Which wines to pair with cheese this Christmas

21.12.2023 - 13:48 / nationalgeographic.com

Of all the types of food that are paired with wine, cheese has perhaps the strongest association. But is it really the soulmate it’s made out to be? Well, it is and it isn’t — it all depends on the type of cheese. And, of course, the style of wine.

The conventional wisdom is that cheese goes particularly well with red wine, and if you’re looking for a wine to drink with a cheeseboard then, yes, a red is probably your best bet, particularly at this time of year. Does it matter which? Well, it’s obviously a matter of taste but generally I find medium-bodied reds with soft, smooth tannins work better than either heavily oaked blockbuster cabernets or light reds, which can be overwhelmed by stronger cheeses. 

My favourite all-rounders would be mellow rioja reservas, côtes du rhônes and malbecs with a year or two’s bottle age, like the 2021 Argentinian malbec below. However, even then I’d avoid well-matured camemberts or punchy blues that can knock them out of the park.

Turning this on its head, you could always put together a cheeseboard to match with a specific wine. If so, you’ll need to pick your cheese carefully. With an old bordeaux, for example, I’d be inclined to serve English territorial cheeses such as cheddar, caerphilly and cheshire, a sheep cheese like berkswell or manchego, or a mellow blue, such as Barkham Blue. Mature parmesan is also wine-friendly and, generally, conveniently to hand in the fridge.

An alternative approach is to serve a single cheese. Stilton’s a great choice in the winter months, and port the most obvious drink to pair with it, particularly during the festive season. That said, other fortified wines like sherry and madeira work equally well, as does the fabled Hungarian sweet wine tokaji. Meanwhile, a gorgeous gooey brie pairs well with a pinot noir, particularly one of the richer styles from New Zealand’s Central Otago wine region.

Does white wine have a part to play? Absolutely. My tip is to opt for whatever’s drunk in the region where the cheese is produced. Goat’s cheese and sauvignon blanc, for example, is a classic combination in the Loire (try a sancerre with a crottin de chavignol) while comté is perfect with a Jura chardonnay or savagnin. Fizz can work, too. Try a vacherin mont d’or — a show-stopping cheese if there ever there was one — with champagne or a similar sparkling wine. It’s a combination that also works brilliantly with any cheese infused with truffles.

One final tip — and you probably already do it — is to serve good bread or homemade crackers, which make almost any cheese more wine-friendly.

1. Berry Bros & Rudd William
Pickering Tawny Port Try a tawny port this Christmas, such as this one made by top producer Quinta do Noval, which is wonderfully rich