serpentine. In contrast, wines from high nutrient soils, such as in Napa Valley, use grapes that will ferment very quickly and can result in wines that may be heavier, oak-laced, and buttery.

Michael and Kathryn selected Crottin, a classic French-style goat cheese from Andante Creamery, and Humboldt Fog, a creamy goat’s-milk cheese from Cypress Grove — both relatively local cheese makers. Kathryn noted that sauvignon blanc in France is made in the same area where the premier goat’s-milk cheeses are made. A fine goat is a classic terroir pairing with sauvignon blancs. “What grows together, goes together” is an old rule of thumb that still holds up.

First Choice: Humboldt Fog
Second Choice: Crottin

G. Khan, Chardonnay

Kim hand-picks and sorts whole clusters of fruit from MarFarm, an organically farmed vineyard in the Edna Valley. Mone remarked that this chardonnay was “lovely” and admitted that she finds that the usual California chardonnays can be challenging because “all you taste is oak, making them difficult to pair.” Tavitian thought his papaya salad, a high-acid, lightly spiced dish, would work well. Mone thought of abalone with saffron.  

Because the G. Khan chardonnay was much lighter and brighter than a typical chardonnay, the Grahams offered a wide range of cheeses, including an aged Rolf Beeler Gruyère from Switzerland, a British cheddar, a British Stilton, and a French triple cream.

Unlike most Gruyère found in supermarkets, the Beeler has a nuttiness and a bit of a crunch due to the milk proteins (not salt), which crystallize with time — the sign of a well-aged cheese, they explained. Montgomery’s cheddar from Somerset is a handmade, raw-milk cheese made from Friesian cows that is rich and nutty in flavor with a crumbly texture. Colston Bassett Stilton is considered the most traditional British bleu and is hand ladled to produce an exceptionally rich and creamy cheese that is earthy but still smooth and not sharp. St. Félicien, Tentation is a triple-cream and aged six weeks, during which it develops a bloomy rind and thick, creamy paste. The addition of cream adds a layer of decadence to this amazing cheese.

First Choice: Tie between Stilton and Tentation

The Results: Reds

Margerum, Estate Grenache

Grenache is a grape that needs a warmer climate than typically found in Los Olivos, so Margerum planted this on the southwestern, hottest corner of the Estate Vineyard. Consequently, it is a smaller batch, resulting in only 200 cases. The Estate Grenache is very light with notes of brambly red and blue fruits, violets, and hints of sandalwood.  

As a food pairing, Mone suggested Caruso’s plum and duck dish, which includes a meat sausage with a duck leg served with a touch of lavender. Gonzalez suggested an ahi tuna or other fatty fish and said it would also be excellent with all charcuteries.

With high tannin wines, the Grahams prefer either dry and salty or soft and stinky with notes of fruit. They offered Piave, a hard Italian cheese similar to Parmigiano-reggiano, but that is sweeter and not as sharp; and Afterglow, from Blakesville Creamery, a soft goat cheese washed in a cherry ale. Washed rinds promote bacteria that deliver bolder flavors.  

First Choice: Piave
Second Choice: Afterglow

G. Khan, 2021 Pinot Noir

Planted on Radian Vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills appellation — where the combination of cold, high winds and very soft soil yield very small berries — to achieve its robust flavor, the wine is fermented with very little intervention and in the same manner of the G. Khan chardonnay. The grapes are picked whole-cluster and pushed down with the stems included, yielding a wine with lots of intensity and depth of flavor.

Mone suggested pairing squab with cranberry, while Tavitian suggested a chimichurri sauce on a lower-fat steak such as Hanger. Gonzalez suggested braised short ribs. Clearly this is not only a delicious wine, but also obviously versatile.  

For this round, the Grahams selected Butterbloom, an Oregon cow’s-milk, triple-cream, brie-like cheese that has a soft yellow color. Its color is indicative of the freshness of the grass on which the cows are fed. Unlike sheep and goats, cows transfer the chlorophyll in the grass to their milk, turning the cheese a buttery yellow. The Grahams also selected Jake’s Gouda, which is made in upstate New York on an Amish farm and is a raw-milk gouda aged up to 12 months. As goudas age, they take on a sweet nuttiness and an almost butterscotch flavor, and develop protein crystals that provide a pleasing crunch.

