Wine and cheese

[Thraz]

We had friends over for Bastille Day, one of them a vegetarian - so everybody was a vegetarian. I had heard of some chef preparing a seven course cheese meal for vegetarians so I tried something in that vein. I took a cue from Engineer's wine party too and made the jump. Also, I was in charge of dinner and I will not subject guests to my cooking so it seemed like the way to go.

Amuse: baked brie, Brut Rose Paul Goerg NV ($24 at Total). Went very well; good wine.

Appetizer: piece of fresh goat cheese (log), fig jam, fresh figs, Baumard Savennières 2000 (previously posted). The wine and cheese were great, as were the cheese and figs, but the fresh figs and wine not so great. Not a big clash but next time I will skip the fresh figs, and stick to the cheese and jam.

Main: Brie, comté, lancashire (England), St. André, cold ratatouille, cold roasted peppers, olive spread, Bandol Domaine des Olivettes 1998 (previously posted). Very nice all around.

Dessert: Roquefort, Stilton, pears (the canned type, in juice), Aigle Blanc Vouvray Moelleux 1989 ($20 at Moore Bros in NJ). Great combination, great wine.

The only downside I think: it was a lot of drinking, and it made it difficult to really appreciate the wines towards the end of the meal. Or maybe it's just a lack of training. A good time was had by all, and the cheese thing was actually a big hit: with accompaniments and variety, it did not feel like we were eating too much of it. Everybody ate all of the cheeses at all the courses.