Cheese by Wine

This is serious.

Abbaye de Bellocq – Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, Bordeaux sec (these are whites)
Abondance – Vin de Savoie, Cotes de Nuits Villages, Morey St. Denis / Those are the offical recommendations, but I question if this is really such an ideal cheese for wine in general. I think it's too much like gruyere, and would treat beverage recommendations the same as.
Appenzeller - Jura Blanc, dry white, light/fruity red, sturdy beer (damn you)
Asiago – Bardolino
Baby bell – Red Burgundy
Banon – Sauvignon Blanc
Bethmale – Collioure (Languedoc)
Bleu d’Auvergne – Sauternes, Maury (VDN)
Bleu des Causses – Barsac moellieux, Banyuls Grand Cru (VDN)
Bleu de Sassenage – Barsac moellieux, Banyuls Grand Cru (VDN)
Boursin – Graves (white)
Bresse Bleu – Monbazillac moellieux, Rivesaltes, Rasteau (VDN)
Brie – see Camembert +/- Beaujolais
Brie de Meaux – St. Julien, Vosne-Romanée, Hermitage
Brie de Less – just kidding
Cabrales

port, sherry, rieslings (note, this is complicated; it’s not just any riesling or sherry, which can go with Cabrales; you have to choose very specific examples of these wines in order to successfully pair with Cabrales; if you don’t know, you better axe someone.)

Caerphilly - with Fume Blanc, cider or ale
Cambozola - German riesling (not the same as with Camembert; any strong red may clash with the slight mold flavor of the Cambozola; might try a mild red (or Zin) if necessary; might be okay with mild Sauvignon Blanc in lieu of Riesling
Camembert (creamy/fatty)

Red: Bordeaux (St. Emilion, St. Estephe; merlot>cabernet), ?some burgundy

White: Sauvignon Blanc (crisp, dry)
Cantal – châteaugay (one of five appelations of Côtes d’Auvergne; usu. gamay), Moulin-a-Vent, possibly lighter Bordeaux
La Cathalaine – Crépy (Chasselas)
Charollais Fermier – strong Belgian-style ale
Chaumes – Madiran, Cotes de Bourg [my beeper just went off, was this Bourgogne or just Bourg?]
Cheddar [more]

Okay, cheddar really is not a wine-friendly cheese. Beer is good for cheddar (English/Scottish ales: Traquair, Moreland, others). But if you want to try to match it with wine, they say: medium to full-bodied whites (Tokay, Chardonnay, Riesling, Viognier) I say if you have it with chutney and match the chutney to the wine, that that works ( e.g. apple chutney//mosel-saar-ruwer, etc. I say a nice farmhouse cheddar can go well with a strong Chinon Rouge because of that sour to sour thing. They also say light to medium reds (gamay, pinot noir, tannat), medium to full-bodied whites (Tokay, Chardonnay, Riesling, Viognier), and sweeter wines such as Tawny port (case by case basis I would think, although Tawny-–maybe)

Cheshire – cabernet sauvignon?
Chevre (more)

a) simple, dry (chalky) chevre – depends b) soft, young, ripe chevre (two different strategies) 1. Chardonnay (classic: Montrachet + Montrachet) 2. Sancerre (Sauvignon Blanc) c) dry, aged (peanut buttery) – gewürztraminer (sweet meets bitter if ammoniac; also, golden strong gewurz flavor matches peanut goat flavor)

Chèvre Fermier du Château-Vert – Côtes du Ventoux blanc and rosé
Comte Côtes du Jura (jaune), Vin de Paille
Coulomiers – Bordeaux (Pomerol)
Crottin (which translates into “road apple” or “a bit of animal doo-doo”) – Gaillac, Sancerre (both are steely, grassy)
Fontina Val D’Aosta – Chianti Classico
Garrotxa – fruity, light-to-medium Spanish red
Gorgonazola (all) – Barbera (I agree), Moscato d’Asti (sometimes, because of geography)
Gorgonazola (dolce) – sweet sherry
Gouda (young) – Beaujolais
Gouda (aged) – beers, red wines (strong grenache-based (Châteauneuf Du Pape) or Amarone)
Gruyere – Beer, Chardonnay
Gubbeen – stout beer (like Guiness)
Hereford Hop – English Ale
Idiazabal – Spanish Red (?tannins)
Langres – champagne!
Manchego

Young – medium Spanish red (Rioja, Ribera del Duero)

Aged – stronger Spanish red (Rioja, Ribera del Duero)
Manouri – lean, citrusy Greek white wine
Mascarpone – Madeira
Mimolette (Boule de Lille) – Banyuls (VDN)
Monte Enebro – Brut champagne
Morbierr – Crépy, Seyssel
Mozzarella – Frascati
Munster – Gewürztraminer > syrah, cabernet
Munster – Gewürztraminer, Tokay, Riesling
Pannerone – Cabernet
Parmigiano Reggiano – sweet + salt, remember, and PR is salt

