What is a Good Wine & Cheese Pairing?

Any great host or hostess knows that the perfect wine and cheese pairing can truly elevate a dining experience. However, for many, choosing the perfect wine to serve alongside a cheese platter can be a daunting task – how does anyone possibly choose? In this article, our grazing experts explore the best wine and cheese combinations so you can impress at your next dinner party!

What is a good wine and cheese pairing? We’ve listed some of the best cheese and wine pairings below:

• Soft Cheese – Rosé or Champagne
• Hard Cheese – Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz
• Blue Cheese – Aged Port or Zinfandel
• Washed Rind Cheese – Muscadet or Sauvignon Blanc
• Goats Cheese – Sauvignon Blanc or Spanish Albario

Read on to discover the perfect wines to pair with your cheese and charcuterie board, as well as our fail-safe cheese and wine pairing tips, or if you’d like to learn more about hosting the perfect dinner party, read our recent blog.

 

What Wine Pairs Well With Cheese?

The great news is that most guests aren’t fussy and will be happy no matter what you put on the table. But, if you want to truly impress your guests, find the perfect cheese and wine combinations below: 

Soft Cheeses

Brie, Camembert, Boursin

Be careful to choose a wine that won’t overpower the delicate flavours found in soft cheeses. We usually go for lighter and bright wines such as Rosé, Pinot Noir, or Sauvignon Blanc offering notes of stone or citrus fruits – typically anything you might enjoy on a balcony in summertime! Sparkling wines pair also beautifully with the likes of camembert and brie, as the bubbles help to cut through the fatty mouthfeel left behind by soft cheese. 

Find out more about the difference between brie and camembert in our recent blog. You might also love our recipe for festive brie and cranberry sausage rolls!

Hard Cheeses

Manchego, Cheddar, Comte

Each of these cheeses present a delicious fattiness which pair well with wines containing a high level of tannins. You wine pairings are likely to include Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, or a classic Malbec. The stronger your cheese, the stronger your wine should be, so consider how long each hard cheese has been in the aging process for, and look for a similar length of time when choosing your bottle.

Blue Cheese

Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton

Blue cheese and wine pairings are easier than they might seem initially! Blue cheeses are known for being stinky, pungent, and salty, and they need a bold wine pairing to match. Dark, sweet red wines pair beautifully, as they help to balance out the acidic flavours in blue cheese, adding a touch of creamy flavour. Aged port, known for sweetness and bold notes, also pairs well with the blue variety. Although this is a classic festive combination, this pairing works well all year round.

Washed Rind Cheese

Stinking Bishop, Gruyere, Raclette

These cheeses are typically aged for long periods of time, developing a distinct smell in the process. Although your fridge may not agree, washed rind cheese actually offers subtle, mild yeast notes. The subtle flavours of the cheese pair perfectly with mild dry white wines, such as a Muscadet or a Sauvignon Blanc. When regionally paired (find out more on this below!), red wine also works well with washed rind cheeses.

Goats Cheese

Brunet, Feta, Chevre

Goats cheese has a notable tangy and gamey flavour, which ideally needs to be paired with a wine similar in acidity. We’d recommend pairing most goat’s cheeses with a Sauvignon Blanc or a Spanish Alberino – known for its bold and citrusy notes. If you insist on a red wine, avoid the fruiter sort as this overpowers the delicate nature of goats cheese, and instead opt for a subtle Cabernet Franc.

 

 

How To Pair Wine With Cheese

If you’d like to get creative with your cheese and wine pairings but you don’t know where to start, we’ve outlined our three top tips for exploring new cheese and wine pairings.

#1 Pair By Location

Pairing wine and cheese by location is a great tip for anyone struggling to get their head around combinations that work well together. Some people even say ‘what grows together goes together!’ – and we agree! For example, a Spanish wine such as Rioja or Cava goes brilliantly with Manchego. Or on the other hand, a creamy French brie or blue cheese will work with the delicate flavours found in a bottle of luxurious Champagne. 

#2 Pair Cheese and Wine By Intensity

Strong cheeses go well with strong wines, whilst soft, creamy cheese pairs better with wine that offers delicate tasting notes. Wines considered to be ‘strong’ (i.e. over 14.5% and most red wines) often pair well with aged cheeses such as Vintage Cheddar, Stilton, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or Manchego. This is due to the high fat content in the cheese which works to balance out the tannins found in wine, creating a careful balance which allows the whole flavour profile to shine through. Lighter wines, generally under 12%, pair best with cheeses such as Mozzarella, Emmental, or Chaource.

#3 If in Doubt, Pair With Bubbly

Sparkling wine – whether prosecco, cava, or Champagne – works with almost all types of cheese, making it a fail-safe pairing option. The high carbonation levels in sparkling wine make it an excellent palette cleanser, which works to bring out the best in cheese, both the hard and soft variety. Bubbly works well with softer cheeses to cut through the fattiness, enhancing the cheeses’ nutty and fruity notes. Pairing sparkling wine with aged or blue cheeses helps cut through the acidity, which surprisingly makes the cheese more palatable.

 

Bespoke Cheese Boards From Savery Grazing

Take the hard work out of cheese pairings with the help of Savery Grazing. We offer a selection of totally Instagrammable grazing boards, perfect for dinner parties, birthdays, family get-togethers, baby showers, and everything in-between! Each board is carefully crafted with fresh, local produce, meaning delicious quality each and every time.

If you have any questions about hosting, cheese pairings, or one of our grazing platters, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team – we’ll be more than happy to help you! For those of you in the Sheffield or Derbyshire area, why not order a platter for your next event?

 

Wine & Cheese FAQs

What Should You Serve Alongside Wine & Cheese?

Cheese is so versatile, meaning you can really serve anything you’d like alongside it! When serving wine and cheese to our guests, we’ll typically include:

• A selection of crackers or fresh bread
• One chutney for every 2-3 types of cheese (learn how to pair cheese and chutney in this article)
• Nuts, olives, and pickled garlic
• A pot of honey or fresh honeycomb
• Fruits such as grapes, figs, seasonal berries, as well as sliced apple and pear
• Squares of high-quality dark chocolate
• Springs of fresh garden herbs such as rosemary or thyme

How Much Cheese Per Person?

If you are serving cheese as an appetizer for a dinner party or an after-dinner treat, we’d recommend between 75-95g of cheese per guest. If your cheese board is the main event, you can up that number anywhere from 120-150g per person. You will have to adjust the numbers depending on what you are serving the cheese alongside, for example, crackers may be quite filling, but fruits on their own may not be. We’d always recommend over-buying your cheese – if it isn’t all eaten on the day then incorporate it into a recipe to try this week or perhaps create your own mini cheese board to enjoy!

If you’re hosting a dinner party, and you aren’t sure where to start with food, themes, and more, read our recent blog: How to Host a Fuss-Free Dinner Party

How Much Wine Per Person?

This, of course, will entirely depend on the occasion. For an average dinner party, expect your guests to drink around three glasses during the course of an evening. If you are hosting a summer soiree, this might be less.

So, when you are shopping, aim for around two bottles of wine per two people attending. Of course, you’ll know your guests better than anyone, so feel free to adjust that number as needed!

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