Wine and cheese are one of those magical culinary pairings where
you can hardly say one without thinking about the other, much like
bread and butter or even peanut butter and jelly.
Wine and cheese are one of those magical culinary pairings where you can hardly say one without thinking about the other, much like bread and butter or even peanut butter and jelly.
But the almost legendary relationship between wine and cheese is one that transcends nearly all others among those with a taste for fine dining.
The only difficult task is finding the wine and cheese pairing that works best for you.
“It’s a very personal thing,” said Dorothy McNett, whose specialty shop in downtown Hollister offers a variety of wines and cheeses.
“Everybody tastes things slightly differently,” McNett said.
Two people can sample the same wine and cheese and have completely different reactions, she said.
Although no two people can agree on every wine-and-cheese pairing, there are some guidelines that seem to hold true under most circumstances.
There are some combinations that are naturally pleasing to many wine lovers. Usually red wine goes best with hard cheeses and white wine is better with soft cheeses.
But those are just guidelines. Finding the right wine-and- cheese pairing is ultimately a personal choice, so wine lovers looking for that perfect match should keep an open mind and explore until they determine what is best suited to their palate.
At the same time, there are traditionalists who insist it is best to serve red wine with all cheeses.
But a growing number of wine experts are converting to the belief that white wine is a better match for many cheeses.
Some larger wineries like Beringer Vineyards have created its own guides to matching wine and cheese.
The guides are intended to simplify the pairing question by discussing the basic principals behind successful pairings, with insights into why they work and suggestions on which cheese to serve with various styles of wine.
Every style of wine and cheese maintain their own distinct flavor, texture and other inherent characteristics.
– Both wine and cheese date back to ancient times (wine about 10,000 years – cheese about 4,000 years)
– Both are produced through the process of fermentation.
– Both are a reflection of their territory, and come in a wide variety of styles and flavors.
While many wine experts agree there are not a lot of “dos” when it comes to wine and cheese tasting, there are definitely some “don’ts” that wine and cheese lovers will want to avoid.
“You don’t want to get a big wine with a robust flavor and mix it with a mild cheese,” said Linda Kiner with Pietra Santa Winery.
Pietra Santa has produced a number of award-wining wines since bursting onto the San Benito County vineyard scene several years ago.
“Generally, the stronger the cheese, the bigger the wine you can use with it,” she said.
Wine experts say that tart, high acidity cheeses like Valencay, a French goat cheese, go better with herbal, high acidity wines like un-oaked Sauvignon Blanc, and high butter fat, low acidity cheeses like Italian Taleggio or Spanish Cabrales go well with big buttery wines like California Chardonnay.
Also, cheeses and wines coming from the same region of the world are said to go well together – the culinary adage that “things that grow together, go together,” – while big, young red wines high in harsh tannins supposedly have difficulty matching with any cheese, because of an unpleasant, chalky aftertaste.
Wine experts agree that you do not have to be rich to enjoy wine and cheese tasting because expensive and rare wines are not needed for great wine and cheese combinations. What you need most is great cheese.
“Having an expensive wine does not matter,” Kiner said.
There is no need for an expensive French Bordeaux or Burgundy. Most workable wines retail in the $10 to $15 range.
Here are some guidelines that can help with selecting a wine and cheese match that works for many people, but there will always be exceptions, so experiment:
The harder the cheese the higher degree of tannin a wine can have;
Creamy cheeses require a wine with higher acidity;
The whiter and fresher the cheese, the crisper and fruitier the wine;
Heavy, rich cheeses tend to work better with light reds and Chardonnay;
Strong-veined cheeses usually demand a sweeter wine;
Soft cheeses with a bloomy white or red dotted rind, go best with full bodied white wines, younger reds, or wines lower in tannins;
Orange-red rind soft cheeses work well with full-bodied reds with lower tannins or powerful white wines;
Semi-soft cheeses with a pink-gray rind, match well with strong or mature white wines.
The only rule for wine and cheese matching that holds up in every instance is to just experiment and have fun, McNett said.
“Just take a little wine, eat a little cheese and have a lot of fun.”
Matching the right cheese with the right wine
CheeseWine
Baby SwissAsti Spumanti
BleuTawny Port, Madeira or Sherry
Brie, vintageChampagne or Sweet Sherry
Brie, U.S.Cabernet or Beaujolais
Cheddar, mildChampagne or Chardonnay
Cheddar, strongCabernet, Rioja, Sauvignon or Blanc
CheshireRiesling
ColbyRiesling or Champagne
Cream CheeseWhite Zinfandel
EdamRiesling or Dry Champagne
FetaBeaujolais
GoudaRiesling or Champagne
HavartiBordeaux or Rioja
Monterey JackRiesling
MuensterBeaujolais or Zinfandel
ProvoloneChardonnay
RoquefortTawny Port
SwissGewurztraminer
