WINE AND CHEESE, HEAVEN FOR THE PALATE

Cheese is together with wine one of the most interesting natural products that man is able to craft. When you combine the two together, they create an unique combination of smells and flavours. When pairing wine and cheese, there is not much room for heavy, tannic or overfruity red wines. In fact, these types of wine tend to spoil and overpower the complex flavours of most cheeses. If there was a competition, white wines would win the gold medal in this pairing category.

Generally speaking the lighter in taste and whiter the cheese the lighter and crispier the wine should be. On the other side, the stronger in taste and harder the cheese the richer and structured the wine should be.

Therefore, there is still plenty of room for light to medium bodied red wines especially if they have herbal and earthy components. Pinot Noir is probably the best candidate. Few examples can explain better how to pair a wine with cheese.

 FRESH CHEESES

• A cheese which is light in taste like a Ricotta, Créme Fraiche, unsalted fresh cow cheese or a very light mozzarella pairs very well with a crisp and fresh white wine such as Cortese di Gavi, Vouvray (Chenin Blanc), Gruner Veltliner or Pinot Grigio. 

SOFT TEXTURED CHEESES

• If we are having soft-textured, salty and richer cheeses, we should start to consider wines wich are slightly more structured, softer at the palate and fruitier. Brie is a typical cheese which belongs to this category. Other examples are Asiago and Chèvre. For this pair we want to choose a wine like a medium-bodied, mineral Chardonnay (preferrably Poully-Fuissé or a 1er Cru Chablis), a Sauvignon Blanc (Poully-Fumé or Sancerre) or a Pinot Grigio (mineral and structured). However, with this category of cheeses itis possible to pair most of the dry white wines, only a few slightly sweet whites and some light-bodied reds such as Pinot Noir, Barbera or Beaujolais.

SEMI-SOFT CHEESES 

• Most cheeses available in the market belong to this category. According to your personal taste, it is possible to select several wines that would be good candidates for the pair. Full-bodied whites or medium_bodied reds works both well. Gouda, Lerdammer, many of the Italians Pecorino, Chabichou, Pont L'Evoque are some of the cheeses which are considered semi-soft. A few good wine recommendations could be Sancerre, Fiano d'Avellino, a white Rioja or a fruity red such a young Chianti or Merlot.

WASHED CHEESES

• All the cheeses which have been hand washed in order to spread the bacteria and finally cleaned in alcohol belong to this category. Few popular names are Chambertin, Langrés and Epoisses de Bourgogne. These cheeses deserve an aromatic white such as Riesling or Gewurztraminer or even medium-bodied Burgundies. Aromatic wines pair well also with seasoned cheeses. Nowdays it is very common to find in specialized grocery stores several different types of "spicy" or "flavored" cheeses which have been added for example with bell pepper, herbs, truffles or crushed pepper.

HARD TEXTURED CHEESES

• We can include in this category everything from mild to extra hard cheeses. Generally speaking the harder the cheese the stronger the wine should be. In fact very hard textured cheese pair very well with fortified wines such as Madeira, Marsala, Sherry.
  A Parmigiano Reggiano is perfect with Amarone, Syrah or in general with a Rhône blend. An aged Pecorino Toscano or a spicy-hot Pecorino Romano need to be paired with a medium-bodied, fruity and somewhat tannic reds like a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano or a Cabernet Sauvignon.  Rosso di Montalcino and Chianti Classico Riserva are two other very good candidates.

BLUE CHEESES

• Blue cheeses pair heavenly with dessert wines. Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton are incredibly good with a botrytised wine such a Sauternes or a raisiny Italian Passito. Sweet and salty flavors blend together in the mouth offering unique and very pleasant sensations.