The principal aim when pairing cheese and wine is to find an enjoyable match and to avoid clashes between all elements involved.
I can count on my fingers the number of cheese and wine pairings that have taken me to an ethereal level. My favourite was a pairing of Bolney Wine Estate’s Kew Gardens sparkling rosé with a youthful Mont d’Or. The stone fruit and crème fraiche flavours in the cheese brought out the fruit flavours in the wine, and the cheese’s fatty paste was cut beautifully by the bubbles.
When pairing cheese and wine, we are looking mainly at two methods: the complement and the contrast. You can pair cheese to wine or wine to cheese, however the outcome should be the same, where neither dominates the other.
The cheese flavour wheel shows the flavour relationships between different types of cheese from around the world. Use it to understand what styles of cheese you like and to make new discoveries.
From ‘The Cheese Wheel’ by Emma Young (Ebury Press, £14.99)
Complementing
This involves matching like for like in intensity, structure and flavour. For example, a fresh goat’s curd with its simple, dairy flavours will not match up to a full-bodied, intense Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Pair lighter cheeses with lighter-bodied wines, and bold and powerful cheeses with wines of a similar intensity.
Think about the condiments and accompaniments which work well with cheese and choose wines which host similar flavours within.
For example, Comté pairs well with walnuts and therefore also pairs well with Vin Jaune, which often displays walnut characters. Sheep’s cheeses like Ossau-Iraty and Manchego pair beautifully with almonds, so Amontillado or Palo Cortado Sherry, with their nutty flavours, make a perfect match.
Contrasting
Two of the most iconic pairings for cheese are Stilton with Port and Roquefort with Sauternes.
These pairings both use the contrasting method, whereby the sweetness of Port and Sauternes contrasts with the salty, savoury notes of Stilton and Roquefort.
Mouthfeel is important in pairing too, which is why we enjoy the effervescence of a Champagne or sparkling wine cutting through the rich, fatty paste of a Brillat Savarin.
Spicy blue cheeses pair well with figs and dried fruit, so look for wines which display those characteristics too: try your blues with a Tawny Port or a Pedro Ximénez Sherry.
The perfect cheeseboard pairings
Credit: Ilya_Rocket
Hard cheese
As cheese ages and matures, it goes through proteolysis (breakdown of protein) and lipolysis (breakdown of fat), which not only affects its texture but also its flavour.
These processes take time and lead to enhanced aroma and flavour development and complexity.
When a cheese is young, these aromas and flavours are locked in, which is why a young cheese may simply taste milky and fruity. Comté on the other hand, which is an aged hard cheese, has an abundance of different flavours, and even has its very own flavour wheel.
You can be more flexible pairing hard cheeses with wine as there is a wider variety of flavours to work with. There are no hard and fast rules so you can experiment with all styles of wine.
These cheeses will have the structure, complexity and acidity to hold up to and complement bolder red wines, but I also love a Champagne and hard cheese combination.
You also cannot go wrong with the classic pairings of Comté with Vin Jaune or Manchego with Amontillado Sherry.
Cheese choices
Traditional Cheddar, Comté, Gruyère, Manchego, Ossau-Iraty, Mimolette, Cantal, Rachel, Pecorino Romano, L’Etivaz
Wine options
Red: Bordeaux blends, Pinot Noir, Chianti, Nebbiolo, Rioja
White: White Burgundy, White Rhône, White Bordeaux, Vin Jaune, Amontillado Sherry, Champagne, Cava
Blue cheese
Blue cheeses are known for being strong, spicy and intense.
With the intense character of cheeses such as Roquefort and Gorgonzola Piccante, the sweet, dulcet tones of a late harvest, botrytised dessert wine form a perfect partnership.
Not all blues are this bold, however, so I like to pair more restrained blues such as Cashel Blue and Fourme d’Ambert with low-tannin red wines.
Wheels of Roquefort maturing in the cellars of Roquefort Société, in Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, Aveyron. Credit: imageBROKER.com GmbH & Co. KG / Alamy Stock Photo
Goat and sheep cheese
Goat and sheep milk cheeses in this section refer to the small, individual units we call lactic cheeses, made using a slow, gentle production method relying on a slow acidification.
