LONDON — The combination of wine and cheese is one that I particularly cherish. Often, instead of dinner or as a bedtime snack, I see my day off with a glass of Chianti and chunk of Parmesan or mature pecorino. I am obviously not the first to discover the power couple that is wine and cheese, but it works particularly well for me because, after a day of testing recipes, all I want is to tickle my taste buds without overloading my stomach.

Though it happened some time ago, I suspect that I first noticed the particular alchemy that happens when cheese meets wine during a ritual that took place in our home every couple of years, long before I was actually allowed wine. I am talking about the fondue ceremony, which many people over a certain respectable age may still remember.

I assume it was similar everywhere (unless you were living in Switzerland, I suppose): a dusty old set brought out from hibernation; cheese and wine bubbling away under ethanol; room smelling like incinerated cheap vodka; bread stuck on sticks; bread dunked; bread falling off sticks never to be found; cheese setting and sticking to the bottom of the pan; party over and fondue set tucked away for as long as it takes for the memory to fade.