Your Wine
KILLER COMBINATIONS
By Leslie-Ann Sheppard
It's actually still summer! The first official day of fall by my calendar is September 23. Many people are in agreement that this is the ultimate time of year. We wake up to crisp mornings, enjoy plentiful sunshine and clear skies, cruise through town without the August traffic jams and fall asleep in comfortable dry air.

The smartest and luckiest of us manage to get to the beaches at this time of year. Sure, the water may have cooled off a bit, but the lighting turns something like magical, especially if you're out there in the later part of the afternoon.

And what can enhance this uniquely beautiful beach time? A simple wine and cheese picnic.

To keep things easy, choosing one kind of cheese and one kind of wine is all you need. Wine and cheese go hand-in-hand because the proteins in the cheese and the acidity, fruit and tannins in wine work together to make each bite explode into a whole new dimension of flavor. But, not every cheese goes with every wine; the wrong combination can either bury some of the flavors, or create a kind of strange reaction, resulting in off-putting flavors. So, here are some tried and true winning combinations for your September beach picnic:

Try triple-créme cheeses with Champagne. There are several AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlee) cheeses that are made in the Champagne region of France. One of my favorites is called Chaource. It is a small cylinder with an edible rind and decadent, creamy interior. Its size is a hearty snack for two; perhaps more suitable for four to six people. But you could also cut it in half and save the second half for another day's picnic. The richness of the cheese is 'cut' by the bubbles in Champagne.

Pair goat milk cheeses with crisp

whites like Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc. One standout cheese to try is Humboldt Fog, from Cypress Grove Creamery in California. The cheese itself looks like a layer cake, with a line of edible vegetable ash in the center of its snowy interior. The exterior is covered with a bloomy non-edible rind, and just inside the rind is an incredibly creamy layer that has to be tasted to be described. The tanginess of this artisanal cheese is heightened by the natural acidity of Sauvignon Blanc. This is a well-known match; one that is documented widely by foodies everywhere.

If you crave a fuller-bodied wine and cheese combination, try cheeses that are 'bigger' in flavor. Farmhouse gouda- the artisanal kind made and aged in The Netherlands for 3 to 5 years- has an orangy color and a texture almost like candy. Older wheels become crystallized and show flavors of Scotch and caramel, and the texture can even become slightly crunchy. This cheese works well with a full-bodied white like a fine California chardonnay or White Burgundy.

Gruyere-style cheeses also have fairly big flavors and can take a full-bodied wine. Hoch y Brig is a cheese from Switzerland that cheesemaker Rolf Beeler tends to like a fine wine, rubbing each wheel with spices and wine during the aging process. This produces very complex flavors- almost like tasting a whole meal in each bite. This cheese is versatile enough for Riesling and also for light to medium bodied red wines.

Red wines pair well with hard cheeses like Parmigiana Reggiano, aged Pecorino or Manchego, and soft, full-flavored cheeses like Epoisses. The former are eaten tapas-style in Europe alongside olives and sliced cured meats. Try Italian Dolcetto or Barbera, or Spanish Rioja wines with these cheeses. The latter- the famous Epoisses cheese- is made in Burgundy, France, and is a rich, gooey, golden, stinky little pot of Heaven. It is often found as an individual unit, in its own little wooden round box. This is a good cheese for a small crowd, as a little goes a long way! Drink full-flavored Burgundy wines- white or red- with this treasure.

The summer is going by very quickly, but we still have a few weeks left to enjoy the comfortable, beautiful time that is September. Hopefully you can find someone with whom to share these perfect moments before they slip into October. Then, we'll have to turn to 'cozier' wines and traditional meals… but,

that's not so bad, either, I guess… I

Leslie-Ann Sheppard is the proprietor of The Cellar, a wine and cheese shop on Surfside Road. All of the cheeses mentioned can be found at The Cellar.