Red wine and cheese is one of those couplings - like country and Western - that's so automatic that few people actually stop to consider if it actually makes sense. Why not, for example, country and Southern, since that's where so much of the music comes from anyway?

紅葡萄酒配乳酪是如此地理所當然，就如鄉村音樂和西部地區的關係，而實際上我們很少會停下來思考一下這些搭配是否合情合理。比如，為什麼不把鄉村音樂和南部地區聯繫在一起呢？那麼多的鄉村音樂產生於那個地區。

And why red wine with cheese when white wine is so much better with it? Although red wine does go well with certain hard cheeses (such as Parmigiano), I find that its tannins often get in the way. White wines work better because they're so much more versatile in style, texture and character. They can be soft and fruity, dry and minerally or sumptuously sweet. They can pair with goat cheese and blue cheese and stinky cheese, too.

而當白葡萄酒更適合時，為什麼是紅葡萄酒與乳酪搭配？即使紅酒的確跟某些乳酪很配，如帕馬森起司，我卻發現其單寧酸很礙事。白酒更好，因為白酒在風格、質感、品格方面都更多元，口感滑順且香濃、乾爽且濃郁，礦物質充足且奢侈。可以搭配羊酪、藍乳酪，還有歐式臭乳酪。

But I'm convinced that most people drink red wine with cheese for one simple reason: At the end of the meal, it's what they have in their glass. The other night, I was at a friend's house for dinner and they pulled out some Camembert to polish off the rest of the wine. Though the cheese was lovely, it was pretty much squashed by the Zinfandel, whose assertive flavors and fairly high alcohol practically bullied the poor Camembert straight off the plate.

但我相信大部分人喝紅酒配起司都是因為一個簡單的理由，通常吃完一頓飯，杯中剩下的就是紅酒。有天晚上，我到朋友家用餐，他們拿出了些卡芒貝爾奶酪佐著剩下的酒，雖然乳酪很美味，但馨芳葡萄酒傲人的香氣及相當高的酒精濃度，幾乎蓋過了乳酪，可憐的乳酪在盤中被欺負了。

My solution is simple: I serve my cheese at the start of the meal, accompanied by a glass of white wine - Sauvignon Blanc, Grüner Veltliner or a Riesling. I know it's not chic nor particularly fashionable - it may even be a bit Midwestern, as one guest once said (without even knowing that's where I'm from). But it definitely works as a food and wine pairing. And I'm happy to say I've made a few converts. Like my friend Vonnie (Pennsylvania-born), who likes cheese first, as well - though she added she 'aspires' to having it after a meal. 'I know that it's chic,' she told me, 'but actually I'd rather have a brownie instead.'

我的解決方案很簡單：我在餐前就上乳酪，並讓大家佐以白葡萄酒─長相思（Sauvignon Blanc），格魯納綠維特利納（Grüner Veltliner）或雷司令（Riesling）都可以。我明白，這算不上是優雅也不是特別符合潮流的作法，它甚至可能有點中西部的老土，正如一位客人所說的那樣（他甚至不知道我老家就在中西部）。但作為食品和葡萄酒的一種搭配方式，這樣做絕對是可行的。而且很高興我已改變了幾個人的習慣。就像我的朋友Vonnie（她出生於賓夕法尼亞州），她也喜歡餐前吃乳酪，雖然她說她＂渴望” 餐後吃。「我知道餐後吃點乳酪被視為品味高雅」她告訴我，「但其實我寧願吃塊布朗尼蛋糕。」