Friends with the Muenster on my Bread

Wine and cheese combinations can be tricky, especially when you’re trying to impress your guests. What’s a good pairing for a fall party? You have a favorite wine, but which cheese should you pick up to go with it. Rule of thumb...strong wines go with strong cheese and mild cheeses go with mild wine. Neither drink nor food must dominate. The flavor of each bite of cheese on your palette is replaced with a sip of the wine.


Wines that are acidic complement pungent cheese such as Chardonnay with Brie or a Savignon Blanc with goat cheese.A soft cheese like Camembert goes well with sweet wines like Vouvray or Chenin Blanc.And hard cheeses like Parmegiano, Romana or Regiano are wonderfully matched to full bodied red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Red Zinfandel and Red Bordeaux.Sweet wines like Vermouth , Port or Sherry may be combined with the a the well known, much loved cheddar cheese. If the cheddar is aged then its sharp taste compliments an equally tangy glass of Shiraz Cabernet.


Here are some other cheese and wine pairings you might enjoy for the upcoming holiday season. 

The first in this list of wine and cheese combinations is the pairing of sharp cheddar with Cabernet Sauvignon. The rich fruit and spice flavors of the wine are set off just right by a good cheddar cheese. If sharp cheddar isn’t your preference, really any cheddar will do. You can even pair Cabernet Sauvignon with a nice Colby or Colby-Jack cheese.

The perfect wine pairing for an Italian dinner is Sauvignon Blanc. Creamy, gooey cheese mixed with Italian herbs and seasonings are even more scrumptious when washed down with Sauvignon Blanc. This is because of the wine’s herbal flavor. It’s really a great pairing for any full-flavored cuisine, even those that don’t include any or much cheese, such as Thai.

If you’re dining with a guest or guests and you’re not sure what their preference in wine or cheese might be, a good middle ground go to is the pairing of gouda and merlot. Merlot is a no muss, no fuss red that’s good without being aged. It’s usually the suggestion for beginning wine drinkers. Gouda is a semi-soft cheese that is creamy and-most importantly – mild. There’s nothing extreme about this pairing, it’s just simply yummy!

Picking up a Pinot Noir? Might I suggest pairing this light, fruity wine selection with Muenster cheese. Another good option is goat cheese. There’s just something about the softer, rich cheese varieties paired up with a citrus natured Pinot Noir. The cheese is so spreadable and the wine is so easy to sip that they’ll both be gone before you know it. Which means it’s a good time to move on to the next pairing…

Yes, again with the Sauvignon Blanc. It’s just such a great basic wine to pair with the cheese or dish of your choice. Gruyere, Parmesan, Asiago, Cheddar, goat cheese…all of these cheeses and more pair well with Sauvignon Blanc. Really branch out and try a cheese you haven’t had before and pick up a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to pair with it. You may not love the new outlandish cheese variety, but you’ll have a trusty Sauvignon Blanc to sip along with your other groceries.

What are some of your favoirte cheese & wine pairings?