A Sparkling Wine and Cheese Tasting Party

Sparkling wine goes well with many cheeses, because the bubbles cut through the creaminess. Here, some wine and cheese selections that the Cheesewhizzes sampled at a recent party.

Wine

Five excellent sparkling wines from Europe and the U.S.

Prosecco (Italy)

Bottle to Try: Refreshing, citrusy NV Caposaldo ($15)

Champagne (France)

Bottle to Try: Toasty, lemony NV Pierre Gimmonet 1er Cru Cuis ($52)

Cremant D'Alsace (France)

Bottle to Try: Elegant, fresh, strawberry-scented NV Allimant Laugner rosé ($19)

Sparkling Wine (California)

Bottle to Try: Apple-and-fennel-flavored NV Scharffenberger Brut ($19)

Cava (Spain)

Bottle to Try: Herbal, pine-scented NV Avinyó ($19)

© James Baigrie

Cheese

All cheeses are sold at Napa's Oxbow Cheese Merchant, oxbowcheese.com.

Toma Reale

Flavor Notes: A mild, rich sheep's-milk Robiola from Piedmont

Preféré des Montagnes

Flavor Notes: A tender, buttery cow's-milk cheese from Jura, France

L'echiquier Mimolette

Flavor Notes: Bright pumpkin in color, this French cow's-milk cheese is sweet and salty

Vella Dry Monterey Jack

Flavor Notes: A wonderfully sharp hard cheese from Sonoma

Canut Mahón Marques

Flavor Notes: A slightly tangy, Spanish cow's-milk cheese

More Wine and Cheese Tips:

How to Throw a Great Wine & Cheese Party

Wine & Cheese Party Tips

Value Champagne

Mark Oldman on Champagne Alternatives:

Published December 2009