Wine and Cheese

I offer this as a public service announcement for those people who like to drink wine, especially the really good (expensive) wine.

The Independent reported today about a study conducted by the University of California. I can tell that the folks at the Independent aren't from the US, because they didn't identify which UC did the study, but it must be UC Davis, because that's the one with Hildegarde Heymann, professor of viticulture and oenology.

Here's the bottom line: If you're going to have wine and cheese, don't bother drinking the good wine.

[The] researchers found the cheese always masked the flavours of a pricey vintage. Where the tasters would have expected to hold forth on the berry and oak flavours of a full-bodied cabernet sauvignon or the light tannins of a pinot noir, it was found they were indistinguishable from a bottle of plonk.

[They] found all the cheeses reduced the flavours and aromas of wine, regardless of cost, exploding the myth that a fine cheese can be enhanced by a perfect wine.

There you have it. Better living through science.