Definition: Food and wine pairings with cheese

Food and wine pairings: cheeses

Source: iDealwine, a highly recommended website:
http://www.idealwine.net

And again, relatively simple compared to the large cheese carts found in gourmet restaurants!

Which wine to serve with cheese? This is a very French concern if ever there was one! And of course, there is no single answer, but a whole range of sometimes subtle pairings. And these obviously depend on the type of cheese.

We've all heard it at one time or another: "To accompany my superb raw milk Camembert, I've brought out a fine Bordeaux vintage. Let me know what you think!" This image of France, with its berets, baguettes, Camembert and red wine, is hard to shake, like all caricatures. And yet, as connoisseurs now know, this combination of two national emblems (Camembert and red wine) does not work at all, as almost all red wines have the same bitter, metallic taste with this cheese...

It's a shame, because in those days, life was simpler: a good red wine with cheese and you were done! Today, things are more complicated, and we have to think carefully! Ultimately, a cheese platter is like a meal in itself, and each family of cheeses corresponds to a large family of wines. The pairings (and therefore the wines to serve) will be as different, or almost as different, as between fish in cream sauce and roast beef with porcini mushrooms...

So let's talk about these pairings according to cheese families.

Fresh cheeses

These cheeses do not have a rind because they have not undergone any ripening process and can therefore be eaten straight away, either savoury (sometimes with herbs or various condiments) or sweet.
Examples: fromage blanc, faisselle, fresh goat's cheese, mozzarella, feta, etc.
Pairings
We will only discuss savoury versions here.
Serve with dry white wines that are not too exuberant and relatively simple: white Burgundy, Burgundy Aligoté, Jacquère-based Savoie wines (Chignin, Apremont, Les Abymes, Montmélian, Cruet), Petit-Chablis.

Soft cheeses with a bloomy rind
During the cheese's maturation, a layer of mould called "bloom" develops. The cheese becomes soft and creamy, while it is covered with a white, fuzzy rind.
Examples: Camembert, various types of Brie (Meaux, Melun), Coulommiers, Brillat-Savarin, Chaource, Neufchâtel, etc.
Pairings
Thisis undoubtedly one of the most difficult types of cheese to pair. It is often easier to pair if you remove part of the rind.
It is safest to choose a dry white wine that is not too aromatic (the same as for fresh cheeses). The best pairing is undoubtedly with a Champagne with little or no dosage (we'll leave you to imagine the combination of Camembert and sugar...), preferably based on or predominantly Chardonnay. If you absolutely insist on red wine, choose a light wine, such as Gamay (a Beaujolais that is not too full-bodied) or an unoaked red Sancerre.

Soft cheeses with washed rinds
These cheeses are washed with salt water during the ripening process and then brushed to start the fermentation of the rind. This gives them a red-orange colour and allows them to develop a flavour and aroma that is often powerful.
Examples: Époisses, Munster, Livarot, Pont-l'Évêque, Langres, Maroilles, etc.
Pairings
Another family of cheeses that is difficult to pair with wine. However, it is possible to try very different pairings that have one thing in common: wines that are powerful in both structure and flavour.
This is why, in some cases, you can turn to slightly "muscular" reds such as Burgundy grands crus or a Côte-Rôtie, which are perhaps a little less powerful for Pont-l'Évêque. But you can also try more risky combinations, such as a sweet wine (where the sugar will have melted after a good ageing period) with good acidity (Chenin wines from the Loire, for example, or late harvest Rieslings from Alsace). You can try this pairing with Munster or Époisses in particular.

Blue cheeses
These cheesesare unique in that they are pierced with needles during the ripening process. This allows blue mould to develop, which then gives the cheese its blue veins.
Examples: Roquefort, Bleu de Gex, Fourme d'Ambert, Bleu d'Auvergne, etc.

pairingsRed wines are best avoided as they do not go well with the taste of mould. However, all shades of white wine are acceptable.
It is now well known that pairing Roquefort with a sweet wine has almost become a classic, and rightly so! It may simply be necessary to avoid wines that are too rich in sugar or too "heavy" with the natural fat of the cheese. A lesser-known pairing is with naturally sweet wines such as Maury, Rivesaltes, Banyuls, or Port, provided that they are selected in their "vintage" or "rimage" versions, i.e. without having undergone oxidative ageing. If you want to stick to non-sweet white wines, you need to find a powerful wine, such as a white Châteauneuf-du-Pape or a structured white from Roussillon (such as the great vintages from Gauby).

