Top pairings |  What to pair with Epoisses (and other stinky cheeses)

Pairings | Belgian

What to pair with Epoisses (and other stinky cheeses)

What on earth do you drink with Époisses and France’s other famous stinky washed-rind cheeses such as Pont-l'Évêque, Maroilles, Munster and Langres? The problem is that the more mature and stinky you like your cheese, the tougher it will be on any wine you pair with it.

Personally I think they’re better with a spirit or beer than with wine, particularly red wine which makes sense as the rind of the cheese is often washed with white wine, beer or eau de vie.

Marc de Bourgogne

Basically the local brandy. Strong and spicy - my favourite with an Époisses that’s practically crawling off the cheeseboard

Strong Belgian or Northern French beers

Trappist beers like Orval or Chimay or what are known in Northern France as bières de grade - again because they come from the same region as the cheese

Pear eau de vie or Poire William

A pairing I discovered went really well with England’s answer to stinky cheese, Stinking Bishop

Genever

The Dutch style of gin, served neat rather than in a G & T or cocktail. The Old Tom style works too if you can’t get hold of it.

Calvados

Would work with Pont-l'Évêque which comes from Normandy too. Or the slightly ligher Pommeau.

Gewurztraminer.

The classic local pairing for Munster in Alsace. Often the cheese is sprinkled with cumin seeds which helps the match along.

Sauternes or similar Bordeaux sweet whites

Maybe a surprise but they do work surprisingly well. Experiment with other sweet whites such as Rivesaltes.

Red burgundy

Reluctantly because it’s what the locals drink but don’t expect it to survive unscathed and make sure there’s a baguette to offset the cheese’s pungency. Personally I’d go for a rich Burgundian white like a Meursault though even then it won’t do the wine a lot of favours. A Jura chardonnay would be more forgiving.

See also Wine and Cheese Pairing for Beginners

Photo © hawanafsu at fotolia.com

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Comments: 4 (Add)

Fiona Beckett on August 21 2021 at 08:32

Gonna have to try that! (Although not sure I want my red burg to taste of honey 😉)

Ewan Murray on August 21 2021 at 07:33

Pinot noir does the trick for me. Admittedly the wine stops tasting like pinot noir, but it does start tasting like honey, so that’s a bonus. Also means that it doesn’t have to be red Burgundy - cheap Chilean pinot would do the trick.

Warren on April 12 2021 at 17:36

A good fino

David Natt on January 10 2020 at 17:58

Biere de garde.

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