Curds & Wow! [ BY ANN HAIGH ]

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PAIRING WINE WITH CHEESE

Chardonnays are dry, rich wines with a distinctive fruit flavor of green apple, pineapple or pear. Aging in oak barrels can add a toastiness to the flavors, and a nice balance of acidity can make for a complex finish. Chardonnay will match with soft-ripened, double or triple cream cheeses like brie, coulommiers or schloss, and with firm cheeses like cheddar, swiss or monterey jack.

The 1999 Chateau Souverain chardonnay from Sonoma County ($15.99; PLCB Code 4729) is a perfect choice. Rich and luscious in the mouth with youthful fruit and creamy oak flavors, this wine explodes with aromas of ripe pear and appley fruit, and wonderful oaky spice.

Sauvignon blanc (sometimes called fumŽ blanc) wines are dry with lemon, melon or fig fruit flavor. A touch of grassiness or fresh cut hay is noticeable in their crisp finish. Serve sauvignon blanc with mild firm cheeses like gruyere, cheshire or jarlsberg, or with goat (chevre) cheese.

The 2000 Ferrari Carano fumŽ ($13.99; PLCB Code 5703) pairs well with cheese. The wine delights the senses with spice and honeyed fruit aromas and delivers a very complex taste of melon fruit with a crisp finish.

Rieslings are delicate wines with floral and fruit components and a dry to off-dry finish. Fresh cheeses like cottage, cream, mozzarella, ricotta or neufchatel are good complements.

The exceptional 1998 Wehlener Sonnenuhr kabinett ($18.79; PLCB Code 25909) from Germany displays a delicate floral and spice-scented aroma with ripe and generous riesling fruit flavors, and a slight off-dry finish.

Cabernet sauvignon has rich black-currant (cassis) flavors with hints of mint or cedar. Merlot is similar in flavors, but lighter and softer. Young cabernet sauvignon wines are rich in tannins that can give the wine an astringency. Soft-ripened cheeses like camembert, bel paese or port du salut can have a mellowing effect on the wine and complement its flavors -- just like adding milk to tea to soften the tea's tannins.

The 1997 Sequoia Grove Reserve cabernet sauvignon from Napa Valley ($35.99; PLCB Code 12404) is an outstanding wine with rich, cassis fruit aromas accented with toasty oak. On the palate, the wine delivers good fruit flavors with a touch of spice and oak for added complexity.

Pinot noir yields soft flavors of sweet cherries and ripe plums with some smoke accents to the finish. Firm cheeses like Vermont white cheddar, colby or longhorn are delicious with these wines.

The 1998 Saintsbury Brown Ranch pinot noir from Carneros ($79.99; PLCB Code 13388) opens with plum, black cherry and spice aromas. The finish is complex with a smoke, plum fruit finish.

Zinfandel wines have ripe blackberry and raspberry fruit flavors with some black pepper in the finish, complementing firm or hard cheeses like parmesan, romano, asiago, gouda, muenster or edam.

The 1998 Edizione Pennino zinfandel from Napa Valley ($42.99; PLCB Code 13820) delivers wonderful blackberry and black-raspberry fruit aromas with flavors of fruit, spice and oak components in the finish.

Vintage ports are heady wines with high alcohol and sugar levels. Black fruits with spice and pepper dominate the flavors. Blue cheeses like stilton, roquefort or gorgonzola complement the high alcohol and sugar with their pungent creamy and salty flavors.

The deep ruby-colored 1997 Calem vintage port ($53.99; PLCB Code 9725) delights the senses with aromas of sweet plum and blackberries -- very smooth on the palate with spice and fruit flavors. Vintage port and stilton is my favorite wine-and-cheese combination -- my match made in heaven.

Try some pairings for yourself and discover what pleases your own palate.

-- Bruce May

BACK

Chef Michael Uricchio, co-owner of Laforet, says he tried offering a cheese course a while back. Those with European experience appreciated it, but it was not a clear winner for the restaurant. Seems now, though, in a second time around, he's having more success. Given a choice between dessert and a trio of cheeses on his fixed-price French regional dinners, many diners opt for cheese. A la carte, an assortment of three French cheeses, 11/2 ounces each, with walnut raisin bread, lavosh or baguette, costs $6.50.

At Chez Gerard, France-born owners chef William and Muriel Severac serve a six-course, fixed-price dinner ($39 per person). After the main course, servers present a cheese tray featuring 10-15 French varieties. Diners select three or four types, to be plated with some salad greens and country French bread.

At The Frick Cafe, you can order a platter of three cheeses -- asiago, chevre and gorgonzola -- for an appetizer, snack or lunch. Two ounces of each come with sourdough bread, six-grain bread and fresh fruit ($8.50).

