Wine & Cheese Pairing: Match Made In Heaven

The pairing of wine and cheese is an old practice. The complicated culinary choice is somewhat an art that dates back to the days of British wine merchants and European wine makers that takes root in historical traditions and adages. One of the most repeated adages remain, “buy on an apple and sell on cheese.” Translation: if a wine works well with the sugary and acidic taste of apple, then it will blend well with cheese. Yet, the true art of pairing has only grown in sophistication over the years. Allow us to guide you through the enigmatic wine and cheese pairing:

Know Your Cheese

If you know your wines well, the next step is to understand a bit more about the cheese. This is will help you with the pairing. Generally, we can place them into four categories:

·        Bloomy Cheese

Cheese that is creamy with a soft rind is bloomy cheese. Some examples might be brie, robiola and taleggio.

·        Blue Cheese

This is a stronger and richer form of cheese with a pungent taste. Cambozola, blue, stilton and gorgonzola are amongst them.

·        Hard Cheese

This type of cheese can typically be aged. They are sharp and salty and include Gouda, parmesan, gruyere and fontina.

·        Fresh Cheese

Fresh cheese is generally softer and can be used as a spread as well. They are not aged, and include Goat, feta, burrata, mozzarella and ricotta.

How To Pair Cheese & Wine

1.     Go For A Regional Match

Let’s consider the fact that you know your wines, and you know which region they originate from. Pairing wines with the cheese from the same region is perhaps one of the safest and sure-shot methods of pairing. You can’t go wrong. For instance, French cheese with French wine; Italian cheese with Italian wines; if you have some of the best Chianti wines, make sure to choose parmesan; and so on.

2.     Consider Contrasting

Another way to go about your pairing is to contrast the wine and cheese. For instance, harder cheese with lighter wines; a heavy and rich body wine with really light cheese; something sweet with something salty; then some parallel flavor: nutty with sweet nutty. A study shows that some of the best pairings are those where the wine and cheese fall in opposite points in the spectrum of taste. This means that you need to understand the profile of your wine and then match it with a contrasting flavor profile of the cheese. Seems like a lot of trial and error here. Let’s see if we can make it simpler.

Cheater Chart – Cheese That Will Pair With Just About Every Wine

1.     Compte Extra

This cheese falls in between the continuum of hard and soft, with a semi-firm body. The French cheese is made from cow’s milk giving out a strong flavor with a very slight sweet texture. If you’re looking for the safest bet, then this cheese is your choice. However, it should be mentioned that they taste particularly better with lighter red wines and creamy white ones.

2.     Abbay de Belloc

This exclusively manufactured cheese is made from sheep’s milk by Benedictine Monks at the abbey of Notre-Dame de Belloc. The dense textures of the wine is an combination of numerous complex flavor blends that work well just about all white wines and lighter to medium-body reds.

3.     Colombier

Here’s your choice in cheese for those full body and rich Chianti wines! Made from goat’s milk, this cheese consists of rich ingredients that can withstand the robust textures of strong wines.

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