Top pairings

Some top beer and wine pairings for Cheshire cheese

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on February 13 2014 at 15:43

I’ve recently had the chance to taste through a range of wines and beers with Cheshire - Appleby’s Cheshire to be exact - so the hits and misses are fresh in my mind. As you probably know it’s a British territorial cheese with a crumbly texture and mellow flavour but quite a firm bite.

Maybe there’s a bit of auto-suggestion from the rich orange colour but red wine appeals to me more than white. The creamy Burgundian-style Chilean Chardonnay I was sent (Errazuriz Wild Ferment) didn’t really stand up to the cheese. A Vidal Syrah was a bit too powerful and a Louis Jadot Beaujolais too light but a Cairanne Côtes du Rhône Villages 2010 (from Marks & Spencer) was absolutely spot on.

I suspect other medium-to-full-bodied southern Rhone and Languedoc reds would match well too along with inexpensive Bordeaux and Rioja reservas. This is a classic British cheese which suits traditional wines. Vintage port (less sweet than younger ports) would also be a good choice as would a medium-dry madeira or a nutty amontillado sherry.

With Appleby's smoked cheddar I found a 2009 Villa Maria Marlborough Pinot Noir was a great match enhancing the almost bacony taste of the cheese. (I’m not a huge fan of smoked cheese myself but if you are a sweet-fruited pinot like this will ramp up the smoky flavours).

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