-
-
There are no strict rules for pairing wine and cheese. Because there are a fairly limited number of cheese varieties, finding the right combination is a little more straightforward than selecting wine for your meal. This guide offers some basic approaches to selecting a complementary combination of wine and cheese.
-
Categories
-
There are no strict rules for pairing wine and cheese. Because there are a fairly limited number of cheese varieties, finding the right combination is a little more straightforward than selecting wine for your meal. This guide offers some basic approaches to selecting a complementary combination of wine and cheese.
-
Introduction
- Wine and cheese are old friends, going back thousands of years together, but not every specific pairing works. If you force a hearty bottle of Syrah on a mild Camembert, the flavors of the cheese will barely assert themselves. Likewise, try sticking a strong chunk of Roquefort with a dainty Sauvignon Blanc and your wine will become spiritless. Read on for some basic—though loose—guidelines to setting up the perfect couple.
Salty Cheese with Sweet Wine
- Just as saltiness and sweetness make a savory combination in candy, a sweet wine can nicely complement a salty cheese. It's a good rule of thumb to pair according to the degree of sweetness or saltiness: i.e. mildly salty cheese with mildly sweet wine and very salty cheese with very sweet wine.
- Mildly Salty Cheese
- Mildly Sweet Wine
- Gewurztraminer
- Zinfandel
- Rose
- Cava
- Merlot
- California Chardonnay
- Vin Santo
- Salty Cheese
- Feta
- Chevre
- Roquefort
- Sardo
- Stilton
- Gorgonzola
- Bricotta
- Casera
- Cheshire
- Coimbra
- Comte
- Romano
- Pecorino Romano
- Ricotta Salata
- Sweet Wine
- Port
- Riesling
- Pinot Noir
- Sauternes
- Ice Wine
Stinky Cheese with Full-Bodied Wine
- Pungent "stinky" cheese tends to go with big, full-bodied red wines. Some reds are particularly rich in tannin, a compound found in grape skins that lend a thick texture and astringent quality, both of which are a real asset for a wine trying to get a whiff in edgewise next to uncompromising cheeses like Limburger.
- Stinky Cheese
- Limburger
- Stilton
- Munster
- Stinking Bishop
- Pont l'Eveque
- Taleggio
- Epoisses
- Camembert au Calvados
- Full-Bodied Wine
Creamy Cheese with Crisp White Wine
- Creamy cheeses, particularly milder ones, tend to pair well with crisp white wines. Creamy cheeses like Brie coat the palate in fat, an effect that tends to weaken the flavors of red wines. On the other hand, the high acidity in wines like Sauvignin Blanc provides a refreshing counterpoint to the fatty cheese.
- Soft Cheese
- Brie
- Camembert
- Chatelain
- Boursin
- Durrus
- Cream Cheese
- Fresh Mozzarella
- Neufchatel
- Delice de Bourgogne
- Crisp Wines
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Chenin Blanc
- Pinot Grigio
- Champagne
Resources for How to Select Wine and Cheese
- The Wine Pages: Wine 101 - Wine and Cheese
- Wine and Cheese Pairings
- GourmetSleuth.com: Wine and Cheese Pairing
- American Cheese Society: Cheese and Wine Pairing
- Dairy Goodness: Wines and Cheeses
- StinkyCheese.com: Stilton
- Surreal Gourmet: Dirty rotten stinky cheeses and the wines that love them
- WineWebCentral.com: Pairing
- New York Times: Sommelier, Fromager, Make Me a Match
- Pints Unlimited: Wine and Cheese
- iGourmet.com: Stinky Cheese
- TravelLady Magazine: Cheese Pairings
- Food-Info: A small overview of the most important world-wide cheeses
- ArtisanalCheese.com: Cheese Types
- Sportsman's Wine & Spirits: Cheese Glossary
