My story of wine and cheese began in the '60s. Among other fairly inexplicable things that happened during that decade, cocktail parties became wine-and-cheese parties. Everyone would stand around drinking wine, eating Brie, and talking about the sexual revolution.

The '60s also initiated me into the then romantic and bohemian food-and-wine ritual of eggplant Parmesan and Chianti. Cheap and very cheesy eggplant Parmesan, I might add, paired with even cheaper Chianti. At the end of the evening, you'd take home the Chianti bottle and place a drip candle into it. (If you weren't in love in the '60s, don't expect to understand.)

Wine and cheese have always been inextricably linked because they have the capacity to improve one another. Europeans always understood that the way to make rough, young red wine taste better is to serve it with cheese. Even fabulous, expensive red wine often tastes better with cheese, and cheese, for its part, often tastes richer and more exciting with red wine.

The key to all of this is understanding tannin, a beneficial compound primarily found in grape skins. Red wines, which are fermented with their skins, have a lot more tannin than whites. Tannin can taste dry and tight in the mouth: A red wine with a huge amount of tannin gives you the sense that your tongue is being shrink-wrapped.

When tannic wines are tasted in the company of cheese, however, the protein and fat in the cheese create a kind of coating on the palate, preventing you from experiencing the harshness of the tannin. Instead, the red wine seems perfectly soft and lush.

In my house, we often have very good cheese and wine together in the same meal, and we don't think too analytically about it. But recently I started wondering: Do all wines work wonderfully and equally well with all cheeses?

Answering this question, I decided, would be an excellent way of spending a Saturday night. So I invited a group of friends over; bought a slew of cheeses; gathered up a bunch of wines; and got everybody tasting. Needless to say, you might have fun doing this also, but anyway, here are a few things we found out.

White wines aren't nearly as good with cheese as red wines. Major exception: Sauvignon Blanc and goat cheese (a marriage made in heaven).

The biggest surprise of the white wines was Gewurztraminer. Smoked cheeses such as gouda and earthy cheeses like fontina were fabulous with Gewurztraminer, in part because this spicy white can really hold its own against other strong flavors.

Zinfandel, on the other hand, not only worked with just about every cheese we threw at it, but also made the cheese taste better. Something about Zinfandel's rich fruitiness makes it great with everything from salty cheeses such as pecorino to sharp cheeses like cheddar.

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot both became mellow in the presence of a rich, creamy cheese, which for its part became richer and creamier.

In the end, tasting wine with various cheeses is just the beginning. Wait until you try Smoked-Gouda Risotto With Spinach and Mushrooms with a Zinfandel. If all marriages were as good as this, we wouldn't need therapists or lawyers.