How to pair Cheese & Wine

10. February 2008 by Sebastien Gavillet.

Wine is, with bread, cheese’s best companion. Most people think that one should drink red wine with cheese. That is not quite true. This age old theory comes from the routine that one should drink light wines before heavier ones. And as cheese is usually served before desert, people have been serving heavy reds with cheeses. The truth is that most cheeses are better accompanied with white wines.

In fact you can destroy the entire cheese experience if you pair the wrong wine with a cheese. So here are general rules for you to consider; choose white wines over red ones. Should you prefer a red stay in the light ones, Beaujolais and especially Burgundy wines balance well with the lactic acids found in cheese. In general lower tannin wines do much better with most cheeses too. Port is cheese friendly too.

Here are some pairing tips you should consider:

Soft Goat cheeses with Sauvignon Blanc (Fume Blanc) or cotes du Rhone
Hard Goat cheeses with Vin Jaune
Munster Family cheese with Gewürztraminer or Rieslings
Epoise with Marc de Bourgogne (liquor) or Chardonnay (from Burgundy)
Parmigianino reggiano family with champagne/sparkling wines
Beaufort with Ports (Twany)
Roquefort or blue cheeses in general with Sauternes or sweet desert wines
Gruyere with a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio
A Mild Cheddar with a Chardonnay and a Sharp Cheddar with older Rojas.

I compiled for WineAromas.com a list of over 80 cheeses from the world over for you to query at www.winearomas.com/info/cheese.html.

Again we all have our own tastes and I recommend you to experience and discover yourself what your personal preferences are! And I can tell you that you will have a lot of fun doing it and will give you an excuse to drink many wines.

Cheers!

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