Charcuterie Boards and Wine Pairing
03/23/2022
Spring!!!
Spring is almost upon us and we are all excited to get back into the swing of things out here in Wine Land!
As you may know, we at VanArnam serve up a pretty mean Charcuterie Board with lots of meats, cheeses and seasonal fare.
Cheese and wine is a classic partnership that goes back for centuries.
The following is a guideline for cheese and wine pairing.
We will start with understanding cheese flavor profiles. There are hundreds of different flavors, but all fall under seven different categories; fresh, aged fresh, semi-soft, hard, blue or flavored.
These categories showcase the wide variety of flavors. In short, make sure you think about your cheese choices before heading to the wine section.
Pair with equal intensity. You don’t want a cheese that can’t stand up to the wine, and vise versa. For example, pair sharp cheese or aged cheese with full-bodied wines. Similarly, try to match unique cheeses (blue stilton) with sweeter wines. The stink that comes with the cheese will balance the sweetness of the wine.
Here are 6 Perfect Springtime Wine and Cheese Pairings!
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Creamy cheeses such as Brie pair well with wines that have more acidity, like Chardonnay and Champagne.
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Springtime and Rose – what could be better? Springtime, Rose and Havarti of course! This pair is such a lovely option for picnics, charcuterie boards and friend gatherings. It’s delicious and delicate so it matches the mellow flavor you’ll find in Havarti.
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Riesling is a light-bodied, off dry white wine that has stone fruit flavors. When paired with spicy powerful cheeses, the acidity and sweetness of the wine works well with the cheeses’ stimulating characteristics.
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Wines made from a blend of red grapes are usually medium-bodied and well balanced. With their fruit, herb and spice flavors, red blends work well with smoked or sharp cheese because all of the flavors become enhanced.
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Garlic and Herb flavored cheese has sharp and tangy flavors. When paired with Merlot, which is a dry red wine that is medium to full-bodied, the cheese brings out notes of black cherry, plum and black tea.
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Reserve or vintage cheese has robust flavors, which needs a red wine that can hold up against it. The strong flavors of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec compliments the vintage or reserve cheese.
These are just a few of the many different classic wine and cheese pairings you can try this upcoming spring. The more you practice pairing, the more you’ll see which flavors you enjoy.
Cheers!
Noelle
Post By:
Noelle Cook