Wine & Cheese pairing
The marriage of wine and cheese is a centuries-old tradition, an ode to fine dining! In France, the land of 400 cheeses, there are many pairings options, here are a few:
Hard cheeses
Hard cheese and dry white wines: Comté, Beaufort, Salers, Emmental and Gruyère are the perfect companions for dry white wine, whether they tend to be oxidative or not, like the wines of Jura and Southern Burgundy. Ossau-iraty, Manchego, Parmesan and Pecorino come alive with more robust dry white wines like Côtes de Gascogne (dry), the Chenin Blanc of Cahors, the whites of Languedoc.
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Goat’s cheeses
Goat’s cheese with a Loire white wine: Anjou Noir, Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé, Quincy, Reuilly, Menetou-Salon… the fruity notes of these wines will glorify the light and fresh notes of goat’s cheeses. Pairings with light rosés will enhance the wine!
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Soft cheeses
Soft cheese and red wine: Brie and Camembert are delicious with a light and delicate red wine from Burgundy, Beaujolais, Alsace or Loire. The soft texture of these cheeses will envelop the light tannins, their flavours will reveal the fruit, sometimes even the floral notes of the wines.
Blue cheeses
Blue cheese and a red wine or a sweet white wine: for lovers of reds with cheese, opt for a Roquefort or a Gorgonzola paired with red wines from Corsica, Languedoc-Roussillon and the Rhône Valley. The black fruit and spicy aromas of these wines will envelop the intense and spicy aromas of the blue cheeses.
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For Gex and Termignon blue cheeses, or Picón Bejes-Tresviso, a sweet wine (ideally botrytised) will reveal a surprising pairing for the taste buds: the creaminess from the residual sugar in the wines will harmonise with the delicacy of these cheeses, exalting the complex bouquets of the wine: honey, spices, dried and confit fruits, toasted brioche, nuts, orange blossom, citrus…
Conclusion
There is no hard-and-fast rule, there are a thousand possible pairings; the personal tastes and preferences being the main factor in your choices. So, if you’re unsure, don’t think about it too much: cheese and wine from the same region! It’s usually a winning team.