5 of the The Best Cheese and Wine Pairings
If you’ve never had cheese and wine during Thanksgiving we can forgive your past sins.
It is true that cheese isn’t much of a Thanksgiving culture but snacking is and cheese is an impeccable choice for pre-dinner, after dinner and the next day with leftovers.
And there’s a special kind of spark when the flavors and textures of your cheese and wine are well matched.
So, this Thanksgiving or any holiday party, we say: go try these best wine and cheese pairings and sin no more!
1. Brie (Triple Crème) and Cabernet Sauvignon
The queen of cheeses, Brie is such an alluring cheese with a rich buttery Triple Crème.
You can see it as the height of decadence when you consider all the butter but it is the cream of the crop and you’d love it.
When served with the Rodney Strong Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, you’d love the rich fruit flavors and easy tannins of this wine.
You can also combine it with a creamy, subtly oaked Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, and your tastes buds will thank you.
2. Parmigiano Reggiano and Pinot Noir
Parmigiano Reggiano is a top choice by cheese connoisseurs. It has a hard, gritty texture and is fruity and nutty in taste, your guests will kill to have some.
You can savor thin slices of aged Parmigiano Reggiano with the Pinot Noir packed with earthy, berry flavors and spicy accents.
>The crunchy sharpness of the cheese as it bursts with each bite combine smoothly with Pinot Noir’s ripe berry flavors and spicy finish.
3. Blue Cheese and Gruet Blanc de Noirs
The blue cheese is one marbled with bluish or greenish veins of mold like the English Stilton, French Roquefort, and Italian Gorgonzola.
Whichever you choose, you can pair with Gruet Blanc de Noirs.
The creamy mouthfeel of Blanc de Noirs makes a nice contrast with the sharpness of the blue cheese, and the finishes of each complement each other well, without one overpowering the other.
4. Bandage Wrapped Cheddar and Claret
A Bandaged wrapped cheddar brings more buttery flavors, a nice tang and some interesting earthiness with a hint of maple.
You can enjoy the bandage wrapped Cheddar with the Claret that has lots of nice fruit, without any tannins and easy to drink.
5. Fresh Goat Cheese and Syrah
The versatile fresh goat cheese goes very well with Turkey. For an after dinner thing, you may want to get some dried cranberries, roll the goat log in them and dust with some brown sugar.
Here’s where the climax comes. Pop open the Syrah and enjoy with your fresh goat cheese. The Syrah has enough dark fruit flavors which flawlessly balances out the combo.
But if you’d prefer a white wine, you can bank on the Bonterra Viognier.
Bonus tip:
You can take things a notch higher with the amazing lamb chopper cheese and Sauvignon Blanc.
The Sheep’s milk cheese pairs wonderfully with the Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc. Again, more fruit to the wine to bring out more of the butter in this fun cheese.