Whether it is a simple family aperitif or a complete tasting, the combination of wine and cheese is a timeless classic. These two perfectly compatible protagonists enrich every table. Discover the basic rules and tips for creating the ideal cheese board accompanied by the right wines!

How to pair wine and cheese? Factors and rules to consider

Despite the fame of this pairing, the encounter between wine and cheese is not always rosy, due to the particular character of these ingredients. It is above all the cheese that leads the dance, as it is to it that the most intense flavours are owed, while the wine keeps pace, sometimes enhancing and sometimes softening the roughness.
 

Yet the relationship works great, as long as certain rules are respected:

• Consider the intensity of the flavours: when matching cheeses and wines, the characteristics of the former must first be taken into account. In this case, the principle of concordance works well, according to which a cheese with delicate notes should be paired with an equally light and suave wine (white or lightly structured reds and rosés), while more intense cheeses require a full-bodied and decisive wine, usually a red.

• Contemplate contrasts: in some cases, contrasts help to soften more complex tones and create an excellent balance of flavours. A spicy cheese, for example, goes well with a wine with citrus aromas, while a cheese with salty hints appreciates sweet notes. In the latter case, wines with pronounced tannins should be avoided, since in the presence of a very savoury cheese they could create unpleasant sensations.

• Do not ignore texture: texture is also important in understanding how to pair cheese and wine. Creamy cheeses appreciate wines with a slightly acidic aftertaste, which degreases the mouth, while highly mature cheeses prefer a high level of tannins, which give softness to the palate.

• Trust the geographical provenance: many famous wine and cheese pairings tend to show a common geographical provenance. Trusting these established pairings is generally a practice that does not disappoint!

Cheese and wine pairing: some tasting tips

Faced with the UK's very rich dairy scene, one might find oneself rather bewildered, but here is a guide to pairing wines correctly with English cheeses!

Matching wines and hard and semi-hard cheeses

Hard cheeses are pressed during the production process and subjected to an ageing period that gives them a hard or grainy texture, which amplifies their flavours. When ageing is very limited, some of the water contained in the cheese is not removed, resulting in semi-hard cheese products.

• Cheddar: recognisable by its bright orange colour and much appreciated for its versatility, it is the most famous hard cheese in the UK. Its savoury and slightly spicy, sometimes earthy notes demand a good level of tannins, which is why one of the best wines for mature cheeses like this is the Cabernet Sauvignon Friuli Colli Orientali DOC 2022, a product that mixes the delicacy of currant and berry flavours (enriched by a grassy note) with a warm taste and intense tannins, which provide a prolonged sip.

• Cornish Yarg: a semi-hard cow's milk cheese from Cornwall, it is recognisable by its rind of nettle leaves, wrapped around the cheese before ripening. What characterises it is a soft and crumbly texture, and a fresh and rather delicate flavour, with a slight underlying piquancy. It can be paired with a good Pinot Noir, one of the best wines for hard and semi-hard cheeses. You can put it, for example, on a 'Vigna Bindesi' Pinot Noir Trentino DOC 2021. Well-balanced and with delicate aromas of rose, cherry and spices, this wine conquers the palate with a smooth, yet refreshing taste that perfectly complements this cheese.

How to pair wines with soft and semi-soft cheeses: the ideal choices

In soft and semi-soft cheeses, the percentage of water is higher than in hard cheeses, which is why their texture is soft or creamy. The period of ageing is also more limited, which is why the aromas of these cheeses are delicate, albeit characterised by a buttery or slightly acidic aftertaste, which must be paired with the right bottle with great care:

• Stinking Bishop: the name - unequivocal - refers to the pungent smell of this cheese (repulsive to some), obtained by ripening in contact with pear cider. This organoleptic intensity also complicates the pairing, which can, however, be set with the fruity notes in mind. Among the best white wines for a cheese like this, the Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie Comte de Saint Hubert 2020 stands out, characterised by a light straw yellow colour and clearly perceptible hints of peach and grape. Structured and slightly mineral, it offers the consumer exactly what is needed to cleanse the palate of the harshness of this soft cheese.

