Earlier this month I was Joined by Olli of The Fine Cheese Company and 45 members to spend a Saturday morning exploring the merits and pitfalls of pairing cheese and wine.
For a general theme on which we could base the workshop, we decided to pit French and English cheeses against one another. Whilst intended to be very tongue in cheek, this approach did throw up some interesting observations as to how far English cheeses have come in terms of sheer quality and range over the last decade. Whilst France did produce some beautiful well-made cheeses, the English cheeses were the stars of the show.
This being a cheese and wine matching workshop, we divided the cheeses into four pairs. First came the goat’s cheeses, Saint Maure from France and the English Ragstone, which work fantastically well with sauvignon blanc; here we tried the Reuilly, La Ferte from the Loire, and dry white wines with high acidity – the English wine Midsummer Hill was an excellent match.
Second we had the soft, bloomy cheeses with a Fougerus from France alongside an English Brie: here we matched the Fougerus with the Au Bon Climat Chardonnay from California, and the Sharpham Brie with Domaine de Escaravailles’ Rasteau. Next came the hard cheeses; a Cantal from France versus the award-winning Wooky Hole Cheddar from Somerset. These fuller-flavoured cheeses needed gutsier wines so we turned to the red wines. Help came in the form of Momo, a tempranillo from Spain, and The Society’s Exhibition French Cabernet Sauvignon.
We finished off the day with the blue cheeses, France’s Forme d’Ambert, and Stichelton. Relatively light and delicate, the Forme d’Ambert called for a sweet wine which wouldn’t overpower it, so we plumped for The Society’s Exhibition Sauternes, working on the salt/savoury and sweet theory. The Stichelton called for something far more powerful, so we turned to the classic combination of Port and Stilton, choosing The Society’s Crusted Port for the finale.
Apart from enjoying spending a morning in the company of fellow cheese lovers, we also learnt a few things, mainly….
- When looking to match cheese and wine the most important thing is to be aware of balance. Match cheese and wine of equal weights, or one will overpower the other.
- Either match like with like – the creaminess in the brie was matched with the creaminess in the Au Bon Climat Chardonnay – or go for the opposites attract philosophy: the extreme saltiness and savouriness of blue cheese works very well with a sweeter wine.
- Salt makes tannins in a wine appear harsh, so choose a red with plenty of fruit.
- When looking to make a cheese board, try pairing one amazing cheese with one wine that will match it beautifully – it’s very difficult to find one wine which will work well with the array of cheeses you usually find on a cheese board.
- Look to the classics for inspiration: Port and Stilton, sauvignon blanc and goat’s cheese, gewurztraminer and Munster from Alsace: these regional partnerships have worked together since time immemorial for a reason.
- Enjoy experimenting – after all, that’s the only way you really get to figure out what works for you!
Emma Howat
Tastings & Events Co-ordinator
The Society currently stocks four cheese and wine selections for Christmas, which can be viewed here.