If you didn’t know, wine goes well with cheese. This Thursday, we raise a toast to the two as it is National Wine &Cheese Day! It’s a day I say is better than Christmas, as life without either would be incomplete. But, finding the right mix of creamy or sharp, fresh or aged, red or white can be confusing. Here is a road map to guide you to tasty enjoyment.
Sauvignon Blanc with Goat Cheese
Taking the idea of pairing the wine and food from the same place, goat cheese and Sauvignon Blanc are ideal. Throughout France’s Loire Valley region you find grassy, mineral silex filled Sauvignon Blanc grapes grown near happy goats grazing through the area known as the “Garden of France.” From their milk, tangy cheeses, like Crottin de Chevignol, Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, and Valençay, are born. Production of goat cheese throughout Loire dates back to the 8th Century, meaning they have had lots of time to perfect it.
The region’s racy, high acid Sancerre and Pouilly Fume excels with the zesty cheese, like Pascal Jolivet Sancerre ($38). Or select sunshine-filled options from Napa Valley, like Lail “Blueprint” Sauvignon Blanc ($40), Robert Mondavi Oakville Fume Blanc ($40), Orin Swift Blank Stare ($40). Herbaceous, gooseberry filled Sauvignon Blanc wine from New Zealand will also work well with fresh goat cheese, like Whitehaven ($20), Kim Crawford ($15), and Cloudy Bay ($27).
Chardonnay with Triple Cream and Brie
There is the thought that you can either meld like with like, or that opposites attract. For sipping with Saint Andre triple crème cheese I chose like with like, pairing with a buttery Chardonnay. Well-made Chardonnay, like these selections, ensures there is also acidity, so even though it is a rich pairing, there is also freshness. Opt for Cakebread ($55), Trefethen Napa Valley Chardonnay ($40) and their full-bodied, lemon cream and stone fruit filled Harmony Chardonnay ($50), Rombauer ($45), Grgich Hills ($54), Ramey Sonoma Coast ($45), Jordan ($35), Landmark “Overlook” ($30), MacRostie “Wildcat Mountain” Chardonnay ($40), and Wente “Riva Ranch” ($20) from Monterey aged 8 months sur lie in 90% French oak.
Pinot Noir with Gruyere and Swiss
Fruity and light, yet also earthy, light to medium-bodied Pinot Noir melds harmoniously with nutty Gruyere or Swiss Cheese. Look for fruit-forward options from Russian River, like the superb wines of Benovia ($45), La Crema ($40), and J Winery ($38), and the Central Coast, like Calera ($40) or Hahn SLH ($30). Or, opt for earthy truffle and wild berry-filled Pairings from Willamette Valley, like Stoller “Dundee Hills” ($25), Chehalem “Three Vineyard” ($32), and Adelsheim “Breaking Ground” ($35).
Cabernet Sauvignon with Extra Sharp Cheddar
Robust tannins of full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon diminish with hard, sharp, salty extra sharp white cheddar, drawing out a slightly bitter, distinctive character. Look for “West Country Farmhouse Cheddar” coming from a farm in Somerset, England where the cheese originated over 1000 years ago. To pair, consider Stags Leap District Shafter One Point Five, ($95), or Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon ($78), earthy Rutherford options like Raymond Generations ($145), or Freemark Abbey Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon ($70), or a classic Napa selection from Frank Family Vineyards ($58), Ehler’s Estate ($55) or LVE by John Legend ($50).
Syrah and Shiraz with smoked and aged Gouda
There is a meaty, smoky, bacon-fat note to many Syrah and Shiraz wines of France, Australia, and America. These wines meld beautifully with smoked and aged cheese, like smoked Gouda, or aged Parrano and Beemster. With a medium to full body, the wines of the Rhone or Rhone blends, like Columbia Vision Red Blend ($40), Hickinbotham Brooks Road Shiraz ($80), Yalumba Signature Barossa Valley Shiraz ($58).
Blue Cheese and Port
Perhaps the most classic wine and cheese pairing. The French often finish their meals with a cheese course, looking to the profound Portuguese producers of Ruby, Vintage, and Late Bottle Vintage Ports to pair with their Roquefort and Camembert, or my favorite Oregon’s Rouge River Blue. Late Bottle Vintage Port in particular, like Warre’s ($25) or DOWS’s ($25), or Vintage Port, like Graham’s 2000 Vintage ($100) meld harmoniously with blue cheese.
If these suggestions still have you in a quandary of what to pair with your American, Idiazabal, or Burrata, Champagne and traditional method sparkling wines go with everything. Preferably select a house-style Brut, produced very dry ensuring that the sparkler has refined fruit notes, like apple, lemon, and lime, with toasted notes of brioche, almonds, and hazelnuts. These sparklers act as the gift wrap: beautiful, stylish, elegant, and refined, persuading even the most ordinary cheese to shine. I like Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve Champagne ($60), Domaine Carneros Estate Brut ($36), sophisticated Sea Smoke “Sea Spray” Sparkling Wine ($80), and Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava ($14).