Textures can be soft, mousse-like and aerated, or firm, dense and toothsome. In flavour, you will typically find a zippy acidity and sometimes some earthy, mushroom flavours.
Dense goat’s cheeses such as Crottin de Chavignol pair well with high acid white wines such as Sancerre and other Sauvignon Blancs.
If you ever find an aged goat’s cheese, such as the outstanding Selles-sur-Cher Confit (aged for around 100 days) matured by the prestigious cheesemonger and Meilleur Ouvrier de France Laurent Dubois in Paris, you will find the most perfect pairing for vintage Champagne.
Cheese choices
Crottin de Chavignol, Pélardon, Charolais, Selles-sur-Cher, Sinodun Hill, St Tola, Dorstone, Eve, Pyghtle
Wine options
Red: Southern Rhône, Spanish rosé, Provence rosé
White: Champagne, Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre, Albariño, Condrieu, Chenin Blanc
Crottin de Chavignol goat’s cheese. Credit: Elena Philippe / Alamy Stock Photo
Washed rind cheese
Washed rind cheeses are typically on the more pungent side with meaty, savoury flavours and a long finish. The rind washing process encourages bacteria to develop, giving the cheese its bold flavours.
I am always surprised at their versatility when it comes to pairing, as they work with so many different styles and varieties. For a classic pairing go for a floral, aromatic white such as a Gewürztraminer.
Cheese choices
Époisses, Langres, Edmund Tew, Munster, Taleggio, Mahon, Gubbeen, Mont d’Or, Stinking Bishop, Rollright
Wine options
Red: Red Burgundy, Rioja, Barbera, Gamay
White: Gewürtztraminer, Alsace Pinot Gris, White Burgundy, Champagne
Mont d’Or cheese. Credit: Urwikiow Aufrere Nathalie
Soft & bloomy cheese
It’s hard to complete a cheeseboard without a cheese from this category. The most famous cheeses of this style are Brie de Meaux and Camembert de Normandie, which happen to be two of my favourite cheeses.
They are, however, my least favourite cheeses for pairing with wine. When pairing cheeses of this style, there are various factors to consider, which are relevant in all cheese pairings, but more pronounced here than elsewhere.
The main factor is ripeness. In youth, a bloomy rind will be firm and chalky at the core and its rind will have simple flavours of white mushrooms. It may also have a touch of bitterness within. In age, the texture breaks down into the glossy custard we know and love. The flavours will be more pronounced, showing mushrooms, brassicas and sometimes a seaside element.
If left too long, when the cheese breaks down too much and the white moulds come to the end of their life cycle, flavours and aromas of ammonia and bitterness may ensue.
Be very mindful of the age profile of your bloomy rind cheese when pairing it with wine, as it can create an unpleasant sensation in the mouth, like orange juice and toothpaste.
I wish I could give a one-size-fits-all pairing for this type of cheese, however even the most classic pairing of Champagne will struggle with bloomy rinds outside of their eating window.
Cheese choices
Brie de Meaux, Camembert de Normandie, Tunworth, La Tur, St Jude, Brillat Savarin, St Felicien, Waterloo
Wine options
Red: Beaujolais, Pinot Noir
White: Chablis, Vouvray, Grüner Veltliner, Champagne
Brie, honey, pear and Champage. Credit: Cavan Images
Serving cheese: top tips
As with wine, cheese needs to come up to temperature before being served to allow for all the aroma and flavour nuances to wake up. Take your cheese out of the fridge 45-60 minutes before serving.
Where possible, arrange your cheeseboard in order of style and strength so you do not kill your palate immediately with an intense cheese such as Roquefort.
When it comes to cutting and presenting cheese, the main objective is to make sure that each person eating gets the same amount of rind and paste. Cut one or two portions of each cheese so that guests know how to continue thereafter.
Emma Young is a cheese and wine consultant, author, cheese judge and educator. Her book, The Cheese Wheel, published by Ebury Press, is available here.
