The purpose of the experience is to educate. He explained that cheese is his passion and that the French (and most Europeans) are much more interested in their food than us. The French will gather and have a 4-hour dinner and talk about nothing else but the food. We learned that there are over 1,000 varieties of French cheese categorized into 8 styles from 20 regions within France. We sampled 9. We learned about why certain cheeses are made in certain regions and not others. With regard to the wine question, we learned the importance of pairing a wine and a cheese that both come from the same region so that the taste and flavor profiles complement each other. We learned the importance of how you cut cheese and that cheese is never served with a cracker - either alone or with a piece of fresh baguette. And that the cheese course is traditionally between the main course and dessert. Really fascinating stuff if you are a foodie.