No other culinary pairing is as timeless as cheese and wine and nobody pairs them better than the French.
Whilst French restaurants serving cheese and wine abound in Brisbane, the Portside Wharf has come up with a brilliant idea – a picnic in picturesque Hamilton whilst having great French cheese and wine. For an entire weekend.
Thus was born what has become an annual event, more popularly known as the Portside Wharf Cheese & Champagne pop-up.
This year, Portside Wharf has teamed up with The Cheese Pleaser, Gusto da Gianni, and Moët & Chandon to offer a platter of three handpicked cheese – the Le Dauphin, Comte and Blue D’Auvergne, curated by renowned cheese connoisseur, Ms Sharyn de Kort from The Cheese Pleaser. The platter will also be served with her signature apple & walnut chutney and biscuits.
Le Dauphin
Named after Louis XIV a.k.a. Le Dauphin, the heir to the throne of France, this cheese was once regarded by French royalty as the most delicious cheese they have tasted.
The aging process for Le Dauphin takes three to four months. It has a firm and tender texture with that distinctive rind aftertaste. It’s made from pasteurised cow’s milk. The main ingredients are tarragon, black pepper, parsley, and cloves, which accounts for that strong spicy taste.
Comté
This cheese is made from unpasteurised cow’s milk, exclusively acquired from Montbeliarde Cattle or French Simmental in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France.
Comté has 83 flavours in it but the strongest flavour left in the palate after tasting it is its sweet taste, with a tinge of brown-butter and roasted-nut aromas. This is made possible by the extraordinary location where this cheese is matured to perfection. The cheese is kept for 4 to 24 months inside the dark, silent caves of the Franche-Comté region of France.
Comté is a common ingredient of fondues because of its quick-melt quality.
Bleu D’Auvergne
This cheese is mostly paired with sweet dessert table wines because of its herby, peppery, and salty taste. Some say that a liking for Blue D’Auvergne is an acquired taste because of the blue-green mould in it — those bluish-green veins that give out an almost pungent aftertaste when eaten.
This French blue cheese is named after its place of origin, in the Auvergne region of south central France.
Moet & Chandon
Moët & Chandon is one of the world’s largest champagne producers. Established in 1743, it is one of the favoured libations of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
Event details:
| When | 10 March from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m. and 11 March from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. |
| Where | Portside Wharf – Turn right at Max Brenner to find the pop-up caravan |
| Parking | Receive 3 hours free parking when you validate your car park ticket at the pop-up |