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Wines featured in today’s show:

• Domaine Franck Millet Sancerre   (~$19)
• Warre’s Otima 10-Year Old Tawny Porto  (~$23)
• Avinyó Cava Reserva  (~$15)

Recommended cheese pairings from The Som:

Wine and cheese parties can be a lot of fun, but I might caution you to keep it simple.  Too many types of wine and/or cheese will get confusing and your palate will not be able retain half of it.  Three or four different styles of cheese and a few whites and maybe 2 reds should do it.  Do your research beforehand.  Make sure that you have a some classic pairings available to taste.  They are classics for a reason.   Tasting perfect partnerships and being able to explain what makes them so is more fun than guessing at pairings and having the cheese make the wine taste like aspirin.

Here are a few classic pairings:

• Goats cheese with Sauvignon Blanc
• Roquefort and Sauternes
• Stilton with vintage or aged tawny Porto or port style
• Burgundy and Epoisse
• Creamy cheeses and Champagne

Also, here’s one of my favorite summer appetizer recipe that plays off one of these classic pairings:

1. Take thickly sliced heirloom tomatoes
2. Place a couple dollops of goat cheese on top of that
3. Add a few cranks of fresh black pepper

Enjoy this with a restrained Marlborough, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (ask your wine guy).

Thank me later.  Or thank Andrea Immer who actually recommends a “bone dry Alsace Riesling” with it.  Try them both and let me know!

Featured in today’s show:

• Adami Prosecco from northeast Italy
• Avinyó Cava from Catalonia in northeast Spain

Recommended food pairings from The Som:

• I love Prosecco as sparkling wine for blending. It tends to be very crisp and clean and the better ones have a nice citrus note that brightens up everything. Try this classic Bellini recipe at your next brunch. The peach and sparkling wine combo should be perfect with anything egg based. I made this last New Years and it was gorgeous.
• Cava works well with anything salty and/or eggy. Beef Lo Mien also fits the bill pretty well. Lots of salty, dense flavors that the ripe fruit and sparkling acidity would clean off of the palette like a hot knife though butter. There is reason that sparkling wines have become famously consistent with New Years breakfasts and brunches. Egg, bacon, and potato based dishes are perfect with the flavors and textures of sparkling wine.