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Also I was told that the fat in cheeses coating the tongue will open up the flavors in wine, not neutralize the pallet.
Not precisely. We weren't discussing what 'goes good together', because good cheese and good wine (or beer) are heaven on earth. We were talking about how to clean the palate to better judge the attributes of the drink, in which case cheese or any lactic drink/food will definitely "color" your perception. Cheese definitely doesn't 'neutralize' the palate, it greases it- whereby, in discussing enjoyment, the tannins in the wine have a symbiotic role in stripping the grease off of your tongue so that you want another piece of cheese. Same principle for meats and red wine- they 'go together...'. For instance, there are certainly red wines that I would consider "entree" wines (very tannic) which are almost unpalatable without being next to a rack of lamb where they are then quite good and appropriate. But the grease definitely does cover up some things too, like flaws in the wine.
Coffee is good for the nose (if you sniff the beans) in clearing it because it neutralizes your olfactory glands (I don't have the science on that, but you know what I mean), but I don't see how it is a good thing for the tongue. And, I'm as much a coffee snob as I am a wine/beer snob. The best things are tasteless crackery type things to soak up whats on your tongue but not impart any flavor on it, and bubbles wherever you can get them for the same reason- seltzer, beer, champagne... etc. Certainly nothing with sugar in it. We are trying to get to a point where something in your mouth isn't coloring your perception of the drink, including what was in it before hand (toothpaste, coffee, a tuna sandwich, another wine/beer), so anything that actually tastes very pronounced will without a doubt color your perception of the next drink. There is no way to strip it off- only time and .... water, seltzer, crackers, etc.
These are trade practices that everyone follows in the wine industry and are taught all the way up to Master of Wine programs in which there are only a handful in the world. Not that I don't see people go for the cheese plate at the big porfolio tastings, but not any wine judges... no way no how
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P.S. Since we're on the subject of speaking of wine and food pairing, if you want to try out a neat little wine pairing game, get a rather tannic red wine (cabernet, etc.) , a rather acidic white wine (like a sauvignon blanc), and a piece of lemon and some salt.
1) Lick the lemon and try the sauv blanc- pretty good.
2) Lick the lemon and try cab- absolutely awful.
3) Lick the salt and try the sauv blanc- not quite right
4) Lick the salt and try the cab- awesome and furthermore, you'll see that the salt "greatly" tampers the tannic affect on your palate.
That is a game I play when I'm doing staff trainings in my restaurant accounts.... so that the servers know why you recommend certain wines with certain foods. It's easy to get after that.
Anyhoo, I digress