Understanding consumer preferences for Shiraz wine and Cheddar cheese pairings

Ten commercial Australian Shiraz wines of diverse origin and quality were hedonically rated by 54 wine and cheese consumers and 22 wine experts. The wines were then paired with a single Cheddar cheese and the consumers asked to rate “ideal” pairings and indicate hedonic liking of the pairs. A descriptive analysis (DA) panel of seven judges evaluated the sensory properties of the wines before and after consumption of the cheese. DA indicated that consumption of the Cheddar cheese before tasting the wine had similar sensory effects on all the wines including a reduction of flavour length and astringency intensity, while the tannin quality became silkier. All wines dominated the cheese flavour but the wine that dominated the cheese flavour the most was the least liked pairing, while the wine that dominated the cheese second most was the most liked pairing. Only nine of the wines, but all of the wine and cheese pairs were liked by the consumers. Two of the top three most preferred Shiraz and cheese pairings were those containing wines that scored highest in quality and were most liked by the wine industry experts and consumers. In contrast, the two least liked wine and cheese pairs included the wines that scored poorly on quality and were not liked. Wine domination of the cheese does not appear to drive the preference for wine and cheese pairs; rather it appears driven by overall preference for the wine alone.