Just in case you needed another excuse to forego an actual attempt at cooking for another night of taking a cheese wheel to the face, French researchers at the Centre for Taste and Feeding Behavior (side note: where do I sign up for that?) confirm that cheese actually makes wine taste better, therefore justifying every Friday night I've had in my adult life. After 31 lucky participants basically lived the dream of eating various cheeses and wines in the researchers' study, research revealed that snacking on cheese improves both the taste of red and white wines. In the words of any #basic twenty- and thirtysomething woman: "Uh, duh." The 31 participants, all "wine buffs," according to The Telegraph, tried various wines and cheeses in the study and found across the board that the tastes of the wines improved after sampling the cheeses. They first tried three sips of each wine without the cheese, then three sips of wine after the cheese, and were asked to describe the taste. According to the results, published in the Journal of Food Science, every one of the four types of cheeses improved the standard of the wines that were consumed afterward.

In other news, I am quitting my human life and moving to France to become someone who gets paid to eat wine and cheese and talk about it for #science. While the research shows that the type of cheese doesn't affect whether or not the wine will taste good (essentially confirming that wine and cheese night is the free-for-all we always treated it as), some people do prefer to pair their wines and cheeses. Of course, at the end of the day, the heart wants what it wants — and if the heart wants to eat shaved parmesan straight out of the plastic container from Whole Foods while dancing in their underwear to "Caviar, Myanmar/Mid-sized car/You don't have to be popu-lar/Find out who your true friends are/Pinot Noir/In the boudoir," then you are only human and must obey. A previous version of this article stated that cheese made cheap wine taste better; this article has been updated to reflect that cheap wines were not used in this study.Each one of them is artisanal and bursting with flavor.

Together, they are devastating. Dolce wine and bleu d’Auverge cheese—the single best way to celebrate National Cheese Lovers Day, which is today.buy six bottles of wine save 25 For some time I’ve been thinking about the idea that the most accessible of all the world’s extraordinary pairings is a hunk of cheese and a glass of wine.buy peter michael wine online Not just any wine or any cheese however. wine bar names ideasBecause, a great pairing between the two hinges on getting a complex equation of oppositional components–fat, acid, salt, and alcohol—just right.top red wine kit It’s too hard to predict something this knotty. best wine of mexico

Which is why most of us fall back on the classic methodology–taste a bunch of combinations until something clicks.best red wine to buy at grocery store It clicked big time recently when I was visiting Far Niente. There, in a “tower” of the old 1885 stone winery, I had a glass of the langorous Dolce and a wedge of the blue d’Auvergne. It was one of the best simple wine and cheese experiences I’ve had. Here are a few things to know: When it was created in 1985 by the late Gil Nickel and his partners (Nickel also founded Far Niente), Dolce became a Napa Valley sensation. First, because the wine was so mindbendingly decadent. And second because creating a late harvest botrytized wine in the manner of a great Sauternes was considered virtually impossible in a dry climate like California. Nickel was not only undeterred, he was galvanized by the challenge. Today Dolce is the only winery in the Napa Valley devoted exclusively to a single desert wine.

Great sweet wines are defined not by their sweetness (a given) but by their balance and acidity.  (It’s the acidity in the wine–along with the sweetness –that makes the wine such as great counterpoint to blue cheese). Dolce’s immaculate balance means the wine rolls over your palate in waves of lusciousness lightness. The wine is exceedingly difficult to make. (A mere 800 to 3500 cases are made each year). It starts with a vineyard in tucked into a sheltered corner so that fog settles and huddles there for hours each day, (moisture is necessary for botrytis to form). Even given the fog, the winery employs special misters which can replicate morning dew. During the harvest, vineyard workers (who must go through the vineyard numerous times) use special shears to painstakingly cut out all berries that are not infected with botrytis mold (sometimes a cluster provides a mere single usable berry). If a good worker can pick 500 pounds of chardonnay grapes in an hour; a Dolce worker can pick just 15 pounds an hour.

Because of the high sugar content of the juice, fermentation takes half a year. The wine is expensive—a half bottle is $85, but of course one sip goes a long way. In the end, Dolce, with its grand Art Nouveau-inspired label, is a wine worthy of the complexity required to usher it into existence. As for bleu d’Auvergne, this French blue cheese is creamier, more buttery, and less pungent than its cousin, Roquefort.  It’s named for the mountainous Auvergne region of south central France which is famous for its cheeses and charcuterie. Like many of France’s top cheeses, bleu d’Auvergne has its own appellation. Because it is so creamy and because it tends to have less salt and is less “blue” than many other blue cheeses, bleu d’Auvergne is especially good with a glass of sweet wine.If you're planning a cheese plate for your next dinner party, the last thing you want to do is waste time sorting through unfamiliar French words and astronomical price tags. You might know Gruyère, cheddar and goat cheese by name, but do you know where they come from?

What's more, higher-end cheeses can certainly be pricey, and after taking care of the main course and drinks, there might not be much left over for appetizers. That's why we've enlisted Cathy Strange, global cheese buyer for Whole Foods, to give us the inside scoop on the beloved mega chain's most affordable cheeses. RELATED   The Simplest Trick for Grating Soft Cheese » Rest assured that all the cheeses listed below sell for under $10 a pound, which allows you to grab a couple of options without blowing your entire paycheck. And if you're looking to pep up your platter, Strange suggests adding cheese-friendly accompaniments. "Nuts with skins on, like walnuts or pecans, bring out the creamy profile in the cheese. These can be found at great prices in our bulk bins, and shoppers can buy only what they need," she explains. "Dried fruits are another perfect complement, and honey is a lovely finishing touch."Visit our Specialty department for cheese, nuts, olives and the antipasti of your dreams!

A photo posted by Whole Foods New Hampshire (@wholefoodsnh) on Dec 30, 2016 at 3:19pm PST And what's cheese without a little wine? So we've also rounded up wine pairings to go along with each cheese, courtesy of Whole Foods' global beverage buyer and master sommelier, Devon Broglie. "Sourced from California, this cheese is made by a leading cheese maker. This is 11 ounces of heaven, creamy and smooth," Strange says. Broglie suggests pairing it with Criterion's Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($15), which he describes as "fresh, crisp and dry with herbal and citrus notes, and a perfect pairing for creamy and light goat cheese." "Buttery and sweet on the palate, this is a sure winner," Strange shares. "It’s a sheep’s-milk wonder from Spain." According to Broglie, the ideal pairing is a Marques de la Musa Garnacha ($10)—"medium bodied with berry and plum aromas, and a rosemary-and-pepper-accented finish." "Spicy yet creamy, this is a great value for a blue cheese," Strange says.