Which wine should be served with which cheese? Should red wine be favored when bringing out your cheese platter? Domaine du Goût answers these questions to best advise you during your gourmet evenings with family or friends.
Stop the misconceptions such as cheese = red wine. Although it is true that most cheeses pair well with red wine, the pairing is not always the best choice. Opting for a white wine will often harmonize the flavors and highlight certain cheeses and wines much better. That said, the pairing of cheese and red wine is not to be ruled out. Some cheeses like cantal, Beaufort, or more surprisingly, reblochon are very well enhanced by pairing with a red wine. For example, you can very well serve a lively red wine with your Beaufort, and for a cantal or a Saint-Nectaire, a light red wine. For a perfect red wine/cheese pairing, we recommend young, light, round, and low-tannin wines.
Fresh cheeses
Fresh cheeses like fresh white cheeses, fresh goat cheese, faisselle, mozzarella, and feta should be served with very dry whites, not too complex and relatively simple. A Savoie jacquère wine, a Petit-Chablis, or white Burgundies such as Bourgogne Aligoté.
Soft cheeses with washed rind
Cheeses with a washed rind treated with salted water giving them a reddish-orange color like époisses, munster, livarot, maroilles, langres, or pont l'évêque are difficult to pair with wine. Strong-flavored cheeses call for equally strong wines. You can turn to fairly robust reds like Bourgognes, grand crus or not, or a Côte-Rôtie. You can also try a riskier pairing with a sweet wine that has good acidity, such as a late-harvest riesling or a Loire chenin, which go very well with munster or époisses.
Soft cheeses with bloomy rind
Soft cheeses with a bloomy rind are those where during aging, a mold called "flower" develops around the cheese. This gives a soft cheese with a fine white and velvety rind. Camembert, coulommiers, brie, chaource, and brillat-savarin are part of this group. Like washed rind cheeses, they are quite difficult to pair. To avoid risks, choose a dry white wine that is not too aromatic. If you absolutely want to serve red, opt for a light wine such as gamay (for example, a beaujolais or a sancerre that is not too oaky). The ideal pairing for this type of cheese remains champagne, mostly based on chardonnay.
Cooked pressed cheeses
Hard cheeses cooked at over 50°C are traditionally made in the mountains during summer, then brought down to the valley in winter. This category includes comté, Beaufort, abondance, emmental, gruyère, and tomme de Savoie. For these, the pairing depends mainly on age and aging. For young cheeses, choose dry white wines like Savoie wine, Jura chardonnays, or Burgundies. For more aged cheeses, you can choose more powerful wines like Jura yellow wines, which go perfectly with an old comté, for example. Finally, a fine champagne will be a perfect pairing and add a touch of originality.
Uncooked pressed cheeses
This category includes the largest number of varieties. These cheeses are mechanically pressed before or after molding, then salted by immersion in a brine bath or by rubbing. They are never heated above 50°C. Among the best known are reblochon, cantal, saint-nectaire, salers, mimolette, and sheep’s milk tomme. To accompany them, favor a red wine that is neither too tannic nor too oaky. A beaujolais or a red from the Loire will be perfect. White wines also work very well, such as those from the Rhône Valley or Roussillon. Reblochon pairs perfectly with a dry, not very aromatic white wine like Savoie wines, Burgundies, and chablis. The same goes for sheep’s milk tommes, which can also pair with a wider range such as jurançon or Loire wines.
Blue cheeses
These cheeses like roquefort, fourme d'Ambert, bleu d'Auvergne, or bleu de Gex should definitely not be paired with red wine. Indeed, their flavor would clash badly with the mold taste. However, all shades of white wine are acceptable for these cheeses. The classic pairing of roquefort and sweet wine remains unbeatable. Just be careful to avoid wines that are too rich in sugar, which could become heavy with the cheese’s fat. Natural sweet wines like rivesaltes, banyuls, or port can also be a good match. Finally, if you prefer a dry white wine, a wine from Roussillon or a white Châteauneuf are very good choices.
In conclusion, if you decide to prepare a cheese platter with different types and want to serve only one wine, choose a white wine and select one that will go with most of the cheeses present. A lightly oaked Bourgogne chardonnay or a white wine from the Rhône Valley, for example. A blanc de blancs or extra brut champagne can also be a good compromise.
