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Wine and cheese are made for each other. However, the relationship in this seemingly ideal union is not going so smoothly. To achieve a balanced combination of tastes and enjoy every facet of it, it is important to be able to create the perfect pair. Choosing the right cheese for wine is a whole art, which can be comprehended endlessly. We offer you to study the key principles that will help you come up with perfect combinations for all occasions.
Multiplying tastes
Let’s start with the most important rule that should be remembered. The richer the wine, the brighter the taste of the cheese should be. And vice versa. The same can be said about the fragrance. The intense bouquet of wine will best emphasize the cheese with a pronounced smell. Similarly, you can answer the question, which cheeses are better suited to red wines with a long aging. The older the wine, the more mature the cheese should be.
If the wine has matured in an oak barrel for a long time, it is recommended to abandon the cheese snack altogether. The fact is that woody accents are extremely poorly combined with any creamy tastes. At the same time, the creamy texture of cheeses softens the tannins well. Therefore, it is appropriate to serve soft cheeses to drinks with a moderate content of tannins. The French and Italians do the easiest thing — they take cheese produced in the same region as a pair of wine. This rule works flawlessly.
Red aged wines and hard cheeses
Remember, white wines go better with cheese than red ones. Therefore, it is somewhat more difficult to choose a harmonious pair for the second one. The most difficult case is aged red wines, which require a finely selected supplement. The ideal appetizer for such a wine is Italian pecorino, gran served or Parmesan. This list can include hard noble cheeses gouda, manchego, Basque cheese made from sheep’s milk, smoked cheddar or goat’s milk. Cheeses with a grainy texture, such as barolo, will help smooth out the bitterness of tannins and reduce the acidity.
Light red wines and semi-hard cheeses
With light red wines, like Beaujolais or Pinot Noir, everything is much easier. Here the choice of suitable cheeses is wide. Ideal for such wines, gruyere is an exquisite cheese of semi-hard varieties with expressive nutty notes. Italian taleggio with a pleasant rich aroma will also make a harmonious company for light wines. You can make a whole cheese plate from Camembert, cachocavallo, fontina or brie cheeses. It’s up to you to decide which wine to serve the cheese platter with. The main thing is that it should be moderately tart red varieties, such as” Merlot”,” Pinot Noir “or”Sangiovese”.
Rose wines and soft cheeses
The intense and at the same time delicate bouquet of pink wines is more fully revealed in combination with soft cheeses, such as mozzarella, ricotta or feta. By the way, these same cheeses can be safely served with any white varieties, as well as with dry red Pinot Noir. A great addition to pink wines will be noble cheeses made from goat’s or sheep’s milk: saint-maur, chevre, crottin de chavinbol, chabichou du poiteau. And if you have a high-strength rose wine available, a suitable snack will be maasdam cheese with large eyes and a tart sweet-nutty taste.
Aromatic white wines and cheeses with mold
As you know, white wines, unlike red ones, do not contain tannins, which greatly facilitates the choice of cheeses. Perhaps the only exception here are cheeses with a noble mold. The famous roquefort or gorgonzola are in principle self-sufficient and can do without a gastronomic supplement, since their intense taste and specific aroma can completely clog the taste of almost any white wine. In addition to varieties with a rich bouquet, such as” Muscat”,” Gewurztraminer”,”Torrontes”. A good pair of “fragrant” cheeses are sweet wines of late harvest — “Sauternes” and “Tokay”.
White aged wines and mature cheeses
White aged wines perfectly harmonize with mature cheeses. For example, “Chardonnay” with a complex fruit and flower bouquet contains notes of vanilla and milk toffee. One of the most successful additions for it is the epuas cheese with a sharp smell, which the crust begins to exude during the aging process. If you don’t like too powerful flavors, choose brie or delis de bourgogne cheeses. Gruyere, Beaufort and conte interact well with white aged wines. The slightly oily texture of white wines in this case softens the dry texture of the cheese and mutes the piquant taste.
Sparkling wines and cheese variety
For sparkling wines, there is such a rule-the sweeter the drink, the more piquant the cheese. The rest is dictated by the variety. A universal option for any sparkling wine is camembert. Brie and goat cheese are more suitable for light dry wines. Young cheddar with a rich taste and bright aroma successfully emphasizes the bouquet of aged wines. Gouda with exquisite nutty notes is acceptable to serve with German sparkling wines. A light sweet champagne like Asti is in harmony with cheeses with mold, especially with gorgonzola. You can make a whole cheese plate. But at the same time, there should be no more than three varieties of cheese on it.
Of course, these are just some of the generally accepted principles of combining wine and cheese. There are a great many possible nuances. Do not forget that much depends on individual taste preferences. We have collected basic recommendations and secrets. They will allow you to make harmonious duets and discover familiar drinks and snacks to them from a new side. Create your own wine and cheese duets and surprise your family with small gastronomic pleasures.