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…
Source : https://www.decanter.com.master.public.keystone-prod-eks-euw1.futureplc.engineering/learn/food/cheese-and-wine-the-ultimate-guide-245661/
