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A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine-
Wine and cheese
Almost everyone enjoys one or more types of cheese. Fresh or ripened, soft or hard, alone
or with other foods. Our interest today is wine with cheese. You read about it, talk about it, and most
of all think about it. Pondering the question, What wines go with cheese? Maybe we can help.
Think of cheese like any other food, a dish made of different textures and flavor which requires a wine
of equal or greater character to compliment, contrast or enhance. That's the basics now here is the map. Cheese
can be classified into two broad categories Fresh (un-ripened) & Ripened. Then further separated into
6 sub-categories.
| Cream or Fresh
Cheeses
Ricotta, Cream Cheese, Mascarpone, Goat, Mozzarella |
Soft
Cheeses
Brie, Camembert, Blue |
Semi-Soft
Cheeses
Gouda, Edam, Havarti, Fontina, Muenster |
| Semi-Hard
Cheeses
Cheddar, Swiss, Manchego, Colby, Jack |
Hard
Cheeses
Romano, Pecorino, Parmigiano |
Specialty
Cheeses
Smoked or Flavored |
The cheese samples listed above by no means express the many countries and regions which produce cheese
with varied characteristics on taste. The best advice is to taste and discover. Let's consider one component
of cheese, fat. By food matching standards I would lean towards a wine that can cut through the fat or cleanse the
tongue. So I would think of a wine with acidity or fizz. But what about flavor? Good question. Let's consult the
Wine and Food Pairing Tips chart below. But before we make some matches here are a few tips.
 | Be aware of tannins especially in red wine |
| Off-dry wines with balanced acidity and fruit often make good matches |
| Sparkling wines, the ultimate palate cleanser |
| If at first you don't succeed try, try again |
| Let you're palate be the guide not what you've red (wine) |
| Think about some white wines as well |
| The more acid the cheese the more acid the wine |
| Either match cheese with wine or wine with cheese, if you already know the characteristics of each introduce them |
| Look for harmony in the mouth one should enhance the other |
| Above all don't take it too serious, just have fun |
Example of Wine and Cheese Pairings:
Goat Cheese-can be mild flavored or tangy creamy or semi-soft
Wine choices-French Sauvignon Blanc, Un-Oaked Chardonnay, Dry Riesling, or Brut Sparkling Wine.
In each wine we are looking for minerals, chalk, acid, & subtle citrus fruit.
For the Gewurztraminer, I would choose a "late harvest" for contrast. For a red wine, such as Barbera,
the acid and fruit should pair well with the tanginess of the goat cheese.
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