Wine and Cheese 101
Cheese and wine is a very popular food pairing and wine paring topic. Pretty much everyone loves cheese. It’s a quick and easy appetizer when you have company, a flavor contributor to a dish or just plain delicious! The holidays cheese plates are a great way to start a meal.
Here are some basic wine and cheese pairings to elevate your next dinner party, holiday meal, girls night, treat yourself night or stay at home date night.
Cheese Types:
Soft cheeses such Brie de Meaux, Camembert and Goat cheese are rich yet light. These cheeses are creamy and it’s almost like eating butter. Incredibly moorish. A soft cheese needs a wine with higher acid that will cut through the richness of the cheese and also cleanse the palate. It would clash terribly with a full bodied red such as Cabernet Sauvignon because of the high tannins.
Hard cheeses such as Cheddar, Gouda, Parmesan or Manchego are salty and have texture. Pairs well with a medium to full bodied reds because of the higher salt and higher tannins work well together or a rich fortified wine can stand up to a richer texture and saltier cheese.
Blue cheeses such as Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton are very rich in flavor, creamy texture and salty. These types of cheeses need a wine that is powerful and can stand up to the rich, strong flavors of Blue Cheese.
Soft Cheese
Pair soft ripened cheeses such as Brie, Camembert, Goat cheese or Brillat Savarin with a white such as a Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc, a crisp Rosé or a sparkling wine such as Champagne or Crémant.
A fortified wine option would be Amontillado Sherry
A red option would be a light and fruity red such as Gamay or Pinot Noir work well because they are all higher in acid.
Hard Cheese
Try a dry Sherry such as an Oloroso or Paolo Cortado. A sweeetened PX Sherry or a Tawny Port (10 or 20 years) with hard cheeses gives a nice sweet to salty contrast and has the goods to hold up to hard aged cheeses. An oaky Chardonnay goes very well with strong cheddar.
For red wine drinkers, why not try a Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec with your next extra Aged Sharp Cheddar, Garnacha with Manchego or Sangiovese with Parmesan.
Blue Cheese
These types of cheeses pair well with a sweet wine such as Late Bottle Vintage (LBV) Port, PX Sherry, Icewine or Sauternes.
The savory Stilton or Cabrales begs to be paired with the unctuous, sweet notes of these rich wines.
