Matches not all made in heaven

It's a long time since we had a wine and food festival in Dunedin and I'd forgotten what a good day out they can be.

On Sunday, I joined Tasty Tours' inaugural Taieri Gorge seaside train to the Oamaru Wine and Food festival. It was a leisurely journey with plenty of time to enjoy the stunning coastal scenery and unfamiliar views of the countryside - and there was no need for a sober driver!

There were more than 30 food and wine stalls at the festival in the Oamaru Gardens, with Waitaki wine producers Ostler, Pasquale, Birdlands and Valli present, a few from Central Otago and a couple of Canterbury ones I was unfamiliar with, Quarry Rock from Timaru and Straight 8 from Burnham, south of Christchurch.

As I was conducting a wine and cheese matching class, I didn't have time to taste much of the food, but enjoyed a delicious almond croissant from Passion Sucrée, a French baker from Dunedin who had the most tempting fruit tarts, pastries and macaroons for sale. (www.passionsucree.co.nz)

For the cheese and wine matching session, we had six Whitestone cheeses -Fuschia Creek cows' milk feta, a young Lindis Pass brie de Meaux, creamy havarti, Totara tasty vintage cheddar, Duntroon goats' milk cheese, and Windsor blue.

Despite having to compete with the nearby sound stage, 16 of us explored matching these with six wines, Birdlands sauvignon blanc, Pasquale riesling, Ostler Audrey's pinot gris, Valli Waitaki pinot noir, all from the Waitaki Valley, Point Bush syrah from Canterbury and Aurum noble semillon from Hawkes Bay.

While most cheese and wine matches are not bad, we were looking for something that excited our tastebuds and enhanced both the wine and the cheese, and also for those that clashed and did neither a favour.

It's a difficult thing to suggest rules for, as both cheese and wine develop with age. A couple of weeks ago I had some beautifully ripe Whitestone brie de Meaux, oozing in the centre with mushroomy flavours around the edge which went beautifully with a pinot noir. However, on Sunday the brie de Meaux was young and chalky in the centre, and the mushroomy flavours hadn't developed, and it didn't chime as well with the pinot. However, several enjoyed the pinot gris and the riesling with it.

Besides complementary flavours, it's useful to keep in mind that most cheese is fatty and so needs a crisp wine with a fair acidity to balance. Some cheese is noticeably salty and a wine with sweetness can offer a balance.

The tasters all had different preferences for the wines and the cheeses, but wines that were generally favoured with the cheeses turned out to be the intense Pasquale riesling, the harmonious Ostler pinot gris, the complex Valli pinot noir and the light, crisp Point Bush syrah, all wines with good acidity, as would be expected.

The Aurum noble semillon was appreciated, but too strong for the creamy Windsor blue. That went better with the riesling which also had a little sweetness - strong blue and sweet dessert wines are a traditional match.

Another traditional match, goats' cheese with sauvignon blanc, was not popular with everyone. I thought the textural cheese was a foil for the steely crisp sauvignon while others preferred the fruitier, but still steely crisp riesling.

Matching wine and cheese to find a combination that makes you sit up and take note is not as simple as it sounds, but many combinations are satisfactory if not earth-moving. It all depends on the cheese and its ripeness, but a wine with good, but balanced acidity is generally a fairly safe bet.