Uncooked pressed cheeses
This category of cheeses includes the largest number of varieties. In addition to mechanical pressing, which takes place before or after moulding, these cheeses are salted by immersion in brine or by rubbing, and the curd is never heated above 50°C.
Examples: Reblochon, Saint-Nectaire, Mimolette, Cantal, Salers, Pyrenean sheep's cheese, etc.
Pairings:
Thisis such a varied family that it is undoubtedly the one where pairings need to be most nuanced depending on the cheese. Saint-Nectaire, Cantal, Salers and Mimolette can be grouped together under the same banner. These cheeses are among those that pair best with red wine, provided that the wine chosen is not too oaky or too tannic. A few suggestions among many others: a structured Beaujolais vintage or a red from the Loire. But white wines also work well, particularly those from Roussillon and the northern or southern Rhône. Mimolette also pairs well with a nice, fairly powerful Champagne. Reblochon goes well with dry white wines that are not too exuberant and relatively simple, such as those mentioned for fresh cheeses: Jacquère de Savoie, white Burgundy, Burgundy Aligoté or a generic Chablis. The same type of pairing works with sheep's milk tomes from the Pyrenees, but their drier texture can also be paired with a slightly wider range of whites such as a dry Jurançon, an Irouléguy, a Chignin-Bergeron from Savoie, or even a semi-dry Loire wine.

Pressed cooked cheeses
In the case of these "hard cheeses", the curd is cooked at over 50°C, which allows the cheeses to be stored for longer. The curd is then pressed for a long time to drain it as much as possible, resulting in a very hard texture. These cheeses are traditionally made in the mountains in summer and then brought down to the valley during winter.
Examples: Comté, Abondance, Beaufort, Gruyère, Emmental, Tomme de Savoie, etc.
Pairings:
These depend greatly on the age or ripeness of the cheese.
Young cheeses pair well with dry white wines such as Burgundy (generic or village), Jacquères de Savoie, Chardonnays from the Jura (Arbois or Côtes du Jura), Savagnins ouillés, and whites from the northern Rhône. With more mature cheeses, you can choose more powerful wines, often more or less oxidative, such as Vins Jaunes from the Jura, which are legendary when paired with an aged Comté. If you want to venture beyond our borders, you could also consider a very dry Jerez. With Beaufort, Gruyère or Abondance, opt for a nice Burgundy vintage or a powerful Chardonnay from the Jura, such as a Chignin-Bergeron. And for all these cheeses, a nice Champagne with little or no dosage will also pair beautifully, adding a touch of originality!

Goat's cheeses
Made from at least 50% goat's milk, these cheeses have a fine, white texture that is as dense as it is creamy. Depending on the production and maturing process, the texture can sometimes be slightly sticky or sometimes dry. The rind can be ash-coated, natural or bloomy, and these cheeses come in a variety of shapes: crown, log or pyramid...
Examples: Rocamadour, Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, Valençay, Sainte-Maure, Crottin de Chavignol, Picodon, Pélardon, etc.
Pairings:
If these are fresh or very fresh cheeses, refer to the first cheese family and add simple vintages of Vouvray and Montlouis, Chablis or Sancerre.
For more mature cheeses, choose very dry and slightly fruity white wines such as all the Loire appellations made from Chenin, Sancerre, a white Bordeaux, a very dry Alsatian Riesling, a Chablis 1er cru or a dry Jurançon.

Finally, if you have a platter with several types of cheese and only want to serve one wine, choose a white wine that will pair well with most of them, such as a not-too-oaky Chardonnay from Burgundy, a northern Rhône from Saint-Joseph or Crozes-Hermitage, a white Bordeaux that is not too dominated by Sauvignon, or a white de blancs Champagne with little or no dosage.