This week's wine led to a perfect pairing out of pure coincidence. It was a love story between a Pouilly-Fuissé and a triple creme cheese from Burgundy. I supplied the wine, the host supplied the cheese, and an aha moment was created for everyone in the room.
This week's sip is the Pouilly-Fuissé from Domaine Barraud. Pouilly-Fuissé is an area in the Mâconnais subregion of Burgundy that produces white wines from 100% Chardonnay. The wines are a perfect combination of complexity, structure and minerality, with flavours of hazelnut, citrus, stone fruit, and brioche. These wines are a great way to experience luxury without breaking the bank, as they are often sold at a lower price point than other white Burgundies.
The minerality in this wine makes it a classic pairing for fish, shrimp, and other seafood. It has enough body and structure to accommodate poultry, and you'll often see suggestions to pair Pouilly-Fuissé with goats cheese. In short, this is the perfect wine to impress guests at a dinner party, which is exactly what happened the first time I drank this wine.
Cheese certainly isn't a strange or creative pairing for Pouilly-Fuissé, but the interaction between this wine and the triple creme cheese from Château de Bourgogne was so perfect, it's hard to believe it wasn't planned. It created a moment where everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to experience the combination and express their enjoyment. Moments like this are exactly why I love wine- it brings people and food together in ways you never expect.
