Latest research shows cheese boosts the flavour of wine and can actually increase how much someone likes the wine they are drinking.
The study used a new sensory evaluation method and found consuming cheese while drinking wine affected the description and preference of different wines.
The research, published in the Journal of Food Science, was carried out at the Centre for Taste and Feeding Behaviour in France with regular wine and cheese consumers from the city of Dijon.
The subjects evaluated four wines - pacherenc, sancerre, bourgogne and madiran - using a new sensory evaluation method developed by the researchers to show how perception and liking of wine change after cheese intake over several sips, which is closer to what happens in typical consumption.
The subjects were given a list of sensations which they used to indicate what caught their attention as they consumed the wine over three consecutive sips and after they swallowed.
Once the wines were initially evaluated, the task was repeated, but with a piece of cheese eaten in-between sips.
Four different cheeses - epoisses, comte, roquefort, crottin de chavignol - were sampled over different sessions with each wine.
Results showed that cheese consumption had a positive impact on the description for all wines.
None of the four cheeses included in the study had a negative impact on wine preference.
Liking of each wine was increased or remained the same after cheese intake.
In both red wines (bourgogne and madiran), the four cheeses decreased the amount of astringency and increased the aroma of red fruits.
In the sweet white wine (pacherenc), the sweetness was not altered by eating cheese, but in the dry white sancerre wine, cheeses had an impact on the main aroma.
Lead author Mara Galmarini said: "We learned that the duration of the perception of astringency of a certain wine could be reduced after having cheese and that the four evaluated cheeses had the same effect.
"In short, when having a plate of assorted cheeses, the wine will probably taste better no matter which one they choose."
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