The best combinations of cheese and wine
Not all haute cuisine has a noble past. The author of many of them were ordinary peasants. They were not so much interested in the combination of taste and aroma as in simplicity and economy. According to the records of historical archives, it was the peasants who began to drink wine with cheese. Among the nobility, the gastronomic couple gained popularity only in the 18th century, after King Louis XVI tried brie cheese with bread and butter and dry red wine.
Today, cheese accompaniment to wine is considered a classic. There are no clear and unchanging rules for choosing the components of this gastronomic pair. The duet is created rather on a creative basis, and first of all it is worth focusing on your own taste. Secondly, to adhere to several simple principles, the basis of which is the classification of cheeses into groups.
It is believed that white wines are more suitable for cheeses. But meanwhile, among the reds there are positions that are in perfect harmony with cheese. When choosing cheese and wine, you should pay attention to the origin: the most harmonious pairs are obtained from cheese and wine produced in the same country or even in the same region. Picking up a couple, the cheese is first tasted separately. Then, together with wine, they try the second piece of cheese, noting for themselves how its taste has changed and how cheese and wine are combined with each other.
So that the path to new gastronomic discoveries is not so thorny and you do not have to study culinary guides, remembering the names and main properties, wine experts suggest dividing cheeses into 4 groups:
soft cheeses with white and washed rind;
hard and semi-hard cheeses, including aged;
blue cheeses with a green-bluish color of the cheese mass;
fresh cheeses.
As an example of how best to combine wine and cheese, they chose several wines and selected a certain type of cheese for them in each group, with which the wines form an ideal pair, in their opinion.
Wine / Soft cheeses:
Champagne / Camembert
Chardonnay / Brie
Sparkling wines / Robiola
Pinot blanc / Taleggio
Wine / Hard and semi-hard cheeses:
Merlot / Gouda
Cabernet Sauvignon / Cheddar
Chianti / Parmigiano
Zinfandel / Double Gloucester
Valpolicella / Pecorino
Sauvignon blanc / Gruyere
Bardolino / Fontina
Wine / Blue cheeses:
Port / Gorgonzola
Sothern / Stilton
Riesling / Cashel Blue
Icevine / Cambozola
Wine / Fresh cheeses:
Pinot grigio / Ricotta
Sauvignon blanc / Mozzarella
Chenin blanc / Goat cheese
Beaujolais nouveau / Feta
Tokay Friulano / Burrata