The best wine matches for Manchego, Berkswell and other hard sheep cheeses

Hard sheep cheeses are the winelover’s friend.

Nutty, tangy and savoury, they show off a good red like no other cheese which makes them a great choice if you’ve picked a serious wine with your main course.

You can also pair them with sweet wines, and with sherry and other fortified wines. Here are the pairings I think work best:

Mature Spanish reds especially Rioja and Valdepeñas (the latter comes from the same region as Manchego, La Mancha). Other oak-aged tempranillos too.

Mature Bordeaux

Reds from the south-west of France - an area which specialises in sheep’s cheese - often served with a cherry compote. Madiran, for example. Sweet wines from the same region such as Jurançon and Pacherenc-du-Vic-Bilh also work well

Mature Chianti - especially with aged pecorinos

Sherry, especially dry amontillado, palo cortado and dry oloroso. Aged tawny ports are also good - see this post on Zamorano and 30 y.o. tawny

Aged oaked white rioja - its nuttiness compliments sheep cheese perfectly as you can see here

Orange wines. Maybe not your cup of tea but their quince-like flavours are brilliant with sheep cheese (think membrillo)

Younger, fresher-tasting hard sheep cheeses are good with a crisp dry white such as albarino or vermentino

Image © nito - Fotolia.com

The best food pairings for dry oloroso sherry

The Spanish are more adventurous than us when it comes to matching sherry and food. I remember drinking a dry oloroso with roast partridge a few years back in Jerez. But what else could you pair with it?

Like amontillado dry oloroso is rich and nutty but the flavour is more of grilled than fresh nuts - dark and spicy with rich dried fruit flavours. it goes particularly well with game and dishes with light meat juices and sauces and with mature cheeses. Try:

Aged Gruyère and Comté

Mature Gouda and Mimolette

Roast partridge, pigeon and other game birds - especially served cold

Roast goose - (ditto. Oloroso is brilliant with goose leftovers)

Roast duck and red cabbage or with cinnamon pilaf as at Moro

Smoked venison

Bresaola

Beef jerky/biltong

Venison pie

Hot game pie

Game patés

Braised ox cheek and oxtail

Iberico pork cheeks

Morcilla (black pudding)

Steak sandwich

Mushroom risotto (made with dried porcini)

More food and sherry matches:

• The best food pairings for fino and manzanilla sherry
• The best food pairings for amontillado and palo cortado sherry
• The best food pairings for sweet oloroso and PX sherry

Image © exclusive-design at Adobe Stock