Last Updated on June 21, 2024
The best kind of education – Cheese and Wine pairing at home with Mouse & Grape
While most of us love cheese and wine, who really understands how to pair them and how to enjoy both at their best? Jess the founder of Mouse & Grape is on a mission to educate us all in quite the nicest possible way by offering wine and cheese pairing hampers that are perfect for enjoying at home. Each hamper has a few specially selected kinds of cheese and some wine that will pair well, together with crackers, jams and preserves to help you really enjoy the contents.
There’s a guide to all the cheeses and the wine that tells you everything you might want to know and gives a comprehensive guide about how to store and eat the cheese. My ‘Christine’ hamper had a French theme, with two soft and two hard French kinds of cheese, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, and one of Merlot for pairing. Jess’s explanation of why the pairings work goes well beyond flavour – I really appreciated the explanation of how Brie de Meaux pairs so well with Sauvignon Blanc – once someone has pointed out that the creamy cheese needs ‘the refreshing acidity’ of a Sauvignon Blanc it becomes more than just a flavour check.
The red wine is paired with the two hard cheeses. Jess explains that the Comté d’Estive works with the red because of the tannins, which complement the supple texture and buttery flavour of the cheese. The St Nectaire by comparison, a ‘semi-supple’ cheese should taste sweeter when paired with the wine
The cheese guide also tells you how long each cheese will last – and gives a few more ideas on pairings to try.
My hamper had some of my favourite Peter’s Yard Charcoal and Rye crackers and some truly delicious Fine Cheese Company fig chutney together with a little jar of Tiptree pure honey to drizzle over the remains of the brie on toast with walnuts and baked figs. And, a very useful guide on cheese and wine pairing in general, including how to cut your cheese, how to store it (in the original paper or your own waxed paper). There’s also a decent guide to wine – how to store it, how long it will last once it has been opened and what glasses to use.
There’s a handy page on how to taste wine – something you’ll probably have learnt if you’ve done a formal wine tasting event, but, which you may easily have forgotten. Then there’s a wine wheel – a helpful way of prompting yourself about the bouquet, aroma and potential faults in the wine. Then there’s a section on how to taste wine and cheese together – what questions to ask yourself and what to look out for – and a complementary cheese aroma wheel. Mouse & Grape helpfully explain how to style your own cheeseboard (I’m still pretty useless!) – and there’s a section to write down your tasting notes.
What makes this rather luxurious hamper so special for me is that it goes beyond having a selection of lovely things to try and provides a memorable way to learn more about two of my favourite things. And, everything in the hamper is superb quality. The Christine hamper I have costs £85 and would make a great present. Perhaps it’s not surprising, given Jess’ background. She’s well qualified with Level 3 from WSET and Level 2 from the Academy of Cheese. And, that means she’s well placed to produce something quite special without any compromise. It’s understanding the nuances of wine, cheese and the pairings that makes this offering so special.
There are a whole range of hampers on offer at Mouse & Grape – and there are a few other interesting ideas too including a monthly subscription that will bring you 3 very special cheeses and a bottle of wine on a regular basis. There’s also the offer of some fabulous private and corporate events where Jess herself or one of her team will guide your guests through your own event.
Find out more about Mouse & Grape from their own website – and look out for our Christmas giveaway series for the chance to win a hamper in time for the Festive Season
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