A fancy set up, with elegant wine glasses and a cheese board comes to your mind when you read the headline, right? While it may seem daunting at first, the world of wine and cheese is easy and a rather delicious one, once you get your basics right.
This super simple and easy guide is going to help you become an expert at pairing. Consider this as your cheat sheet. Before we begin, let’s understand the pillars of both wine and cheese.
Wine – Acidity, Sweetness, Body & Structure
Cheese – Moisture Content, Fat Content, Texture, Flavour
Okay, so let’s get to the serious business for now. To make it simple, we’re going to become a little cheesy – we mean, we’ll take cheese as the protagonist here and then talk about the types of wine that pair best with them.
The Delicate Cheese
Remember, we mentioned the fat content and texture and two of the pillars of cheese? Taking that thought forward, buttery cheese like brie camembert and the less fussy ones and get along with most wines. (safe bet, we know!)
The fat content on these are perfectly balanced with the acidity of white and sparkling wines. If you’re feeling a little experimental, a sweet dessert wine would also do the work here.
Recommended wines: Fratelli Sangiovese Bianco, Vallonne Vin de Passerillage
The Tough Nut
The hard and nutty ones like mozzarella and gruyere pair well with medium bodied reds to begin with. Since we’re talking about the basics here, the red wine’s sweetness complements the nutty flavour profile of the cheese creating a great culinary experience.
Recommended wines: KRSMA Estates Cabernet Sauvignon, Grover-Zampa La Reserve
Being Salty
Well, we know that no one appreciates people who’re acting salty, but when it comes to cheese, they’re just delicious. Salty cheese, which is also mostly crumbly in texture like feta and halloumi pair best with light-bodied white wines, rose and if you’re feeling a little celebratory, pop in the champagne
Recommended wines: Charosa Viognier Reserve, Chandon Brut Rosé NV
The Sour One
We love gorging on these cheeses, using them as spreads and alongside popular dishes, or just on bread. Yes, bread and cheese stands right next to the heavenly pairing of wine and cheese. These include sour cream, cream cheese, ricotta etc and as a rule of thumb, avoid painting it with full-bodied red wine. A light bodied red or white will do the trick here.
Recommended wines: J’Noon White, Grover Zampa Chêne Grande Reserve
High on Umami
The fruity and high on umami cheese are most common and liked by almost everyone! We’re talking about cheddar, colby, parmesan etc. You can pick a good medium to full bodied reds for this one.
Recommended wines: Reserve Tempranillo, KRSMA Sangiovese
Now that you’ve got the cheat sheet with you, you’re already a pro. Like anything else, once you get on with it, with trial and error, you’ll finally master the right pairings.
Who knows, in a few months you wouldn’t even need this guide.
