IT seems well-nigh impossible to envisage a Jamaican household without that ubiquitous pairing of bun and cheese.

Wine, bun and cheese?

That’s right! Add a bottle to the supermarket trolley today or pop over to your favourite wine store.

Which wine, which bun, which cheese?

Thursday Food, as we have been doing since the beginning of 2006 in our series of wine discourses, sought assistance from our wine pros: Wray & Nephew’s Marilyn Bennett, 1876 Wines’ Paul Hanworth, Nikki Feanny of Rum, Roast & Royals, Tom Finnigan of Thomas Finnigan Wine Merchant, wine facilitator and evening’s host Christopher Reckord.

Each paired bun, cheese and wine. The evening was full of the usual positive vibes associated with good bottles of wine and lively discussion which not even a power outage could dampen. The evening’s highlight was Hanworth’s impromptu pairing of good old Tastee cheese with Purity bun and Chateau de Mosny – MontLouis Moelleux.

Hanworth, who was eating Tastee cheese for the first time, declared, “It certainly lives up to its name.”

Concentrating more on the “fruity, cake-like taste of the bun as opposed to the cheese,” Hanworth’s selection for the Purity Bun was the pale gold French wine, offering a bouquet of mild honey and spice, with hints of grapefruit and papaya.

Tom Finnigan paired the popular Maxfield Easter bun with a cheese that those passionate about the traditional Tastee cheese would still find palatable (our photographer Joseph Wellington proved this theory) when he finished a slice of Maxfield bun and the semi-hard, very smooth Dutch Jong Belegen (young mature) cheese in the Gouda line. Finnigan’s wine of choice was Colli Euganei Merlot.

“It’s a comfortable, very easy, affordable wine well-suited for the average pocket,” declared the wine merchant.

Nicky Feanny took HTB Easter bun, paired it with Pilgrim’s choice Cheddar with real English Ale and mustard and the unique and accessible pinotage of Graham Beck South African Pinno. “The fruity taste of this bun as well as the savoury cheese and this soft fruit wine are the perfect choice for the season.” It was an interesting take – one we suspect our readers would enjoy.

Host Christopher Reckord poured Cockburn’s Special Reserve (the world’s most popular premium port) with HTB Old Time Jamaican Recipe bun. Reckord offered two cheeses (consistent) with a beverage that’s invariably served with dessert – aged Stilton and Gouda.

“I took the classic approach,” he shared, pointing out the clean aroma, dry to medium sweet taste showing maturity and finesse, with a hint of dried plums. It was an easy sell with even those not accustomed to lifting the Easter bun to such lofty heights adding it to their list of simple but elegant desserts.

Marilyn Bennett, the group’s sole female wine buff shared with the group her “absolute passion for butter with bun”. Her choice was Nicole’s Gourmet Bun, a bun as delicious and rich as an excellent Christmas cake. Bennett’s next stop was to cheese pro Tom Finnigan where she purchased the ‘buttery soft’ brie. It was an immediate hit with guest Jimmy Joseph who instantly declared the bun his winner.

When Bennett poured the perfectly chilled Chilean Chardonnay – Monkey Puzzle 2004 with its light yellow colour with shining greenish sparkles – the elegant aroma with a mixture of vanilla, mature peaches and bananas was a perfect complement to the creamy brie, marrying well and pleasingly in the mouth.

Thursday Food would love to hear and share stories of your own bun, cheese and wine pairings. Email us

whyten@jamaicaobserver.com.