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Home » guide » tips » combinationCheese is the “closing movement” of a good meal, and it needs proper accompaniment. In your glassNeedless to say, cheese and wine have an intimate relationship – a true love affair. As Pierre Androuët was fond of putting it, they need each other and bring out the best in each other. White wines go best with mild or slightly cured cheeses, and with fresh goat’s-milk cheeses. Sweeter white wines are appropriate for stronger and longer-cured cheeses. Red wines, with their tannic taste, are trickier to harmonize well. Bleu cheeses call for a sturdy red wine while most tommes call for a medium-strength red wine. It’s largely a matter of taste, and experimentation will soon teach you what combinations your own palate responds to best. Here’s a fundamental guideline: Regardless of the color of the wine, wines and cheeses from the same region of production go best together, because they tend to have the same typical qualities. For example, try:
There’s no rule against creating a harmony of your own based solely on what you like. While gourmets seem to agree that wine is king with cheese, it has no monopoly on accompaniment. A farm cider will go well with cheeses from Normandy. A full-bodied beer will be well suited to cheeses from Northern France or Alsace, and also with fresh and acidic goats-milk cheeses. Some say roquefort calls for brandy and a livarot needs calvados, while the English like to serve their stilton with a port or sherry. And water? Pierre Androuët advises against it, since the combination is not good for the stomach, he says. Does that mean you shouldn’t drink anything at all if it’s not alcoholic? That would be going too far! Water... provided you drink it with moderation... at least has the advantage of being neutral in taste. Then, for the curious, certain teas can offer subtle harmonies. Strong teas like assam and ceylon teas can accompany well-cured cheeses. Rarer, more balanced teas like darjeeling and black China teas are wonderful with milder cheeses and goat’s-milk cheeses. 1 | 2
On your plateSalad and cheese are more and more often served together. Purists say that tradition dictates that the cheeses should be served between the salad and the dessert. They help neutralize the astringency of the vinegar or lemon, and they prepare the taste mechanism for the sweetness of desserts. Just be sure that you don’t interfere with the taste of the cheeses by using seasonings that are too aggressive. Cheese and wine need a third indispensable companion: bread. Many types of breads are available today. Country breads baked in wood-fired ovens and homestyle sourdough breads can accompany all types of cheeses. To achieve a harmonious marriage between tastes and aromas, it’s a good idea to present a varied bread basket including rye bread, walnut bread or cumin-flavored bread (for the soft ripened washed-rind cheeses), raisin bread (for strong cheeses) and multi-grain bread (for fresh cheeses). Depending on the region, butter can be served to smooth the flavors of certain cheeses. It can be delicious – provided you’re not on a diet. On the other hand, some cheese lovers like to boost flavors and serve mustard (for pressed cooked-curd cheeses), cumin or caraway (munster) or pickles, chutneys, etc. If you really feel you need to add flavorings, you might want to include chives, shallots and garlic (fresh goat’s-milk cheeses), small white onions (roquefort and camembert) and crushed walnuts (cheshire). Again don’t hesitate to let the region and your imagination be your guide in finding combinations and serve:
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