Celebrate National Wine and Cheese Day

Sunday 25^th of July is Wine & Cheese Day 2021. A fantastic excuse, as if any were needed, to enjoy tucking into some fine artisan cheeses and world-class wines.

Wine and cheese go so well together because good food pairings usually involve combining an astringent food (something slightly bitter) with a fatty food. Wine and cheese match up to this perfectly and it’s not just a coincidence. This is actually a culinary science fact which is used to create truly delicious meals! 

Top Wine & Cheese combo tips:

• If you are a total novice to wine and cheese pairings, start by trying hard cheeses such as cheddar, Comté, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Manchego. They’re the easiest type of cheese to pair with wine. A medium bodied red like a cabernet sauvignon or a rioja is going to be the tastiest pairing for most people. If you prefer white wine, try the combination of cheddar and chardonnay.

• Sparkling wines and champagne work with the softer and creamier varieties of cheese, such as Camembert, Brie and Cremont. The acidity in the wine works as a palette cleanser through the sticky cheese. The delicate profile of rosé makes it a fantastic choice for pairing with brie. While regular rosé may be the most common choice here, you can also use sparkling rosé instead. The bubbles add an interesting complexity to the pairing and it works wonderfully well for picnics.

• Sweet wines and ‘funky’ cheeses are the ideal combinations. Stinky blue cheeses or veined Roqueforts pair exceptionally well with sweet wines because the high sugar levels in the wine help to make the cheese taste creamier. These wines are ones like Moscato or Late Harvest dessert wines.

• Bold, full flavoured red wines are well suited to aged cheeses. Look for cheese aged for a minimum of a year when serving with red – this is because the high-fat content in the cheese counteracts the high tannins of the red wine. These cheeses include Gouda, Cheddar, and Provolone.

• White wine and cheese pairings are less talked about than red wine and cheese, but when chosen well, a crisp, dry white wine is the ideal partner to fresh and tangy white cheeses. Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc would be the perfect accompaniment to a rindless soft goat’s cheese or unaged feta cheese.

• Generally speaking, cheese and wines which originate from the same location usually work really well together. Many artisan cheeses and wines have tasting notes on the labels. Look for ones that complement each other. Also, consider the weight and texture of the wine and cheese, and keep them similar.

There are no steadfast rules for perfect wine-and-cheese pairings, so experiment, and enjoy discovering which wine and cheese combination you prefer.