Pairing Parmesan Cheese with White Wines

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'd like to talk to you about pairing wine and cheese and I'm going to talk about some of Italy's most popular wines, cheeses Parmesan and Romano. These are some of the sharpest, tangiest and driest cheeses out there because they're aged for at least two years and maybe even eight years. All that time and aging concentrates the flavor and gives the cheese quite a lot of sharp bite and sometimes a little bit of a grain to it. That little grain that you sometimes taste in Parmesan and Romano is a good thing and it's called grano. A lot of people think it's salt, but it's actually coagulated protein, and it makes for a delicious texture in the cheese. Because of the saltiness and the little pop of the grano that you sometimes get in a Parmesan or Romano cheese, they make a surprisingly good partner for white wine. I know you probably think it's traditional with red and we'll talk about that also. But for a real surprise, try a Parmesan- or Romano based dish or even just a chunk of Parmesan or Romano with a white wine. I think the ideal combination is Parmesan and Prosecco. If you think about it, Prosecco is a sparkling wine, it's very light, bright and acidic and it just makes fireworks go off in your mouth when you taste it after a bit of Parmesan. Any white wine will do, especially the charming, light, highly acidic white wines of Italy. You may have heard of some of these like Orvieto, or Soave or Vernaccia, but you can try a white wine from any place in the world, a Sauvignon Blanc or a Chardonnay would be just great. But for a big surprise, try a white wine with Parmesan cheese. You'll love it."