One of the most frequent and puzzled questions I hear at wine tastings, classes, and the like is which wines go with which cheeses. Even more than pairing wine with dinner, an unparalleled anxiety exists in this wine-cheese match. No doubt people already have hang-ups about wine and cheese on their own. With so many varieties of each, with the encyclopedia of names and countries and, yes, sometimes conceit, scratching the surface can seem intimidating and overwhelming. The key here, as I always tell nervous and eager classes of tasters, is to take a deep breath and relax. It’s just wine. It’s just cheese. Getting to the bottom of this question requires eating and drinking considerable amounts of both. Consider, too, that no one will expect you to learn the ins and outs of wine regions and cheese aging in one day. The most important thing is to feel comfortable. Enjoy yourself. If I can get someone to think about what they’re tasting and why it works or doesn’t (or even just whether they like it or not), then I feel like I’ve done my job.
Another distraction from a clear picture of wine and cheese pairing is the conflicting advice that springs up in every article written on the subject. The constant back and forth of “red is better!” no, “white is better!” only serves to confuse and frustrate. Since most people already feel vulnerable with the topic, such vacillation has the effect of turning folks off to the subject altogether. By learning and thinking about things one step at a time, the mysterious realm of fine wine and cheese will become much more transparent. Plus, you’ll be able to impress all your friends, and that’s never a bad thing, right?
First, let’s talk about what makes these two foods (yes, I always thing about wine as a food) so special on their own. Both wine and cheese begin their lives as relatively simple raw materials. Grapes and yeast team up to transform mere juice into a liquid that speaks of almost anything but the juice that bore it. With cheese, a combination of milk, rennet, and salt yields a food that beguiles tasters with its myriad of textures and its depth of flavor. These two foods can rise to incredible complexity, despite their humble beginnings.
To imagine what different wines and cheese will taste like together, it might be instructive to step back and think about how each tastes on its own. Ultimately any wine and cheese pairing will taste good, provided you like each player individually. The ideal, of course, is to choose two or three partners to complement and enhance one another. This is where the fun begins.
Consider, if you will, a fresh goat cheese, its flavor peppery and tangy. Its freshness might make you imagine the cheese having been made just hours before you tasted it. The texture is creamy but airy, a substantial bolt of flavor that never feels heavy or lumbering. In short, it’s lively but light. Now imagine a wine that might taste just right with this cheese. Do the same adjectives spring to mind? Do you want tangy with tangy? Maybe so, in which case the world would still turn and you will still be eating cheese and drinking wine.
I might suggest, instead, a wine that is a bit softer, that can allow you to enjoy the bite of the cheese as well as the smoothness of the wine together. Instead of having two assertive flavors crowding the picture, the softer wine can frame the cheese’s urge to show off. Some wines that come to mind are northern Italian whites like young friulano, fuller pinot gris and Italian pinot grigio, and fruitier sauvignon blanc. These wines all share the good fortune of being tasty, soft, and easy to drink. Plus, they’ll pair perfectly with some nice, fresh goat cheese.
Let’s take another cheese, something known for its brash flavors, something stinky and blue like Roquefort. These blues’ flavors are quite intense, at once salty and earthy and pungent. Nothing subtle here. Like the goat cheese, a good idea would be to let the cheese shine, lest you get exhausted by too much forceful flavor. I happen to love salty and sweet together, each sensation enhancing the other by stimulating more of my taste buds. Think of a light sprinkling of coarse sea salt over a warm chocolate cake. Delicious. Something lightly sweet would help to soften the blue’s blow. At the same time you don’t want the wine to wither, so a white with some personality of its own, like a lively gewürztraminer or a stony, minerally riesling would be perfect. These whites are both light, but they have enough going on so that they can still be heard above the din of the cheese’s flavors. Think about the cheese as a fine painting; a busy picture of dancing girls by Toulouse-Lautrec wouldn’t look quite right in a plain wood frame. A little rococo doesn’t detract from the painting, it just makes it more fun.
As you might imagine, these suggestions are just that. Nothing is written in stone when it comes to these pairings, and the most important thing is getting your hands on high quality cheese and wine. You’ll notice that I haven’t mentioned any specific wines, and that is no mistake. Go out and try several different gewuztraminers or rieslings or sauvignon blancs, and see what you like. The best way to do this is to ask questions and to trust the knowledge and experience of those who make it their job to think about these things.
Next month we’ll dive deeper into other common cheeses and with which wines they play well. Until then have fun, and whatever you do, think about what you’re eating!
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