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Cheese and wine go together like … well, cheese and wine! It’s hard for me to think of a better partner. If you are hosting a dinner or wine tasting, cheese is an obvious choice as an easy and delicious accompaniment to many wines. Whether served as an aperitif or as a formal cheese course before dessert, cheeses can enhance the wine experience in many ways.
But like other foods, pairing cheese and wine can sometimes be tricky, as some pairings add to the wine and cheese experience and others just collide. What is the solution? Stick with some of the classic cheese and wine pairings to start, so you’re sure to have a smash hit at your next dinner or wine tasting event.
As a general rule of thumb, try to pair wines with cheeses that are traditionally made in the same local region. Combine similar flavors with similar ones, pair sweet wines with salty cheese, and balance sour wines with rich, creamy cheeses. These will become more obvious as you read.
Champagne and creamy cheeses
Champagne and many other sparkling wines tend to be strong with high acidity. This bright, intense flavor pairs well with rich, creamy cheeses. The acidity wonderfully cuts through the rich and creamy cheese. Classic cheeses like Brie and Camembert work well. However, for a real treat, try to find ultra rich triple cream cheeses, which means they are high in milk fat (around 75% in many cases). Examples of these include Saint-André, Brillat-Savarin, and Explorer.
Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc with Chevre
Here’s an example of pairing a wine with your local cheeses. Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc are native white grapes from the Loire Valley in France. Sauvignon Blanc makes wines such as Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, while Chenin Blanc is found in Vouvray and Savennières, among others. The classic cheeses to pair these rich white wines are local Loire Valley goat (goat) cheeses produced throughout the region. The rich, earthy flavors of the goat are beautifully highlighted by the bright, mineral-infused flavors of the wines.
Burgundy with Epoisse
In a sense, this is a classic stink cheese and stinky wine pairing, but it’s also a local cheese and wine pairing. Epoisse is a classic cheese produced in, you guessed it, Burgundy in France. For some cheese lovers, it is the king of cheeses. When ripe, it can be quite stinky, with a tangy, rich, meaty, creamy, and salty flavor. Other examples from the region that may be similar include Affidelice and Pié d’Angloys. Only wines that are equally spicy, complex, earthy, and rich can withstand such cheese. Local red Burgundy wines, made with Pinot Noir, often fit the bill. Aged specimens can often acquire stinky, undergrowth, earthy, mushroom and meat aromas and flavors. The pairing of these aromatic, meaty and earthy wines with spicy cheese can be sublime. Other wines can work too. Look for rich wines with earthy flavors. Some examples that may work include Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Bandol.
Piedmontese wines with truffled cheese
Piedmont wines, particularly those made from the Nebbiolo grape, can have a distinctive earthy and white truffle aroma. In fact, white truffles, those famous and expensive mushrooms, are found in the same region! Is it a mistake that the wines beautifully accompany those earthy truffle aromas? Local cheeses, such as Boschetto al Tartufo, often incorporate pieces of truffle and pair wonderfully with the local wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, and even some richer Barberas.
Port and Stilton
One of the most classic wine and cheese pairings of all time, Port and Stilton seem to be made for each other. They seem to break all the rules. Their flavors are quite different and they are not produced in the same region. Port, the fortified wine from Portugal, is usually quite sweet and full-bodied. Stilton, a traditional English blue cow’s milk cheese, is creamy, spicy and salty. Yet somehow, the sweetness of the wine perfectly cuts through the creaminess and saltiness of the cheese. Other blue cheeses may work, but for the ultimate in classic cheese and wine pairings, help yourself to an authentic English Stilton with port at your next wine tasting.
Sauternes and Roquefort
For similar reasons, Sauternes, the sweet Bordeaux wine, and Roquefort, the original French blue cheese, complement each other wonderfully. Roquefort is lighter in color than Stilton and appears a bit saltier. While it may work with a dessert red wine like Port, it really stands out with a brighter sweet white wine like Sauternes. While the sweet, sticky taste of the wine may be too much for all but the most intense sweet tooth, the salty pungency of the Roquefort helps cut and balance the sweetness in a way that takes both to another level.