4 Essential Red Wine and Cheese Pairings
Wine and cheese are simply two of my favorite things. The best part is, when you find a wine and cheese pairing that succeeds, the two work together to make each other taste even better....how is that possible?
There are some general guidelines to follow when finding the best cheese to pair with your wines, but these are not strict rules.
If you know me by now, you know I always say the #1 rule to food and wine pairing is if you enjoy it, then it’s a good pairing! There is no right or wrong...if you want to eat white fish with red wine and red meat with white wine, you do you! No judgements here.
However, if you’re interested in upping your food and wine pairing game, here are some pairing rules I used to do my “research” for this post:
Flavor intensity of the food should match the flavor intensity of the wine. You want the two components to complement each other, without having one overpower the other.
Salty foods (aka most cheeses) pair well with almost any wine. The saltiness really brings out the fruitiness juiciness of the wine.
Flavor components in the wine and food can match to complement each other. If a wine has herbaceous notes, chances are an herbaceous cheese will match well.
What grows together, goes together. This is my favorite saying to articulate that wine from a particular region will most likely pair best with foods from that same region. You may have heard the term terroir, which explains this idea that the natural environment of the wine or food’s origin reflects itself in the aromas and flavors.
For the most part, these pairings were rated on an overall scale of deliciousness.
You’ll also find I’ve included my tasting notes for each wine before talking about which cheese I paired and why. When I’m food and wine pairing, I always like to try the wine first and get my notes, then try the food, then go back to the wine to see how it has changed. This is a great trial and error practice you can implement if you’re trying to find your new favorite wine and food match.
By the way, I got all of these wines from Wines ‘Til Sold Out, which offers flash sales on premium wines at prices you can’t beat. You can find some really cool stuff on there, so definitely check it out! They also have weekly wine tasting sets, which supply you with some really delicious wine and food pairings.
4 Essential Red Wine and Cheese Pairings
If you love wine and you love cheese, I’m sure you’re delighted to hear that when you pair them together successfully, they bring out the best in each other. It’s like a healthy romance.
I’ve put this idea to the test with four iconic red wine and cheese pairings. And let me tell you, it works.
I’ve specifically chosen a different cheese to pair with each wine, and taste-tested them to see how well they go together...man, I love my job.
I wanted to share this blog post just in time for the holidays because cheese and charcuterie boards are always my favorite holiday appetizer! You can throw them together relatively quickly, and you don’t have to take up oven space while you’re cooking up the main meal.
If you’ve always served cheese and charcuterie platters, like my family does, but never knew which wine to pair with which cheese, this post is for you.
And if you need some inspiration for your holiday cheese and charcuterie board this year, check out this video for some tips to make a quick and easy cheese and meat platter.
I’ve done the hard work for you ;) and taste-tested each of these pairings to confirm they really do work! All you have to do is pick up some wine and cheese and your holiday appetizer (or occasional weeknight meal / elevated Lunchable if you’re like me) is covered. Let’s get into it.
Chianti Rufina DOCG + Parmigiano Reggiano
Chianti Rufina DOCG is a sub-zone within the Chianti region of Tuscany, Italy. You may have tried a Chianti Classico, but this wine comes from its lesser known neighbor.
This area is a lot smaller than Chianti Classico, and it sits at a higher elevation, meaning the wines have higher acidity and can age even longer.
This 2011 Chianti Rufina Riserva from Prunatelli is a blend of predominantly Sangiovese, along with some Canaiolo and Colorino. It has aromas of dried cherries, strawberry jam, currants, dried rose petals, leather, and tobacco.
It’s dry on the palate, and overall very well-balanced. I can tell it’s at its peak, being a 9 year old wine. The acid is still there so the wine is not flabby, but it’s smooth with softened tannins and a medium body. It has everything I typically look for in a wine from this region - acid, complex flavors of fruits, florals, herbs, and earthiness, and a body that’s not so intense that you can’t drink a few glasses without food.
I chose to pair this wine with Parmigiano Reggiano because of that saying: what grows together, goes together.
It basically means that wine pairs best with the foods of the region it’s from. This is all related to that notion of terroir, or a sense of place - an expression origin communicated through the wine (or the cheese).
Parmigiano has great aging potential, just like the wine, and it’s actually usually aged for one to a few years before its release on the market. It’s a hard, cow’s milk cheese, with a saltiness that I drool over.
After tasting the cheese and going back to the wine, the tannins are even silkier, the cassis and red cherry flavors are exploding, and the acid is holding up against the acid in the cheese.
The cheese’s texture is grippy enough to stand up to the red wine; and overall, the structure of both the cheese and wine wine seem to match each other.
First pairing = major success. I would also advise taking this pairing a step further and matching this wine with dishes containing Parmigiano Reggiano, like cheesy pastas and risottos.
Napa Valley Red Blend + white cheddar
Red blends often get a bad rap as being cheap or poorly made, but the truth is, most wines you drink are actually blends. I find red blends from California to be easy-drinking, approachable, and simple to pair with food...what more could you want?
