the All American Cheese and Wine Book - Tapa dura

Cheese and wine were clearly meant for each other. Most of us have tasted the classic combinations--cheddar and port, blue cheese and Sauternes, goat cheese and Sauvignon Blanc - and know what an ethereal marriage of flavors and textures they are. But as Laura Werlin shows in her new book, The All American Cheese and Wine Book, there is a whole world of wine and cheese pairings beyond these tried and true favorites. In her follow-up to the IACP Award-winning The New American Cheese, Werlin guides us to matching the extraordinary artisan cheeses being made across America with perfectly paired wines. Her story begins with an overview of the seven basic styles of cheese, from fresh, tangy chevre to buttery soft-ripened cheese to nutty, aged gouda. She explains how each is made, what flavor qualities each has, and what types of wines will generally bring out he best in each category of cheese. She offers the same kind of overview for American wines, paying particular attention to those produced by the smaller boutique wineries. Guidelines for combining American cheese and wine, clues for making the perfect pairs, and extensive charts showing the ideal combinations at a glance make this book an indispensable resource. The book also includes profiles of 50 American cheesemakers and winemakers and 55 delectable recipes for dishes that use cheese or feature cheese by itself. Werlin has organized the recipes with entertaining in mind and offers creative ideas for hors d'ouvres, pizzas, cheese plates, picnics, and desserts. The book also includes an extensive listing of cheesemakers and winemakers around the country with mail order information.

Berkeley, California-based foodwriter Laura Werlin is the author of The New American Cheese: Profiles of America's Great Cheesemakers and Recipes for Cooking with Cheese (STC 2000), which won an IACP Award for best cookbook in the American category in 2001. Werlin has appeared on Martha Stewart Living Television, Cooking Live! with Sara Moulton, San Francisco's Bay Cafe, and numerous local television and radio segments from coast to coast talking about American cheese. She also writes for national magazines, including Cooking Light, Cooking Pleasures, Country Living, and Self. Andy Ryan's photographs have appeared in Food & Wine, Food Arts, Wine Spectator, and other publications. He photographed Bugialli on Pasta and Giuliano Bugialli's Foods of Naples (both STC).