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Hello, I'm planning a small Port night/tasting with a couple friends. Nothing formal, no spitting, no notes being taken. Just plan to open a decent Vintage bottle, a 20 yr Tawny, and a standard LBV to compare and contrast amongst ourselves. We're all big cheese fans, so naturally I want to get a good assortment to fit the bottles. From my own experiences and a little google-fu, I have come up with;

Vintage Port - Stilton
Tawny - soft/triple cream cheeses
LBV - Old Cheddar

I know not everyone likes the Stilton combo, but I've always been a Stilton fan... What would you guys recommend. Or if not cheese, what else? (don't want main course suggestions, just more snack/nibble type stuff).

urotsukidoji wrote:Hello, I'm planning a small Port night/tasting with a couple friends. Nothing formal, no spitting, no notes being taken. Just plan to open a decent Vintage bottle, a 20 yr Tawny, and a standard LBV to compare and contrast amongst ourselves. We're all big cheese fans, so naturally I want to get a good assortment to fit the bottles. From my own experiences and a little google-fu, I have come up with;

Vintage Port - Stilton
Tawny - soft/triple cream cheeses
LBV - Old Cheddar

I know not everyone likes the Stilton combo, but I've always been a Stilton fan... What would you guys recommend. Or if not cheese, what else? (don't want main course suggestions, just more snack/nibble type stuff).

i'm not a fan esp if you have anice vintage port.

I'd say Vintage Port - (esp if old) none, but if you must, i like an aged guida.
Tawny- I'd go with the stilton here
lbv- the cheddar
aged white/white port- triple cream cheeses.

Strawberries are nice, but not in season.
If the VP is young, I like a pairing with like bbq spare ribs or something with a bit of spiciness.

I also like VP with an aged gouda, but a good coastal cheddar is also very nice (as it is with an LBV).

Manchego seems to go with any Port to me. I like it almost equally with rubies and tawnies, but the softer flavor probably goes better with tawnies for most people.

The classic pairing for tawnies, though, is Serra da Estrela. It can be rather hard to find, but as it is a Portuguese cheese it pairs exceptionally well with the Port most Portuguese drink - Tawny. What you really want is the soft, nearly spoonable variety, but I have heard that it isn't exported. The semi-soft variety still tastes great.

Let us know what you try and how it turns out!

If you come to Boston for a port tasting, this is our usual line-up of cheese:

Caciocavallo
Camenbert
Parmaesan
Truffle Cheeses

In addition, like to add:

Marcona Almonds
Jamon Serrano or Iberico
BBQ Pork Shoulder (Pulled Pork) or Brisket

Do some believe that Stilton is not a match with Vintage port? I love to drink younger VP's with Stilton. I find it to be one of the great food/wine pairings. The sweetness of the port is offset by the saltiness of the cheese, and the searing tannins of a young VP fit perfectly with the creaminess of a good Stilton like Colston Bassett.

BTW, I totally agree that Serra De Estrella is great with tawny port. A similar sheeps cheese that is more widely available is Torta del Casar from Extremadura, Spain. It has a bit more bite and tang, but is delicious and you can eat it the same way, spooning out the soft innards after cutting off the entire top of the rind.

But please, please don't tell me that one of the (only) British contributions to world cuisine is not accepted here, in this hallowed place! God Save the Stilton.

Portman wrote:Do some believe that Stilton is not a match with Vintage port? I love to drink younger VP's with Stilton. I find it to be one of the great food/wine pairings. The sweetness of the port is offset by the saltiness of the cheese, and the searing tannins of a young VP fit perfectly with the creaminess of a good Stilton like Colston Bassett.

BTW, I totally agree that Serra De Estrella is great with tawny port. A similar sheeps cheese that is more widely available is Torta del Casar from Extremadura, Spain. It has a bit more bite and tang, but is delicious and you can eat it the same way, spooning out the soft innards after cutting off the entire top of the rind.

But please, please don't tell me that one of the (only) British contributions to world cuisine is not accepted here, in this hallowed place! God Save the Stilton.

I agree that port and stilton is a great pairing, am simply saying that if one looks for young and tannic, a ruby or an lbv could fit the bill just as well. Esp since we're altering our palates with such strong flavors.

Portman wrote:Do some believe that Stilton is not a match with Vintage port?

I've never liked that pairing. I don't think it's bad; it's just not good either. Then again, I don't like dark chocolate with VP either.

My reasoning is similar in both cases. Stilton, dark chocolate, and VP are all very strong flavors. When paired, they fight for dominance and in doing so bring out the worst in each other.

I find that Port pairings work much better when one or the other is given supremacy in the pairing, allowing the food and Port to complement each other easily.

Glenn E. wrote:

Portman wrote:Do some believe that Stilton is not a match with Vintage port?

I've never liked that pairing. I don't think it's bad; it's just not good either. Then again, I don't like dark chocolate with VP either.

My reasoning is similar in both cases. Stilton, dark chocolate, and VP are all very strong flavors. When paired, they fight for dominance and in doing so bring out the worst in each other.

I find that Port pairings work much better when one or the other is given supremacy in the pairing, allowing the food and Port to complement each other easily.

Foie grae and sauternes are two strong flavors

g-man wrote:Foie grae and sauternes are two strong flavors

I've never had foie grae, so on that end I have no idea.

I don't consider sauternes to be all that strong of a flavor, though. It can be very rich, but I consider it to be a softer flavor along the lines of Tawny Port. VP and dark chocolate are strong flavors... or perhaps bold would be a better word?

Speaking of which, I like Tawny Port with dark chocolate because they don't fight for dominance. The chocolate takes the foreground while the Tawny Port provides background and softens the intensity of the chocolate. Mmmm.

My favourite combination is still a seared steak and a young VP or LBV

Recently I had a Beaufort with a Sandeman 20 year old Tawny. I liked this matching a lot.

My general view is that if you are stuck in a restaurant or airport lounge where there's no decent port to be had, a bit of well flavoured cheese pairs quite well.

But if you are drinking good port, even a bit of bland cheese is quite a distraction to your palate. For vintage ports that are indecently young, dark chocolate can pair quite well, but it doesn't work with mature VP.

I tend to agree with Alex - the best thing to eat with port is lean steak, followed by more lean steak; and new potatoes please, not fries..!

Tom

One of my favorite pairings with port is Pão de Queijo. They are Brazilian bread cheese balls. They come in a powdered mix with eggs and water, rolled into balls and cooked 40 mintues in the oven. They are just sublime with port or by themselves. They are crowd pleaser for sure.

Another pairing, although not cheese is pop over's. How can anyone resist them with a glass of port?

Port and stilton isn't a good combination as mentioned due to the conflicting strong flavours. However, once you have tried it, particularly a good creamy stilton that isn't at the Danish Blue end of subtlety, you never really feel that partnering one without the other is a good plan.

I'd rather have a middle of the road stilton with an LBV than a VP with no stilton...

Oh and celery should accompany however I've noticed that it is proving difficult to obtain it where it doesn't taste of chemicals now.

Zelandakh wrote:Oh and celery should accompany however I've noticed that it is proving difficult to obtain it where it doesn't taste of chemicals now.

Celery grows beautifully in an old wooden port or wine box, filled with compost. A number of people can confirm this as they have seen my wife's salad garden for which I am forced to buy large quantities of port in owc in order to keep her gardening hobby supplied.

You understand that the only reason I buy port is for those boxes, don't you?