This recipe tells you which cheeses you shouldn't serve with red wine. The strong flavors of blue cheese, the sourness of aged Parmesan, and the smoothness of Brie can drown out the subtleties of many red wines, making the whole experience less enjoyable.

Ingredients: 1 bottle of dry red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. 1 block of blue cheese. 1 block of aged Parmesan cheese. 1 block of creamy Brie cheese. 1 baguette or crackers for serving.

Instructions: Open the bottle of red wine and let it breathe for at least 30 minutes. Cut the blue cheese, aged Parmesan, and creamy Brie into bite-sized pieces. Arrange the cheese pieces on a serving platter, keeping each cheese separate. Place the baguette slices or crackers on another serving platter.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

My Addendum To These “New Rules Of Wine”

Either my wine-media consumption behavior has become too trendy or the author of this serious-yet-still-whimsical listical from Bon Appétit has been spying on my wine life! (I’m hoping it’s the latter). 

I struggle with wanting to become a cheerleader for what Belle Cushing curated and putting on a cynical hat so I can make some dashingly intelligent comments that show I’m too-cool for mainstream wine media. Oh, who am I kidding? I’m not very cool. 

But I can’t just post this story without comment, so here are some extra thoughts on a few of the “rules” contained in this piece. (For a better UX, open the story in a separate window, and read it side-by-side next to this post). I hope it’s helpful! 

1. Choose your wine

Can’t dispute this choice at all! And super excited to see Bay Grape mentioned (and here I thought this was my own little discovery back in October). But there’s NEWS hidden here... Delectable, the social media darling of the wine world, is introducing a new app?! Maybe this explains why the app -- which had started producing some really fun original content to help recommend new wines -- stopped adding new editorial features. Eager to see what’s next for the company.

2. Drop These Names

While it’s a bit controversial at times, I wouldn’t be afraid to add IPOB (In Pursuit of Balance) to that list. The lighter-style Pinots and Chardonnays from California are always a treat. 

3. Why Natural Wine Is Important 

To get a better sense of who Pascaline Lepeltier is and why I’m happy she was quoted, read Pascaline’s piece that was just published in The World of Fine Wine. But I’d also highly suggest getting your hands on Alice Feiring’s book, Naked Wine, to really understand the Natural Wine movement. 

4. Ask for the Loire Valley.

Funny how the author quotes Pascaline (who is known for her love and knowledge of Chenin Blanc), but makes no mention of the grape in this section. That’s OK. I enjoy Chinons, too. But Chenin Blanc is a Loire staple and is worth a taste or three (even if it’s non-Loire bottles like some newer wines made here in the U.S. )

5. Take a Trip to Georgia

For more about the country’s ancient clay barrels used to make their wine, take a look at NPR’s story from June. Or better yet, go sit at the bar at Compass Rose in Washington, D.C.,and taste some of them!

7. Head of the Glass

 I take my sipping vessels seriously, so it was fun to see how glasses have evolved. There’s debate on whether the glass makes a difference (I’m in the camp that it does), but at the very least, it usually adds to the enjoyment. Even if your vessel is a little esoteric.

10. Memorize the New Importers. 

I’m still learning the importers, but already I’m a big fan of Jenny & Francois (they import one of my favorite Rhone wines), as well as Louis/Dressner, who both import natural wines. While not necessarily new, I’d make sure to add Weygandt when seeking out French wines, too.

12. Producer Trumps Vintage

Producer sometimes trumps terroir, too. There I said it. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this twitter exchange about David White’s recent column about introducing Burgundy to his friends. I discovered something similar while tasting my way through some Cru Beaujolais.

13. Less is More

See IPOB recommendation from #2.

15. Collect Wine Like You Mean It.

Just want to stress the fourth principle: buy multiple bottles so you can taste it along the way. What fun is aging wine if you can’t learn and understand how the wine evolves over the years?

17. Read All About It.

So many good blogs and books to suggest. These scratch a good surface, but if you’re just getting into the wine scene, Wine Folly’s new book is another great reference guide. 

18. Go Long on Beaujolais.

I certainly can’t argue with this -- especially after I spent a Saturday attempting to demystify the crus.

19. Status Worth Seeking