How Do You Pair Different Cheese With Different Drinks?

Cheese and wine could be described as a match made in heaven. Besides bread there is no better companion to cheese but why is that? It may be that both cheese and wine give people a lot of pleasure. Wine serves to warm us up and the cheese is working on filling us up at the same time. There are a lot of varieties of cheese as well as wine and that means that the combinations can seem limitless. Another reason why wine and cheese go great together is tannin and that is a dry chalky taste that a person will experience when they drink wine. Red wine has a lot of tannin and that is why a lot of people combine cheeses from all varieties- mozzarella, Swiss, Cheddar or Gouda, with red wine but white wine can also work great.

Why Most People Use Red Wine

There is an age old practice which pairs red wine with cheese and because of that a lot of people think that red wine is the only one that should be had with cheese. That is not really the case. The reason why red wine is usually paired with cheese is because lighter wines are usually drunk before the heavier ones. Now cheese is usually eaten before any dessert so because of that red wines which are lighter are usually served with cheese. White wines can actually be better companions to cheese. In some cases the cheese experience can be destroyed by pairing the wrong wine with it. There are some tips that you can follow to pair those two lovebirds together.

Pairing Tips

In order to correctly pair cheese and wine try pairing white wines instead of red wines. If you are a fan of the red wines then make sure that you are using a light one. Burgundy and Beaujolais wines are great for balancing the acids found in cheese. Low tannin is also better with the higher variety of cheeses. Port wine is also a great companion to cheese. Pairing the wines and the cheeses needs to be done carefully. You should know the flavors of both the wine and the cheese separately and judge from there if you think they will go together. Avoid using heavy wines as much as possible.

Wine Cheese Pairing Ideas To Consider

Some of the best combinations of cheese and wine are the following. If you have a soft goat cheese, then try pairing with Cotes du Rhone or with Sauvignon Blanc. A hard goat cheese on the other hand could be paired perfectly with Vin Jaune. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses are great with sparkling wines or champagne. Muenster family cheeses go with Rieslings or Gewurztraminer. Blue cheeses usually go with sweet dessert wines like Porto or Sauternes. Try pairing Chardonnay with mild cheddar. Gruyere cheese goes great with Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Any sharp cheddar cheese could be paired with older Rojas wine. Those are just some ideas for wine and cheese pairing but you can try your own combinations and come up with other great ways to have wine and cheese.