• Wigmore: this semi-soft sheep's milk cheese was inspired by the products of Sardinia, which its creators - husband and wife Anne and Andy Wigmore - fell in love with during a trip to Italy. Characterised by a short maturation and a soft texture, melting in the centre, this product has an interesting fruity aftertaste, which lends itself well to an aperitif or an end of meal, especially when paired with a bubbly. For the occasion, a 'Curena' Pignoletto Frizzante DOC 2023 can be uncorked, a light-hearted and floral Emilian wine, enriched with hints of wisteria and almond, as well as pleasant and refreshing on the palate.

Perfect wines for fresh cheese

These unripened cheeses are eaten shortly after production to prevent them from spoiling. Their texture is usually soft or creamy, while the flavour is mild and reminiscent of milk, which is why they are delicious spread on bread or croutons, or eaten with a salad:

• Crowdie: What characterises this fresh cow's milk cheese - apart from its ancient Scottish origins dating back to the Vikings - is its creamy, inviting texture and delicate, refreshing flavour. Excellent with a dash of whisky, it also goes well with a Pinot Grigio, such as a 'Grappoli' Pinot Grigio Collio DOC 2022.
  This excellent Friulian, with its golden straw yellow colour, heady aromas of white-fleshed fruit, herbs and citrus fruits, and pleasantly mineral flavour, is ideal for enhancing the freshness of this cheese, even better when consumed on a slice of bread, in a light-hearted tasting session.

• Childwickbury: handcrafted in Hertfordshire, this fresh cheese is appreciated by consumers for its soft, inviting texture and delicate hints, but also for the slightly sour aftertaste imparted by the goat's milk. To choose the best wines for fresh cheeses such as this one, one should go for an aromatic and equally delicate white, such as a Sardinian 'Funtanalìras' Vermentino di Gallura DOCG 2023. Elegance and freshness are the traits that most distinguish this territorial excellence, which conquers the senses with notes of cedar and flowers, and the soft hint of exotic fruit. On the palate it is slightly mineral, excellent for supporting the scents of this product.

'Blue' wine and cheese pairings

The term 'blue cheese' might turn your nose up at it, but the reason for the name is quickly explained: these products are in fact characterised by green or blue veins, obtained during the production process through selected moulds.  This particular process gives the cheeses intense, even spicy or pungent scents, which red wines of character especially appreciate:

• Stilton: one of the most famous blue cheeses in England - if not the world - owes its biting taste not only to the Penicillium roqueforti that is added to it during production, but also to its ageing (9 to 24 weeks). The intense flavour is further enriched by fruity and herbaceous notes, which call for an equally punchy accompaniment, such as a 'Lamuri' Nero D'Avola Sicilia DOC 2021, a still red wine with not too evident tannins, which mixes intensity and freshness The aromas of morello cherry and spices are in fact balanced to perfection by the structured but harmonious taste of this wine.

• Oxford blue: soft and blue-veined, this cheese is the perfect product for those who want a slightly creamier version of Stilton, without renouncing the intensity of flavour and underlying spiciness that characterises most of these products. Once again, the pairing of red wine and blue cheese is the winning one: so we return to Sicily with a glass of 'Sole di Sesta' Syrah Sicilia DOC 2019, a product with an elegant ruby red colour, tending towards violet, and refined hints of sweet fruit, Mediterranean herbs, chocolate and spices, among which black pepper stands out. In the mouth it is equally rich and distinctive, ideal to hold its own against this blue cheese.

Curiosity about pairing cheese and wine: a tradition between past and present

As is often the case with many traditions, it is not easy to pinpoint the exact moment when it was first realised that accompanying a piece of cheese with a glass of wine was a good idea. The encounter - at first casual - probably took place in ancient times, especially in Mediterranean areas where cheese production and wine growing were more deeply rooted.

It is thought, however, that the pairing became conscious and increasingly sought after during the Middle Ages, thanks to the birth of the first monasteries, which were particularly widespread in Italy, France and the United Kingdom. These centres of culture were in fact also places of intense wine and cheese production, and it is presumed that it was here that gastronomic customs began to officially contemplate the pairing.

The custom laid the foundations for increasingly sophisticated tastings that took hold during Renaissance banquets, with variations that included the addition of delicacies imported thanks to the new trade routes. It was then the globalisation and industrialisation of the modern age that made wine and cheese tasting more and more accessible to the population, stripping these products of some of their exclusive patina, but maintaining the fascinating and refined image that still accompanies them.

All set for your next cheese aperitif? Choose the most suitable wine from the Svinando catalogue!