This 2017 Napa Valley Red Blend from Prince and Pedro is a big and bold mix of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Merlot. It’s deep ruby-purple in the glass, with a nose full of black cherry, plums, blackberry pie filling, vanilla, cocoa, cedar, and a touch of black pepper.
On the palate, it’s an explosion of fruity goodness, without being sweet. The tannins are there but approachable, and the acid is a nice medium. This is a bold and jammy wine that I can see myself cozying up with on the couch.
With this big blend, I wanted something salty to really amplify the fruit-forward quality in the wine. I thought white cheddar might do the trick.
The white cheddar I chose is semi-soft and sharp, which I thought would work well to bring out the fruit that I love so much in this wine. It’s smooth like the wine, but it’s got enough edge and acid to hold its own.
After tasting this cheese and going back to sip the wine, the tannins have completely smoothed out, the acid holds up to that of the cheese, and I feel like I’m drinking a liquified blackberry pie that couldn’t be more delicious.
10/10 recommend this pairing for a cozy night in.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape + gouda
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is an appellation (or wine region) located in the Southern Rhone of France. Fun fact: it’s called Châteauneuf-du-Pape, or “The Pope’s New Castle”, because the papacy actually moved here from Rome for a limited period during the 14th century.
Aside from being the pope’s old place, the region is known for its bold red wines based with mainly Grenache, often blended with Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, and other local varieties. Ever heard of a GSM blend?
This 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Château Maucoil is a classic blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault. The nose is intense with aromas of black cherry, plums, vanilla, black pepper, violets, Mediterranean herbs, slate, black olive, and leather.
On the palate, the high acid complements the black cherry and plum flavors. This full-bodied sipper has medium tannins and a warming alcohol that makes this the perfect wine for winter. It’s got a bit of a saline finish, which would be de-lish with boldly flavored foods.
With so much complexity in this wine, I chose a cheese which is bold and sharp: gouda.
This semi-soft cheese only gets bolder with age. I tasted a fairly young cheese, with a springy texture, but intense enough sharpness to hold up to the wine.
The creamy, almost thick, texture of the cheese allows for this bold wine to cut through and make the cheese more approachable.
The wine on the other hand, develops into a beautifully fruity and floral sip. After tasting the cheese, I get violets, ripe purple fruits, and a sort of jamminess in the wine. The tannins are lessened, and the bold wine we started with transforms into an easy-drinking porch pounder. ;)
The salinity in both the wine and cheese work together nicely to uplift and not overpower each other, and the flavors contrast to make each component taste smoother, richer, and more delicious.
What can I say? Another successful pairing. Let’s take it home with one of my favorite cheeses…
bordeaux + camembert
I wouldn’t say this is a necessarily conventional pairing, but I love creamy cheeses like Camembert, so I wanted to give it a go.
Bordeaux is a wine from the French region of...Bordeaux. The red wines are blends of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, along with some other indigenous varieties that are often blended in.
When you stick to the Right Bank of Bordeaux, the wines will be predominantly Merlot, while the Left bank is known for Cabernet Sauvignon-based blends.
This 2014 Bordeaux from Château Vieux Poirier is a blend of Merlot and Malbec. Its nose is peppery and intense, with notes of black cherry, black pepper, green bell pepper, thyme, umami, leather, and tobacco.
On the palate, the black cherry notes precede the umami salinity, and the body is a bit lighter than most Bordeaux blends I’ve tried, probably due to the influence of Malbec in this wine, but it’s very smooth. The finish is earthy and herbaceous, which I think will pair nicely with an earthy, stinky cheese.
Camembert is a soft, creamy, ripened-on-the-outside cheese. I love its ooey-gooey texture, which is similar to brie, but the aromas are a bit more stinky. The decadent middle of this cheese is balanced nicely by the slightly harder and more bitter rind.
After tasting the cheese, the wine’s flavors of black cherry, violets, herbs, and umami are intensified in the best way. On its own, the wine is pleasant and smooth, but the cheese really brings out the complexity I was looking for initially. The cheese also has an umami or earthy quality, which complements the saltiness of the wine.
The flavors of the wine and cheese don’t overpower each other, so I’m glad I decided to avoid a sharp cheese like gouda or cheddar with this wine. If you gravitate toward Left Bank Bordeaux, definitely try the sharp cheese pairing.
Well, that might have been the most fun blog post I’ve ever had to do research for. I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did, and if you try any of these pairings, leave me a comment below to share your thoughts!
If you’re curious about more food and wine pairing tricks, book a wine tasting with me! I’ll curate a personalized wine list for you and give you food pairing suggestions for each wine!
And if you’re in the thick of winter, check out these 10 white wines that are perfect for colder days.
A special thank you again to Wines ‘Til Sold Out for supplying the wines for this post. Check them out for amazing deals on hard-to-find wines!
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