Mike Novak, owner of The Pines Tavern, keeps a copy of Jenkins' book on his bedside table for night reading. His staff is equally enamored of cheese. So between eight and 12 appealing varieties are on the restaurant's premises at all times. The appetizer menu lists a seasonally changing cheese platter for two (also available for dessert or anytime). A recent selection included 3 ounces each of Italian tallegio, Danish blue, aged French goat cheese and Swiss cave-aged gruyere, with toasted walnuts ($8.95). For an after-dinner match-up, Novak stocks a collection of fine ports and sherries.

Craig Richards, chef de cuisine of Lidia's Pittsburgh, serves a cheese platter with wine at the bar: 2 ounces each of four Italian cheeses ($9.95) -- initially: imported parmigiano reggiano; imported fontina; montasio; and gorgonzola dolce, with honey, toasted almonds and homemade bread.

"We're just starting to get into the intensity of cheese," says Art Mangie, The Wooden Angel's executive chef. The Beaver restaurant offers a cheese, fruit, crackers and wine presentation. "We're working up to a bigger push," he adds.

At Cafe Sam, warm Danish brie, with almonds and sun-dried cherries, scores as a popular appetizer ($5.95). Sometimes a special cheese platter -- perhaps mascarpone, Danish brie and smoked cheddar, with basil focaccia points ($5.95) -- steals the show.

The Cheese Cellar has been selling, among other items, beer-and-cheddar fondue since 1972, and now features a goat cheese fondue ($6.95). Service manager Tess Newell, though, observes an increased interest in cheese varieties.

Some newer restaurants are establishing cheese offerings. Prelude, the smart wine bar in the new Renaissance Hotel, will turn a selection of four or five (from a list of seven assorted) cheeses into a cheese-and-fruit platter, with whole-grain mustard and homemade breads ($11 per person).

Executive chef Jennifer Hagar hopes to build a following for a daily changing cheese platter dessert at Girasole. Chris Frangiadis, chef/owner of Isabela on Grandview, has a bold cheese course on the drawing board: a supplemental menu of at least 10 cheeses, all domestic artisanals: three choices, served simply with homemade bread and a good balsamic vinegar or quince paste; and recommendations pairing only white wines, not red, with the cheeses.

For 15 years, Cafe Allegro has included imported cheeses in its Provincial Riviera platter ($12). While not on the menu, a cheese-and-fruit platter is always available on request. In fact, many restaurants that don't commit to the sales uncertainties of a fixed program -- cheese is expensive and perishable -- can come through with an attractive cheese platter when asked. For that possibility, try Opus, The Carlton, Bruschetta, Le Perroquet, Steelhead Grill, Hyeholde, Good Wood Grill, Baum Vivant and Vivo, among others.

Chez Vous

With such a thriving retail network, why not explore cheeses at home? Experts recommend following your eyes and nose: The more rustic the rind, the more interesting the cheese; avoid slimy rinds; reject any cheese with mold on the interior (unless it's a blue cheese); cast away interiors with cracks or nasty discoloration; abandon cheeses wafting off ammonia.

Still hesitant and overwhelmed by options? Nicholas Ambeliotis, Pittsburgh office manager for Cleveland-based Euro-USA, an importer and distributor of fine foods, travels the world in search of wonderful cheeses. Currently importing from 13 European countries, he sells at least 700 varieties of cheese -- to other distributors, restaurants and specialty-food shops.

His advice to budding fromage-aphiles: Find a good local cheesemonger, open your spirit to possibilities and taste, taste, taste. (For suggestions on pairing wines with cheese, see "Pairing Wine with Cheese,"at right.)

Passionate Purveyors

A unique breed, balancing missionary zeal with humble exploration, cheesemongers eagerly share their latest discoveries. Just step right up to Pittsburgh's fine-cheese counters for information and samples -- just be prepared that exotic artisanals can run into exotic prices, say $14.95/lb. for Vermont's Humboldt Fog goat cheese and $19.95/lb. for Papillon premier French roquefort. Also, artisanal cheeses have seasons like other fresh produce, and the prices tend to fluctuate (but mostly go up).

Mentored by cheese guru Steven Jenkins, David Sunseri operates a sophisticated cheese shop within his Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. store (412/919-0444). This Strip District market stocks the city's largest retail selection, with specialty cheeses comprising 70 percent of more than 250 varieties.

In addition to such top-sellers as imported parmigiano reggiano, provolone and all types of pecorino, Penn Mac carries extensive inventories of prized European labels as well as, when available, difficult-to-come-by domestic artisanals (e.g. Iowa's Maytag blue, West Virginia's Brier Run Farm goat cheese). Carol Pascuzzi, a 15-year employee, brightens the cheese counter with her enthusiasm: "I love having the cheese someone's been searching for and couldn't get anywhere else."

