Red
Wine and Cheese: Perfect Pairing or Wine and Food Disaster?
Have you
ever been at a dinner, nursing a nice red after main course, and
then a big plate of cheese appears?
It’s amazing
how often people think that any cheese will match any wine.
“Cheese and wine” seems to be the order of the day, regardless
of what sort of cheese it is.
Is this the
perfect end to the evening? Or is it a wine and cheese disaster?
The answer is, “it depends on
the cheese” – and also the wine!
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Not all
cheeses automatically match all wines. In fact, some of the
pairings can be quite disastrous. And the odd thing is, red
wine is one of the hardest things to match with cheese!
Cheese is Cheese
This
seems to be the thinking at many dinners. The fact is, there is
a huge difference in the different kinds of cheeses available
today. It just is not logical to presume that any cheese goes
with wine. |
For
instance, try a big, bold Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon with a
triple-cream Brie cheese and you will quickly see why pairing wine
with cheese takes a little thought. Since Cabernet has acidity and
Brie is fatty, the match should work as acids cut through
fats. A good Cabernet, however, also has intense fruit character.
Brie is often so subtle that the forward wine obliterates the
cheese's taste.
One of the
classic wine and cheese matches of all time is a good port with
stilton. The relative sweetness and roundness of port is a perfect
foil for the sharp pungency of a good Stilton. The best pairings of
this type are the ports known as Late Bottle Vintage (LBV). LBV
Ports from good producers are sweet enough and flavoursome enough to
make it difficult to stop eating. On its own, however, stilton's
edginess is quite a lot for the palate to handle.
There are
two “streams” in thinking about wine and food matches. One stream
is that you should match the food with wine that is similar. The
other stream is that you match the wine with foods that provide
contrasts.
Now whilst
both these schools of thought hold true generally, when it comes to
matching wine and cheese, the best way is to look for similarities
rather than contrasts.
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Look
for the Similarities
For
example, a fantastic wine and cheese match is a crisp white wine
such as Sauvignon Blanc with a creamy, fatty cheese like
Camembert. The reason is that the acidity of the wine works
extremely well with the fat of the cheese and the two flavours
begin to harmonise. Pairing these white wines with camembert is
so much better than pairing a red with the same cheese. |
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Remember
that the crackers you use with the cheese should be neutral in
flavour. Don’t use salty crackers or sweet dark bread as these can
completely ruin the wine and cheese match.
As a rule of
thumb, look for a characteristic in the wine that is also present in
the cheese. For example, a wooded chardonnay often undergoes a
process called malo-lactic fermentation in the winemaking. This
process converts malic acid into lactic acid – the same type of acid
found in cream and milk… and yes, cheese. So a wooded chardonnay
with buttery qualities from the malolactic fermentation goes very
well with creamy cheeses – say a brie or camembert.
Look for
the Relative Weight of the Wine and the Intensity of the Cheese
A second
rule of thumb is to match up the weight of the wine with the
intensity of the cheese. For example, a sauvignon blanc is more
often than not a light to medium bodied wine. So if you get a
simple cheese like goats cheese or fetta, you will be surprised at
how well they go together.
A shiraz or
cabernet sauvignon, on the other hand, is often medium to full
bodied. So for these wines, look for cheeses that have more
intensity. A mature cheddar, for example, has great intensity and
is more likely to match the weight of the wine.
Cheese
Instead of Dessert
The main
reason for choosing cheese instead of dessert is that it prolongs
the period of time during the meal in which you can enjoy a good
red. Too often main course is finished and the red glasses are
cleared for dessert and “sticky wines,” when many of the guests
would have preferred to keep their reds going.
Sometimes,
of course, the cheese is the dessert. This can happen when
chef uses a blue cheese topped with honey and matched to a dessert
wine. Intensely sweet dessert wines are excellent when served with
blue-veined cheeses. A sauternes from Bordeaux is a good match for
its classic partner, Roquefort. A botrytised semillon from
Australia is a good match with blue cheeses such as Cabrales from
Spain.
Soft
Cheeses: Brie and Camembert
The classic
wine for these cheeses is a wooded chardonnay – preferably one that
has undergone malolactic fermentation to give the wine some
butteriness. Semillons sometimes go well with these cheeses,
particularly aged semillons.
The classic
clashes for these cheeses are medium to full bodied reds. The main
problem is that creamy soft cheeses such as brie or saint andré coat
the palate with a layer of fat. This works against dry red wine.
The wine's flavors become dull and lifeless.
Simple
Cheeses: Fetta, Goat’s Cheese
The classic
combination for goat’s cheese these days is sauvignon blanc. This
wine also works well with fetta. A young, herbaceous semillon could
also go well. Champagne is often quite good, as is a light bodied
pinot noir.
If you warm
the goat cheese (wrapping it in grape leaves and grilling, for
example, or baking it into a quiche), try a wooded sauvignon blanc
in the style of the Killerby or perhaps the Cloudy Bay Te Koko.
The clashes
for these simple cheeses are again medium to full bodied reds and
wooded whites such as chardonnays.
Parmesan,
Edam, Aged Pecorino, Mature Cheddar
In general,
the harder, drier cheeses can work with dry red wines. A semi hard
cheese does not leave a coating of milk fats on your palate. Edam
can work well here.
These
cheeses also work well with aged champagnes and sparkling wines.
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If you
want to have a red wine with cheese, then choose a big red such
as a Margaret River cabernet sauvignon or a West Australian
shiraz that can hold its own against pungent cheeses. An aged
parmigiano-regigiano or pecorino can work well with shiraz.
Probably
the easiest red wine to pair with cheese is a vintage port. Try
it with gorgonzola. Another good match is non-vintage port and
creamy stilton. Ports often exhibit a “rancio” character – a
rich, oxidised flavour that integrates well with mould laced
cheeses. |
Conclusion
Although it
seems that most people think that red wine goes with almost any
cheese, the general rule is quite the opposite: White wines are
preferable with cheese.
If you have
a range of cheeses on a plate, from soft to hard, or mild to heady,
then the “white wine with cheese” rule is especially relevant.
If you still
like a cheese with your red wine, then stick to mature cheddar with
aged cabernet or shiraz and keep the biscuits neutral. |