1. Amarone (aged, smooth, off-dry) 2. Other Italian Red with some nuttiness, sweetness, “red” fruit (Barbera, Chianti, Dolcetto) 3. Distant Third: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir 4. sometimes lighter whites can work Note: Try to avoid a wine which is too tannic (e.g. the incredibly tannic young Nebbiolo, Brunello) as it could just result in mouth puckering mayhem

Pecorino – full bodied reds (Barolo, Chianti Classico)
Piave – medium-bodied red from Alto Adige
Picodon – Rivesaltes (VDN)
Pierre-Robert – Bordeaux
Pont-l’Evêque – Condrieu, Bordeaux (Pommard), Red Burgundy, Cabernet, cider
Port-Salut – Chinon, Bourgueil (red)
Prince de Claverolle – was okay with syrah – combination was nothing special
Provolone – Dolcetto d’Alba
Raclette – Vin de Savoie, Hautes Côtes de Beaune, dry whites
Reblochon – Vin de Savoie, Pommard, Beaujolais
Red Leicester – Sherry, Burgundy
Ricotta – muscadet/SB
Ridder (Norwegian) – Red Burgundy
Roquefort – Sauterne, Port, Red Burgundy
St. Marcellin

young and tart: crisp, acidic wine (sancerre, some sauvignon blanc, Côtes du Ventoux) old, not tart: more buttery/fatty; fruity, buttery whites or slightly tannic reds (Gigondas, Châteauneuf Du Pape)

Saint Nectaire – Saint Estèphe
Sbrinz – dry Chardonnay
Stilton – port (sweeter ports like LBV or tawny) [sweetness foils sharp pungency]
Taleggio – barbaresco, Valpolicello
Tete de Moine – Trappist Ale (Monk Beer), porter, stout; big reds (some say Rhone, I would stay with Trappist beer; others have also suggested dry Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc; I will let you know)
Tetilla – Spanish white (albariño > treixadura, loureira); I also find any light to medium-bodied French or Spanish works.
Tomme de Savoie – Vin de Savoie, Hautes Côtes de Beaune
Tomme de Haut Richelieu – Gewürztraminer, Dry Reisling, Pinot Noir
Tronchon – a slightly sour or grassy white, seems to be okay.
Urgelia – try to match with gewürztraminer or pinot gris; or just sacrifice to some prized red; beer
Belgian Wynendale

definitely not Chardonnay (I can tell you that); they say it’s sweet and takes champagne, potentially certain Red Burgundies (although I wouldn’t), and the local beer, whose name is “Thouroutenaere.”

Some General Principles

Coated-rind cow’s milk (brie, camembert)	light to medium reds but BEWARE: strong/overripe (brie/camembert, some chevres) because moldy (ammoniac) rind flavor competes (and wins) against wine
Triple-creams (Cambozola)	Sparkling wines; light to medium reds (Gamay, Pinot Noir); Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling (Kabinett, Spatlese)
Wash-rind cow’s milk (Epoisses, Livarots, Munsters)	Medium-bodied to sweeter expressions of whites: Rieslings, Muscats, Viogniers, Tokays, Gewürztraminers); some reds (Amarones, nebbiolos, grenache blends)
Firmer pressed cow’s milk (Tomme de Savoie, Caerphilly)	Dutch hard cheeses (Gouda) Beers, red wines (esp. Amarone)
Super-pungent cheese	Basically if a cheese is incredibly pungent ? you just have to let it win; that’s what beer is for ? just have something carbonated (beer/bubbly) and chill. Let the cheese have its way.
Blues	Sweet (first): Ports, Madeiras, Sauternes, Sherry (Moscatel, Ximenez) Red (alternate): Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Gamay White (last resort): fat California Chardonnay Note: Be very careful here. It is hard to match anything but the right type of sweet wine with blue cheese. For example, German Riesling is sweet, but is often very incompatible with blues. I say this as a friend.
Sheep’s milk	Light to full-bodied reds > crisp whites (can be tricky), sweet whites
Goat’s milk	It depends on what type of goat’s milk cheese and there are more exceptions than rules (so read this), but in general: light-bodied white wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and lighter Chardonnays), some reds are possible (but difficult to match) St. Marcellin (young and tart goat’s milk cheese) Crisp, acidic wine (Sancerre, some sauvignons blanc) St. Marcellin (old, not tart; more buttery/fatty) Fruity, buttery whites or slightly tannic reds

Also see Pairing Wine with Asian Food

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