Red wine with a cheese board? Why cheesemakers drink white themselves
The cheese board with red wine is a ritual, but rarely a pleasure. What fat, salt and tannin do to each other, why almost every cheesemaker chooses white wine, and which bottle is the only right one for an 18-month Gruyère.
The problem with red wine
Tannin, the astringent compound in red wine, binds to protein. That's why red wine pairs so well with meat: the meat softens the wine. Cheese also contains protein, but with plenty of fat and salt besides. That combination makes powerful red wines taste bitter and metallic. Ask a cheesemaker: most drink white wine with their own product.
With a cheese board of five varieties, there is no single wine that suits them all. But there is one that clashes with none: an off-dry white wine with acidity and a touch of residual sweetness.
By type of cheese
Hard cheese (Gruyère, Sbrinz, Parmesan): the older the cheese, the more the wine may bring. An 18-month Gruyère suits a mature white wine or a soft red without sharp tannin. Sii Felice! Nizza Riserva, a Barbera from Piedmont, CHF 34.90, has acidity rather than tannin, which is why it works.
Soft cheese (Brie, Camembert, Tomme): creamy, mild, with a rind that tastes faintly mushroomy. Pair with a Chardonnay with a touch of oak: Valdona Grande Réserve Blanc, CHF 25.90. Or a sparkling wine: the carbonation clears away the fat. Prosecco Frizzante Piccolomini, CHF 25.90.
Goat's cheese: the classic Loire pairing: Sauvignon Blanc. Acidity against acidity, grass against herbs. Ligeris Sauvignon Blanc, CHF 29.90.
Blue cheese (Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Bleu de Gex): salty and sharp. Here the one rule without exception applies: sweet. A dry wine tastes of nothing beside it. Beerenauslese Grand Reserve, CHF 34.90, or the sweet Bor Forrás Blaufränkisch from Hungary, CHF 23.90, if it should be red.
Pungent washed-rind cheese (Vacherin Mont-d'Or, Appenzeller, Munster): strong and often slightly sweet. An off-dry white wine with spice: Sip & Kick Chardonnay & Neuburger from Burgenland, CHF 22.90, or an off-dry Riesling.
If it has to be one wine for the whole board
Choose the Chenin Blanc Western Cape, CHF 21.90. Off-dry, with acidity and ripe fruit. It keeps pace with hard cheese, doesn't clash with soft cheese, and gets closer to blue cheese than any red wine.
And if your guests insist on red: light, fruity, low tannin, lightly chilled. Merlot IGP Pays d'Oc, CHF 17.90.
