This Scientist Used A Program That Maps Genetics To Visualize Wine & Cheese Pairings

A scientist at University of Toronto may have created the computer program to visually map out relationships between genes and molecules, but it was his genius wife who pointed out that the same algorithm could be applied to pairing wine and cheese.

Professor Gary Bader and his wife logged pairing recommendations from their favorite cheese book, Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best by Max McCalman, to create an interactive online map.

You can see the wine and cheese map here, which maps 100 red and white wines with 270 cheeses from around the world. You can filter by wine, cheese type, and country of origin.  A search for California chardonnay, for instance, brings up a variety of blue cheeses, including the well-known Shropshire Blue. A search for manchego cheese is paired with California pinot noir and a few other less well-known varieties.

"The main fun thing for me for the site is to just use it as a really great demonstration that's understandable about network analysis and technology, and that often leads people into a discussion about science that they wouldn't otherwise have had," Bader told BBC.

Check out The Daily Meal's wine and cheesing pairing guide here.