I guess the question is: what is the cheese doing to your perception of the wine? In pretty much all cases, it is either decreasing or interfering with palate perception. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy them together, but it’s worth thinking about what you want your experience with that wine to be.
I think the question is “why does the fact that some people like cheese with red wine bother so many”?
There are so many things that affect your palate, why pick on this? As mentioned in the low salt thread, the high levels of salt folks consume has a HUGE impact on your palate, like a drug, you can’t go without it unless you go cold turkey. Long time vegetarians have different palates than meat eaters. I don’t like western style duck at all, but I’m told that’s what is “best”, even though I don’t like it (love mushrooms though, and the bright spot about this thread is it inspired last nights roasted oyster mushrooms and Mugneret-Gibourg 2006 Nuits St. George Les Chaignots that accompanied it).
If the OP asked about a recommendation on California wine, would we jump on him and tell him California wine sucks with food? I think so, but I know many experience wine drinkers that never crossed over to Burgundy and they aren’t “wrong” for drinking a modern California wine.
I’ve been at many a red wine burgundy dinner where there was great wine left, so one Burgophile or another suggests ordering some cheese. It’s a little sanctimonious to start asking us to contemplate whether that is the experience we want.
I don’t think there was a single post that suggested that someone enjoying red Burgundy and cheese together was “bothersome” to them.
The original poster asked for cheese pairings for red Burgundy. He asked for opinions. That’s what he got. Most posters essentially said, “since I don’t think red Burgundy pairs well with cheese, I can’t come up with a suggestion that is appropriate to your question.” The mere fact that most of the opinions offered differ from yours, Barry, doesn’t make those opinions any more or less valid than your opinion or the opinion of the original poster.
FWIW Hugh Johnson suggests “local red” for epoisses. Not sure if the wine you mention is what HJ had in mind by ‘local red’… I can’t find the reference but I think I’ve also heard him say that epoisses and fine burgundy is a waste of both good wine and good cheese… which suggests there isn’t a clear cut answer.
Your comments are most interesting.
I personally lean to white with such cheeses. The strength of flavour and style (Alsace, Burgundy, young / old ) dependent on the cheese.
With red burgundy I’d look for milder cheeses so as not to over power the wine.
The “sell on cheese” thing I’ve always taken to be in the context of indifferent wine.
More tannic reds will stand a hard cheese like cheddar.
I think the second part is backward. I much prefer a rich, creamy soft cheese with a red (generally rhone is preferred but pinot will do) and harder cheeses with a white.
I can’t find the reference but I think I’ve also heard him say that epoisses and fine burgundy is a waste of both good wine and good cheese… which suggests there isn’t a clear cut answer.