First Choice: Jake’s Gouda
Second Choice: Butterbloom

Kings Carey, Cabernet Sauvignon

Grown on a very small vineyard in Los Olivos, Kings Carey’s cab is 100 percent cabernet sauvignon. The wine is carefully nurtured through a fermentation process in open-top, stainless, cold, punched only once a day, low extraction, low alcohol, and neutral barrels. The combination results in a wine with the classic cab balance of fruit and savory elements but with finesse and on a more slender frame.

The Grahams selected Bergkäse Alex, a uniquely strong, semi-soft German sheep’s-milk alpine cheese washed in an elderberry liqueur, which lends coffee and chocolate notes and is nutty with a bitter finish. They also offered Quesería 1605 manchego, a truly artisan cheese from a small farmstead that only produces 50 wheels a week, with an unusual salty and dry yet soft and creamy flavor. And a third cheese: Rispens, also a sheep’s-milk, and a dense but soft and creamy gouda from a coastal farm in Holland. Its aging lends butterscotch notes.

First Choice: Quesería 1605 manchego
Second Choice: Bergkäse Alex

Wine and Cheese Pairing Primer

Pairing is complicated, but the good news is, it’s hard to go wrong. The winemakers, chefs and cheese mongers want us to not be intimidated and to follow our noses, so to speak. Armed with this overview, I look forward to more experimentation and hope to run into you at a tasting room, restaurant, or the cheese shop very soon.

WHITES

Alpine cheeses like Gruyere and comté go well with bright high acidic whites such as the Kings Carey semillon because they often display bright citrus or fruit notes such as apple or pear which compliment the nuttiness in these cheeses. They also work well with fresh creamy cow’s milk cheeses such as burrata because they cut through the richness of the cheese without overpowering it.

Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon blanc pairs well with goat cheese because of the “grows together, goes together” tradition and the bright grassy notes compliment the same citrusy tanginess inherent in these cheeses.

Chardonnay
Chardonnays require cheeses like a bleu or a stronger, more mushroom-y Brie style to stand up to the fuller, richer flavors of the wine. But steer away from heavy, oaky Chardonnays when pairing with cheese.

REDS

Grenache
High tannin wines require either dry and salty like a Spanish manchego or a firm Italian cow’s milk cheese such as Piave or a younger, creamier Parmigiano-reggiano.

Pinot
One of the easiest red wine varietals to pair with cheese, pinot’s soft subtle tannins and forward fruitiness allow it to work with a range of creamy, buttery cheeses from the very soft double crème Brie styles to semi-firm younger double crème Gouda styles. The key is to go with high butterfat to allow the high acid to cut through that richness for a great contrast on your palate! Sheep and buffalo are the highest in butterfat.

Cabernet Sauvignon
These bigger reds can be a bit tricky because they can overpower many styles of cheese, but their silky tannins also allow you to choose anything from creamier, saltier Alpine cheeses such a bergkäse to a well-aged manchego from Spain or even an aged goat Gouda such as Midnight Moon.

Additional Pairing Notes

Pairing is as old as cheese and wine making. Picture the forlorn 12th-century milkmaid in the namesake town of Cheddar in Somerset who accidently left some cow’s milk too long in a cool cave but discovered golden curds upon return! Monarchs since have had a thing for cheddar, so it’s not hard to picture King Henry II — a huge fan of cheddar — wandering about his castle, goblet of wine sloshing in one hand, candle in the other, as he stumbles toward the kitchen in search of a late-night snack.

The goal in pairing is to create a complementary symbiosis. But pairing wine with dishes and with specific cheeses now is much more nuanced than the 18th-century refrain attributed to British merchants: “Whites with fish and reds with meat.” Our contemporary culinary cross-pollination brings different, spicier cooking flavors from Latin, Asian, and Indian traditions, creating new, exciting variations. Finding a
complementary wine can be complicated. 

I hope this encourages you to stretch your wine and gastronomic legs among the many fantastic offerings here in town. For more information, visit Kings Carey, kingscarey.com; G. Khan Wines, gkhanwine.com; Margerum Wines, margerumwines.com; Cheese Shop Santa Barbara, cheeseshopsb.com; bouchon, bouchonsantabarbara.com, Caruso’s, rosewoodhotels.com/en/miramar-beach-montecito/dining/carusos; and Lucky’s, luckys-steakhouse.com.