There are many guides to wine and cheese pairing. My one is loosely based on the one provided in Decanter magazine then amended to put emphasis on Australian cheeses and wines while referencing famous European cheeses.
| Example Cheeses | White Wine Matching | Red Wine Matching | Spirits or Fortified Matching | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft Cheese | Brie Camembert Feta L’Artisan Marcel Chamela Boatshed Tempest Woombye Ash Triple Brie Stone and Crow Galactic Woombye Truffle Brie | Cool climate chardonnay (Southern Victoria, Tasmania, some Adelaide Hills), Sparkling, Semillion Plus and Minus Blanc de Blancs Dal Zotto Prosecco Ashbolt Farm Sparkling Elderflower | Gamay Stargazer Rada Vinea Marson Nebbiolo Plus and Minus de-alcoholised shiraz | Soft cow and buffalo milk cheese have delicate light flavours. The acidity in these white wines cuts through dairy flavours, while their light body does not overwhelm the cheese flavour. | |
| Blue Cheese | English Stilton Gorgonzola Roquefort St Agur Tarwin Blue Blackburn Blue | Rutherglen Muscat | Botrytis wines, Sherry, Port. | Blue cheeses tend to be salty, so the sugar in sweet these wines is used to contrast the flavour. Since blue cheeses have a strong flavour, a strongly flavoured wine is required to match. | |
| Hard cheeses | Block cheddar, Halloumi Joe Crow Comte, Gruyere Yarrawa Fermier Manchego Clothbound cheddar Fermier Monforte Grana Padano, Parmesan, Pecorino Annie Baxter Reserve Murray Bridge Cheddar | Full bodied chardonnay | Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir, Rioja, red Bordeaux blend Four Horsemen Barbera | The bigger and more comple flavours that come with these cheeses can be approached in a couple of ways. Fuller bodied wines such as the bigger chardonnays or Bordeaux blend (Cab Sav, Merlot etc.) grapes, or instead focus on aromatics and acidity to contrast with the cheese with pinots, and tampranillos like Riojas | |
| Washed-rind cheeses | Epoisse L’Artisan Le Rouge Bruny Island Saint | Aromatic whites such as pinot gris, riesling, and gewurtztramier Stargazer Tupelo Das Helden Riesling | Tempranillo, Pinot noir, Crawford River Wines Apis Field Blend Dune Pyla Nero D’Avola blend Mayford Tempranillo | These cheeses are highly aromatic and gooey. So, the wines are also highly aromatic, but carry acidity to cut through the goo. They are light to medium bodoed so as not to overwhelm the cheese. | |
| Goat and sheep cheeses | Black Sheep Bloomy Stone and Crow Amiel Holy Goat Brigid’s Well Meredith Ash Goats | Sauvignon blanc, dry riesling, , aged viognier, Hahndorf Hill Gruner Veltliner Soumah Estate Viognier | Shiraz | Fino Sherry | Recognising that sheep and goat milk cheese are often more robust that cow and buffalo ones, the white wines have more body. The choice of shiraz is a matter of a strong red to take on the strong cheese flavour |
Thanks To
Aliona Gumeniuk for use of the photo, sourced from unsplash.com