Sebastien Le Goff and I did a little wine and cheese pairing action at Vinocamp.

The focus was matching not only wines and cheeses that taste great together, but are also philosophically consistent. This is not just a question of scale, as many "boutique" wines and cheeses are made with commodity production methods.

Pairing 1: Baseline of mediocrity
A widely available and recognizable $25 cabernet-merlot wine made with industrial methods (irrigation, herbicides, commercial yeasts, acid adjustment, heavy fining/filtration, and likely oak chips) paired with Mini Babybel.

Pairing 2: farmstead wine and cheese
Venturi-Schulze Millefiori 2007 with Farmhouse Natural Cheeses St. George. The Millefiori is a blend of siegerrebe and ortega from Vancouver Island. Venturi-Schulze grows their own grapes organically (sans irrigation) and makes the wine themselves with native yeasts, no additions or adjustments and little to no sulfites. Farmhouse raises and milks their own goats before making the cheese themselves. They also organically grow the hay and alfalfa to feed the goats.

Pairing 3: Age-old methods
Movia Pinot Grigio 2005 with Ossau-Iraty Fermier. Ales Kristancic grows and makesawesome wine with centuries old techniques, biodynamic practices and the skill of an expert artisan. A delicious pairing with arguably the oldest cheese in the world, made in the Basque French Pyrenees for over 4000 years in traditional small huts.

Pairing 4: Tradition with a side of new
Agricola Marrone 2005 Langhe Chardonnay "Memundis" with Poplar Grove Harvest Moon. Gian Piero Marrone's Chardonnay drinks like a white burgundy, while being a vinaroon wine, albeit with an international varietal in the Piedmont. The Harvest Moon tastes like a burgundy epoisse while being artisinally made in British Columbia, albeit with purchased milk.

Pairing 5: If you must have red wine with your cheese
Claus Preisinger "Basic" 2007 with Valdeon Blue. When pairing red wine with cheese, it should be light and fresh with high acidity. Claus blends two pinot noir relatives, zweigelt and blaufrankisch, to create a young and lively wine with the complexity often found with biodynamic practices. Its this combination of acidity, freshness and complexity that allows it to stand up to the pungent, complex Valdeon.