Wine and cheese, cheese and wine…whichever way you look at it, this is one of the world’s great food and drink pairings. A great wine served with a superb cheese is an immensely pleasurable experience, although it’s important to put a little thought into which cheeses will bring out the best in the wine and of course vice versa.
As a general rule of thumb, red wines can stand up to more pungent, strongly-flavoured cheeses than their more delicate white counterparts. The more bolshy and full-bodied the red, the more likely it is to stand up to the intense tastes and aromas of strong cheeses, while milder cheeses pair well with gentler, less tannin-heavy red wine.
Whilst these observations ring true for most cheese and wine pairings, do bear in mind that, as with many things in the wine-food pairing world, an awful lot comes down to personal choice. If you like to nibble a mild mozzarella while sipping a buxom Bordeaux, so be it. However, if you’re planning on serving cheese and wines at a dinner or other social event, it really makes sense to consider which pairings are most likely to garner a positive reaction from your guests.
If you already have a reasonable notion as to your guests’ preferences in cheeses and wines, for example if you are catering for a partner who loves strong, pungent cheeses and heady, bolshy wines; the pairings should be fairly straightforward. If, however, you are hosting a larger gathering for guests whose tastes may vary, it makes sense to set out cheeses and wines of varying strength.
Let’s start with the lighter red wines and their cheese equivalent. Tannin-light, easy drinking wines such as Beaujolais will make a nice partner to softer, milder cheeses, such as Greek feta, Italian Mozzarella, Danish Edam and many Swiss cheeses. These fruitier wines can occasionally work well with stronger, smellier cheeses, but the milder cheeses will not work very well with full-bodied, tannic wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon or indeed Merlot.
Taking the strength factor up a notch or two, medium-bodied red wines will work with a good number of cheeses from across the world. Medium bodied red wines are arguably the easiest red wines to pair with cheese, due to their versatility. Cheeses with just a little acidity and those that have been aged for a while will pair well with fruity, medium-bodied wines, such as Pinot Noir, Merlot and Zinfandels. Cows’ cheeses such as a strong, sharp Cheddar will be good match, as will stronger Swiss cheeses, such as Gruyeres and aged goats’ cheeses including Boucheron.
The versatility of medium-bodied cheeses means you can really play around with cheese pairings and it is worth being a little adventurous – smoked cheeses such as Provolone and smoked Ricotta or Gouda can be very good pairings. If in doubt, try pairing medium bodied wines with cheeses from the same region, or at least the same country, as the result is likely to be more than palatable.
Moving on to those heavyweights of the wine world – the richly flavoured, tannic, bolshy red wines that are more than a match for even the boldest food flavours. These wines will work very well with strong, sharp, full-flavoured cheeses and can stand up to even the most pungent of ‘stinky’ cheeses, such as soft, full-bodied offerings from France.
Again, pairing a wine with cheeses from the same country can be a good place to start – for example, a heady Italian Barolo will work well with sharp Parmesans and salty Pecorino-Romano cheeses. Italian Blue cheeses, such as Dolcelatta, can be a good match too and even strong blues such as Gorgonzola and pungent soft French cheeses including Camembert will be good bedfellows for bold, tannin rich red wine.
One classic full-bodied red wine for pairing with cheese is Cabernet Sauvignon, which pairs very favourably with many stronger cheeses. Cows’ milk cheeses are usually the best bet for pairing with Cabernet, especially washed-rind varieties. Beginners to food and wine pairing should steer clear of pairing Cabernet Sauvignon with goats’ and sheep cheeses, as the flavours of the wine can often clash with the acids.
From light-bodied and easy drinking to bolshy and full-bodied, there are wines out there to match every type of cheese. Have fun matching tastes and flavours and remember, there are no hard and fast rules, so if you like it, go for it!
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