Wine and cheese pairing: a basic guide for beginners

Everyone knows wine goes with cheese but if you’re new to food and wine pairing it might be daunting to decide exactly which wine to choose with a particular cheese.

I’ve been matching wine with cheese for years and this simple guide will help you to pair cheese like a pro. If you want more options click the links under each section.)

Which wine with which cheese?

You might be wondering, should I start with the wine or the cheese?

Most beginners to wine and cheese pairing will be starting with a particular cheese or looking for wines for a cheeseboard. So I’ve broken things down by cheese type. (For cheeses to pair with your favourite wine see below)

Wine with Hard Cheese

Hard cheeses include cheddar, Comté, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Manchego. They’re the easiest type of cheese to pair with wine - a medium bodied red like a cabernet sauvignon or a rioja is probably going to be the most enjoyable pairing for most people but the combination of cheddar and chardonnay is also a winner.

• Pairing wine and cheese: 6 ways to do it better

Wine with Soft Cheese

Soft cheeses range from spreadable cheeses like Philadelphia to semi-soft white rinded cheeses like brie and camembert. I like them with a fruity red like a pinot noir or a Beaujolais but rosé works well with this style of cheese too.

For other options see 6 of the best drink pairings for Brie.

Wine with Blue Cheese

Blue cheeses include Stilton, Roquefort and Gorgonzola. Classic wine pairings tend to be sweet, for example Sauternes with Roquefort or port and Stilton but a full-bodied slightly sweet ‘appassimento’ red works really well too, especially if you’re cooking with or melting blue cheese. 

For other options see What type of wine goes with blue cheese

Wine with Goat Cheese

Sauvignon blanc is the classic wine pairing for goat cheese, but you could also try a crisp dry Provençal rosé (particularly for a summer picnic) or a fresh fruity red such as Beaujolais.

For a deeper dive check out my post on the top wine pairings with goat cheese 

Wine with Washed-Rind Cheese

Washed-Rind cheeses - often referred to as ‘stinky cheese’ - include Epoisses, Reblochon, Vacherin Mont d’Or and Taleggio. They tend to be quite pungent especially as they mature so don’t expect anything great in the way of a wine pairing. An aromatic dry white wine like a pinot gris or a gewürztraminer generally works better than a red 

Here are some other great ideas for ‘stinky cheeses’

Wine with Melted Cheese

It’s not a cheese style in its own right but melted cheese classics such as fondue and raclette deserve a mention. They aren’t the easiest dishes to match, but a good bet is a crisp or aromatic white wine from the region where these dishes are popular, for example Swiss Chasselas or a Chignin or Roussette from Savoie though these can be hard to track down.

You’ll find other good suggestions in this post: the best wine pairings with cheese fondue, raclette and tartiflette.

What wine to pair with a cheeseboard

The problem with a cheeseboard is that it includes several different kinds of cheese - some mild, some strong - which makes it challenging to find a wine that will go with them all. And even though white wines might work better most people prefer a red. I’ve found over the years that the best solution is a mellow medium-bodied red like a rioja reserva, a Côtes du Rhône or an Argentinian malbec. But if you want to make it easier for whatever wine you pick avoid strongly flavoured washed rind cheeses and punchy blues.

Which cheese to pair with your favourite wine

Most people like to pair red wine with cheese and that’s fine - just bear in mind that there are some cheeses, as I’ve suggested above, that taste better with a white wine or dessert wine so don’t be afraid to experiment.

10 popular wines and the cheeses to pair with them

1. Cabernet Sauvignon, merlot and Bordeaux blends - cheddar, gouda and other hard cheeses

2. Pinot Noir - Brie 

3. Rhône and other southern French reds - a good all-rounder with a French cheeseboard

4. Rioja - particularly good with sheep cheeses like Manchego

5. Chianti - a great match with parmigiano reggiano (parmesan) and pecorino

6. Port - a classic with blue cheeses like Stilton

7. Sauvignon Blanc - A creat match with goat cheese, feta and cheeses with garlic and herbs

8. Chardonnay - a surprisingly good match for cheddar

9. Pinot Grigio - mozzarella and other mild Italian cheeses (it’s a good wine to pick with an antipasti platter)

10. Champagne and other sparkling wine - Vacherin Mont d’Or, Chaource

If you enjoyed this post download my cheese book 101 Great Ways to Enjoy Cheese and Wine for loads of (well, over 101!) other pairing ideas!

Top photo © George Dolgikh at fotolia.com

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