The best wine pairings for cheddar cheese

As with most cheeses the ideal wine pairing for cheddar depends how mature it is.

A mild to medium block cheddar is going to be a lot easier to match (and in most cheeselovers’ eyes a lot less interesting) than an aged cloth-bound cheddar of 18 months or more.

For the purposes of this post though I’m assuming your cheddar is somewhere in between: mature, with a bit of bite but not too sharp.

And although wine is a great pairing there are other drinks which go just as well with cheddar, notably beer and cider - just think of the classic ploughman’s lunch!

Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon

We automatically think of red wine with cheese but it can struggle particularly with a sharp, well-matured cheddar. I’ve had most success with intensely fruity Chilean Cabernet Sauvignons but similarly fruity Cabernets from elsewhere (South Australia, for instance) can work well too. Watch the tannins though. Often a bottle with a two or three years bottle age will work better than a young one.

Late Bottled Vintage or vintage port

A classic pairing for cheese and cheddar is no exception

A strong ale

The basis of the popular ploughman’s but I’d personally go for a brew of over 5% - a strong ale in other words. Adnams Broadside is a good example. Also the best match for a cheddar-based Welsh rarebit!

A medium-dry strong cider . . .

Almost any combination of apple and cheddar is a winner but if your cheddar is medium to full-flavoured go for a medium-dry strongish cider . . .

. . . or apple flavoured liqueur

Especially with stronger cheddars. The Somerset Distillery’s Kingston Black or Somerset Pomona work particularly well.

An oaky chardonnay

Now this might surprise you but a barrel-fermented chardonnay is a surprisingly good pairing with a strong cheddar, bringing out the mellowness in the cheese and the fruitiness of the wine.

Note: serving chutney with your cheddar may make your match less successful. In general I find beer or cider work best.

See also The best wine - and other drinks - to pair with macaroni cheese

Download my cheese e-book!

If you’re a fellow cheese fanatic why not download my e-book, 101 Great Ways to Enjoy Cheese and Wine (and other delicious drinks) which is packed full of pairings, tips on how to serve and store cheese, how to create the perfect cheeseboard and and an at-a-glance guide to the cheeses that go best with your favourite wines. Click here to download.

Six of the best wine (and other) pairings with chicken pie

Chicken pie - or chicken pot pie - is classic comfort food. But what sort of drink goes with it best? Wine, beer or cider?

Variations on chicken pie exist, which are bound to affect your drink pairing. British-style chicken pies are often creamier than American-style chicken pot pies, for example.

Assuming you’re going for the classic creamy filling, here are my favourite pairings

Top drink pairings for chicken pie

* A smooth, creamy (but not too oaky) chardonnay is always good with chicken in a creamy sauce. A Chablis or Macon-Villages would be a classic match

* An old vine chenin blanc with a lick of oak works really well too

* Try other smooth dry white wines such as viognier or other medium to full-bodied Languedoc or Rhône whites

* A medium dry cider is lovely with chicken, especially if the sauce is made with cider too or the pie contains leeks. As is perry (aka pear cider)

* A blonde or golden ale is a great match if you prefer a beer

* If the sauce is made with red wine and/or tomato I’d go for a medium-bodied red such as a merlot or an Alentejo red.

For American-style chicken pot pie, which often includes a heartier mix of vegetables or gravy-like sauces:

* Fuller-bodied whites like California chardonnay or viognier will go well with with the savoury and slightly sweet vegetable elements.

* Richer reds, such as Pinot Noir or a Grenache, work surprisingly well if the filling leans into roasted or caramelized flavours.

* You might want to go for a fuller style of beer like an IPA or amber ale

See also What wine goes best with chicken - red or white?

Photo ©TDC Photography at shutterstock.com

The best wine - and other - pairings for leeks

Leeks generally feature in dishes in their own right rather than as a side and have a mild sweet flavour you want to respect - unlike fellow alliums onions.

If you’re wondering what wine to pair with leeks you’re more likely to go for a white rather than a red though if there’s meat like lamb in a dish a light red like red burgundy would work well.

Apple flavoured drinks generally pair well with leeks too so obviously cider but apple juice too or kombucha if you’re a non-drinker.

Here are my favourite pairings:

* Smooth dry white wines such as Chenin Blanc and unoaked or subtle oaked Chardonnay or Italian whites such as Gavi or Soave work with dishes that have a creamy texture or a light cheese sauce or leek dishes with eggs like a leek and cheese quiche. 

They’re also the type of wine I’d pick for a vichyssoise (leek and potato soup) or if I was serving leeks with salmon.

* Crisper whites such as Chablis, Albarino, Vermentino and citrussy Sauvignon Blancs are good with other fish dishes or where the leeks are served in a salad such as leeks vinaigrette. I wouldn’t pick a more grassy, gooseberryish style of Sauvignon like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which tends to overpower leeks’ delicate flavour

* An afterthought, following the comment below. Alsace Sylvaner - always good with light vegetable dishes. Or a fruity but not oversweet riesling.

A dry to medium dry cider or perry generally matches most leek dishes as do most apple-flavoured drinks.

I’m not a big fan of red wine with leeks - neither the red fruits or tannin seem to work with their delicate oniony flavour but if you were serving them in a lamb stew I’d probably go for a basic red burgundy or other inexpensive pinot noir.

Incidentally if you’re a leek fan there are some pretty inventive recipes on this British Leeks website I stumbled across on Google or try this totally delicious Caerphilly and Leek Toastie from my friends at Trethowans Brothers.

Image ©Imagin at Adobe Stock

5 wine and drink pairings for roast pork belly (updated)

Pork belly has become a cheap and popular main course so what should you drink with it? It depends how you cook it. but it doesn’t have to be wine . . .

If it’s roasted you can basically go with the same kind of pairings as you would with any roast pork. For example 

*Medium-dry cider. It may not be the flashiest choice but it’s top of my list. Pork and cider go together like - well, pork and cider. Pear cider (perry) works well too, especially sparkling perry

*India Pale Ale, particularly heavily hopped American IPAs with a touch of sweetness. A brilliant match

*German riesling. Pork belly is quite fatty so the delicious sharpness of a Riesling really cuts through especially when the pork is served with apple or spiced as it is in this recipe. Alsace and Austrian Rieslings work well too

*Beaujolais and other Gamay-based reds. Bright and fruity. Just the job.

*Southern French Grenache-based reds such as Côtes du Rhône work well if you fancy a more full-bodied red.

If pork belly is stir-fried and given more of a sweet and sour treatment like this dish with ginger and plums I’d also go for a riesling  though maybe one from New Zealand or Washington State in the US. Or even a gewürztraminer (ginger works well with gewürz.)

With char siu (Chinese BBQ pork) I’d be more inclined to go for a pinot gris or a fruity red like a light grenache or garnacha.

Image credit: Pixabay