What is a good wine and cheese pairing?

Cheese is the star of French gastronomy. And its ideal partner during the meal is of course wine. But it is sometimes difficult to associate the right wine with the right cheese because there is a very large variety of these two products.

That's why we are going to identify the different agreements between these two flagship products.

Fresh Cheese:

Made from goat, cow or sheep milk, they are soft and without rind, like Mozzarella, Burrata, Ricotta and Fresh Goat.

These cheeses pair well with dry, young white wines such as sauvignon blanc, young chardonnay and pinot blanc.

Sweet wines such as Riesling and Gewurztraminer will also go well with these cheeses.

More traditionally, fresh cheeses can also be accompanied by rather young red wines.

Fleuraison cheeses:

These cheeses are creamier. Their white rind gives them the name "fromage de fleuraison". They are rich cheeses with a soft texture and a stronger flavor on the outside than on the inside.

These cheeses, such as Brie, Camembert and Robiola, are best enjoyed with sparkling and dry wines such as champagne.

They can also be enjoyed with white varietals such as chardonnay, sauvignon, riesling and chenin.

If you choose to pair these cheeses with red wines, light, young and fruity wines are preferred.

Washed-rind cheeses:

These cheeses are easily recognized by their orange rind. Their color is due to the fact that they are immersed in a bath of brine, beer or wine and then rubbed to avoid the formation of a hard rind. They are rich and creamy, sometimes soft or semi-soft. Epoisse and Reblochon belong to this category of cheeses with strong character.

They go perfectly with sparkling wines and white wines such as gewurztaminer, pinot gris d'alsace, roussane or riesling.

For the more mature and spicy cheeses in this category, it is best paired with fruity red wines from the Pinot Noir, Poulsard or Trousseau du Jura grape varieties.

Demi-mou or semi-soft cheeses:

These cheeses, softer and creamier like Gruyere and Gouda can be both sliced and melted.

This type of cheese is ideal with dry white wines such as Condrieu and strong red wines.

Hard cheeses:

These are older cheeses that are quite firm and crumble. Some like parmesan can be quite pungent and salty.

They go well with white wines, vintage sparkling wines, Champagne and Franciacorta.

To accompany them with red wine, choose bold wines with a certain age and presence in the mouth, such as a wine from the Bordeaux or Provence regions.

Blue cheeses:

A variety of textures can be found in this category of characterful cheeses. They can be soft and creamy or semi-soft and crumbly, like Gorgonzola or Roquefort.

To accompany the sharp and salty cheeses in this category, one should choose soft and noble white wines such as Sauternes or Monbazillac or sweeter dessert wines that will accompany cheeses that are not too sharp.

The ideal way to match them with red wines would be to take sweet and fortified wines like Vintage Port, LBV Port, Maury or Banyuls.