"Every cheese has a story," says Mike Novak, owner of both North Star Market (724/443-7240) and The Pines Tavern. "Cheese-making holds a lot of history." His specialty-food shop stocks 125 cheeses, including: top U.S. producers (including Cabot Vermont cheddars, Tillamook Oregon cheddar and Maytag blue ($14.99/lb.), plus imported varieties (like Italian white truffle cheese, $21.99/lb.) and everyday favorites. Specially ordered European cheeses arrive monthly by jet through Chicago. The market also makes fresh mascarpone and mozzarella, sells kits for home-producers, and schedules occasional cheese-tasting classes.

John McGinnis, owner of John McGinnis & Co. (412/344-1450) in Castle Shannon, is a cheese-lover. "Cheese has always been one of my weaknesses," he says. "I'm attracted to small, artisanal goat's milk cheeses like pico [$5.99 for 41/4 oz.], which is incredibly delicious." McGinnis says the imported cheeses adopted by the specialty purveyors in the early '80s -- brie, jarlsberg -- were picked up by the super-market chains. That left choice small shops like his seeking more artisanal products.

He recalls how it took one year of complicated transactions to capture a certain gorgonzola. From the more than 100 cheeses he carries, he ticks through some of the more interesting types: parrano (a Dutch aged gouda), English stilton, rustico (an Italian sheep's milk with black peppercorns) and assorted Spaniards -- idiazabal, manchego, drunken goat and mahon. On Saturdays, he sets out samples and discusses tastes with customers.

At La Charcuterie (412/661-2262 and 412/661-6642) in Shadyside, 80 percent of the cheeses are imported, mainly from France, says owner Stephen Begg. But his current best-seller is gouda gold, a firm, tangy Dutch import. He's also selling bica ($16.95/lb.), a Portuguese milk combo of goat, sheep and cow, and oka ($12.95/lb.), a Canadian cow's milk cheese with a bite. Customers can also special-order cheese trays, priced from $30 to $300 -- typically three to five cheeses plated with grapes, crackers and baguettes. Begg will orchestrate wine-and-cheese tastings. Just give him enough lead time -- about two weeks.

Karen Novak jams more than 120 cheeses from 15 countries, plus upscale domestic artisanals, into a 12-foot space at McGinnis Sisters' Monroeville store (412/858-7000). Traditional cheeses move the fastest, she says, but well-traveled customers create a market for exotics. For the winter holidays, the store offers four rare, Welsh cow's milk cheeses with colorful rinds: black Black Mountain (garlic and cheddar with white wine); green tintern (shallots, chives and cheddar); red Red Dragon (real ale, cheddar and mustard seeds); and orange harlech (cheddar and horseradish). McGinnis Sisters conducts wine-and-cheese tastings several times a year and offers cheese-education presentations to groups. Ask the cheese department about the newly launched Cheese Lovers' Club, a free educational and tasting event (every other month).

Shadyside Market (412/682-5470) has a tidy inventory of 25 domestics and 25 specialty cheeses. The store has no trouble, says executive chef Zach Johns, selling upscale brands to its sophisticated clientele. And meanwhile, back in the Strip District, Jimmy Sunseri, partner in Jimmy and Nino Sunseri (412/255-1100), says he sells 5,000 pounds of cheese in a normal week, not counting the mozzarella going to pizza houses. One current hot item: crotonese, an Italian pecorino that he handles in three grades of age and two flavorings -- black pepper and crushed red pepper.

For Middle Eastern cheeses, head for Stamoolis Brothers (412/471-7676). The recently expanded store offers four kinds of feta (sharp barrel-cured, mild Bulgarian, Yugoslavian and French), plus kasseri, kefalotyri, kefalograviera, manouri and haloumi. Prestogeorge (412/471-0133) specializes in imported cheese with, says inside sales expert Michelle Pisano, parrano ($9.98/lb.) starring at the moment.

An esteemed city institution, the Pittsburgh Cheese Terminal (412/434-5800) may look different, since it's now a division of Weiss Provisions and operates out of the spanking-new Smallman Street Deli. You can't walk around the chilly warehouse stacked with great, smelly wheels, but the Terminal still sells wholesale to the public. Buy it cut from the deli case, or have manager Scott Donnelly retrieve a whole 16-pound stilton (also sold as 8-pound halves) from storage.

Ann Haigh, who reviews restaurants in "On the Menu" every month, favors imported parmigiano reggiano always, plus (at the moment) bianca sottobosco (Italian white-truffle cheese), Old Chatham Sheepherding Co.'s shepherd's wheel, pimento goat (Spanish) and artisanal stilton.

Bruce May, a regular contributor to the magazine writing about wines and fine liquors, selects "Good Spirits" every month in "The Goods."