What wine goes with cheese?
Pair with a dish
For the cheese — a wine with more age than the cheese
Red
a red with some grip
- Cabernet Sauvignon a Cabernet with structure and a dark coreBordeaux a left-bank claret with some age · Napa Valley a Napa Cabernet, ripe and plush
- Nebbiolo a pale red with tannin and rose on itBarolo a Barolo, opened early and given air · Barbaresco a Barbaresco, finer and sooner
- Sangiovese a savoury red with bright acidityChianti a Chianti, savoury and bright · Montalcino a Brunello with some age
- Tempranillo a red with oak and some years on itRioja a Rioja with some years on it
- Zinfandel a ripe, generous red
- Petit Verdot a deep, firm red
- Petite Sirah a dense, inky red
- Dolcetto a soft red for drinking young
- Aglianico a southern red with firm tannin
- Corvina a light red with a bitter edgeValpolicella a Veneto red, from light to Amarone-dark
- Gamay a light, juicy red, lightly chilledBeaujolais a Beaujolais, lightly chilled
- Tannat a red with serious tannin
- Xinomavro a pale red with tannin and some age
- Carignan a rustic red from old vines
- Saperavi a deep, dark red with grip
- MerlotBordeaux a right-bank claret, soft and plush
- Pinot NoirCôte de Nuits a Côte de Nuits red with some depth
White
- Sauvignon Blanc a crisp, green-edged whiteSancerre a Sancerre, flinty and dry
- Chenin Blanc a white that can run dry or sweetVouvray a Vouvray, anywhere from dry to sweet
- Semillon a waxy white that ages well
- Gewurztraminer a heady, aromatic white
- Verdejo a crisp, herbal white
- Marsanne a rich, waxy white
- Roussanne a full white with some perfume
- ChardonnayChablis a Chablis, lean and stony · Burgundy a white Burgundy with some weight
Sparkling
something with bubbles in it
- Pinot Noir a sparkling with a red grape's weight
- Champagne something with bubbles and bread in it
Dessert
something sweet, served cold
- Muscat a sweet, floral glass
- Sauternes a Sauternes, golden and sweet
- Tokaj a Tokaji Aszú, sweet and bright
Fortified
something fortified, a small glass
- Muscat a dark, sticky fortified
- Palomino a dry sherry, served cold
- Pedro Ximenez a dark, syrupy fortifiedJerez a PX, black and syrupy
- Jerez a sherry, from fino to oloroso
- Douro a Port, dark and sweet
- Madeira a Madeira, tangy and long
Why these wines work with cheese
Cheese and wine are an old partnership, but they are trickier together than tradition suggests. Strong cheese coats the palate with fat and salt and can flatten a delicate wine, while a big, tannic red can taste metallic against a creamy rind. The rule of thumb here is a wine with more age than the cheese: young, fresh cheeses suit young, fresh wines, and mature, nutty cheeses suit wines that have developed savoury depth of their own.
With goat’s cheese and Brie
A fresh goat’s cheese with a Sancerre is the classic case, the acidity in the wine matching the tang of the cheese. Soft, bloomy cheeses such as Brie welcome Champagne, whose bubbles cut through the richness, or a light Beaujolais.
With Cheddar, Comté and Parmesan
Hard, aged cheeses stand up to structured reds with some years on them: a Rioja, a Barolo, a Brunello from Montalcino, a mature Bordeaux. The drink window calculator will tell you whether yours have had those years.
With blue and washed-rind cheeses
Blue cheese is where sweetness comes in, and the old pairings exist for a reason: Sauternes with Roquefort, Port with Stilton, the sugar balancing the salt and the intensity matching the intensity. A Tokaji Aszú, a PX or a Madeira does a similar job, and any of them carries on into pudding. Washed-rind cheeses, pungent and sticky, are easiest with an aromatic white such as Gewürztraminer. On a mixed board, a dry sherry or a sparkling wine is the most forgiving companion.
This is the same filter Cellar Book’s Tonight screen uses to pick from what you already own.
More wine tools
- Wine Drink Window CalculatorStyle and vintage in — ageing, ready, at peak or fading out.
- Wine Cellar Value CalculatorCount by tier — total value, average per bottle, replacement figure.