Here’s the Guide to
Holiday Cheese & Wine

   By Seared Lightly

 Party time is here and the proper pairing of cheese and wine deserves attention…particularly since there’s never been as broad a choice of each as our markets now spread before us.   Let ‘s focus upon which matches among these delights pack the biggest taste punch.

Blue–veined cheeses (Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Danish Blue) deserve a boldly flavored wine and nothing can be better than a vintage Port.  Slight sweetness in the wine carries more pleasure than any dry reds in the Cabernet, Zinfandel or Shiraz categories…and for this reason, so-called dessert wines are a tasty marriage with blue cheeses as a capper to a holiday repast.

Full-flavored dry red wines are best enjoyed with aged dry cheeses.  A true Italian Parmesan paired with an Amarone, Barolo or Chianti Classico is a bit of heaven.  More delicate dry reds as in Oregon Pinot Noir pair well with Edam or Gouda, though if you search you can find aged Gouda that blends beautifully with more assertive reds.  Seek out a Spanish Manchego cheese to compliment Rioja reds, or any rendition of Tempranillo grapes, a varietal now being planted in Oregon vineyards.

White table wines have many mating ideals in the cheese world.  Gewurztraminer and dry Riesling are wonderful with soft cheeses in the Brie category…St. Andre, Morbier and Cambazola are examples of imported bries to match with Germanic-style bottlings.  Gewurztraminer is also delightful served with a nutty Swiss Emmenthaler or a Jarlsberg cheese crafting of this style. 

Goat cheese, now donning the “Chevre” moniker for a tonier appeal, is never better than matched with Sauvignon Blanc…and this grape varietal is more plentiful, and affordable, with renditions from Chile, California and New Zealand gracing our retail shelves.

Now, you ask, what do you pour with an aged Cheddar?  We recommend a Cabernet Sauvignon as a proper foil, though any “big” red will suffice.

This treatise has barely intruded upon the vast selection of wines and cheeses in the gourmet category.  It should provide some guidelines for style pairing…and help you take full advantage of selections now offered in record abundance.

© 2003 Oregon Magazine