Perfect partners – which cheese to eat with which wine

Wine and cheese may be a bit of a gastronomic cliché – but for good reason. For when you get the two right, the combined effect can be phenomenal. 

Few cheesemongers have put more thought into pairing drinks and cheese than La Fromagerie’s Patricia Michelson – her shop and café in Marylebone often runs candlelit events pairing cheese with wine and whisky through to sake. So I thought I’d ask her, and her senior cheesemonger Max Melvin, to suggest some cheese pairings for things I hope to be drinking this holiday. 

Red wine

Roagna Langhe Rosso 2018, £45.20, armitwines.co.uk

This gorgeous nebbiolo is aromatic and complex without being heavy – crushed red berries meet anise, leather, forest floor and fine tannins. 

“Younger nebbiolos and other lighter reds such as pinot noir have the freshness and acidity to pair with cheese beautifully,” says Michelson. “Think strawberries and cream.”

Match it with a fig leaf-wrapped Robiola from Piedmont. The fudgy white cheese has a nice goaty tang – hints of citrus and violet play into the wine’s red fruit characters. Or go for a truffle brie, which is made by layering oozing Brie de Meaux with truffles and mascarpone “like a high-stakes Victoria sponge”. “I think this is just perfect with this wine,” says Michelson. 

White wine

The Wine Society’s 150th Anniversary Meursault Narvaux Louis Jadot, £55, thewinesociety.com

A fresher-style Meursault that’s slightly smoky at first, revealing juicy pineapple, honeysuckle, citrus and a light oakiness. Decant. 

“Meursault is a great match for cheese – it can often take you through the whole cheeseboard,” says Melvin. 

A Soumaintrain – a soft cow’s-milk cheese from Burgundy – has a crème fraîche brightness and gentle farmyard notes that prove an excellent foil to the Meursault’s tropical pineapple. Also fabulous is the Sakura Brique No-Ha, a creamy, vanilla-rich goat’s cheese scented with almondy/coconut cherry blossom leaves – the combined effect is reminiscent of sweet haystacks and clover meadows. A Beaufort, dubbed “the prince of gruyères”, is also a winner.

Sweet wine

Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2020, £58, londonendwines.com

A historic, nectar-like sweet wine from South Africa with a heady perfume of lychee, peach and lime – a smart alternative to Sauternes.  

“Sweet wines are heaven with very strong and salty cheese,” says Michelson, who recommends Regalis, a blue sheep’s cheese from the Midi-Pyrénées “that’s sweeter, more floral than Roquefort”. Its steely blue grit and airy whipped texture are a nice counterpoint to the wine’s tropical syrupiness. Also good is a Stichelton (which is like a Stilton but made with unpasteurised milk), which is meaty, brothy and creamy. With the sweet wine it’s Beauty and the Beast.

Cider

Eric Bordelet Sydre Argelette 2022, £16.50, buonvino.co.uk

Former Arpège sommelier Eric Bordelet is today one of the top cider makers in Normandy – this has notes of apple tatin, singed toffee and a cidery tang. 

“Camembert can be a hard wine match because of its rather sulphurous character, but it’s great with Normandy cider,” says Michelson. “Just this, with some crusty bread and an apple would be perfect on Boxing Day.”  

There’s also Highmoor, a pink-skinned Oxfordshire cow’s cheese made in the Normandy style that smooths the cider’s crunchier fruit. A glossy Époisses with salty notes of dry-roasted nuts is good too. 

Champagne

Champagne Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 2014, £247.20, justerinis.co.uk

Philipponnat’s famous single-vineyard champagne has ripe pinot-noir power and energising acidity. A real gastronomic cuvée.

“People always imagine that red wine is the partner for cheese; but white wines and champagnes are often more universal cheese matches,” says Michelson. “They often have buttery dairy notes, but also the acidity that makes your mouth water.”   

In place of Comté (the traditional match for champagne) she picks the Beaufort: “It has a more fruity, herbal nuttiness, a more elegant side, which is lovely with white wines. New Year’s Eve for me is always Beaufort and a glass of champagne.”

She also recommends an outrageously silky Le Barisien. The delicate whiff of enoki mushroom in the bloomy rind resonates beautifully with the maturer notes in the champagne. “Serving these two together would be a really pro move at a dinner party,” says Melvin.

Fortified

Marsala Vigna Miccia Oro, Marco de Bartoli 2018, £39.15, sipwines.shop

A Marsala Superiore with a bitter caramel richness and notes of fig and chestnut honey. 

I brought a Ramos Pinto Tawny Port, but Michelson prefers marsala. “Sherry and marsala, dry or semi-sweet, are perhaps the greatest matches for cheese,” she says. “This is mine and Max’s go-to Christmas wine for the cheeseboard.” She pairs it with São Jorge, a lesser-spotted cow’s cheese from the Azores that’s crumbly and waxy, with a nuttiness and pleasant tongue sting like a strong cheddar. “This would be an original alternative to the usual stilton and port,” says Melvin. 

Whisky

Glenturret 10yo Peat-Smoked 2023, £64.75, thewhiskyexchange.com

Salted caramel and spice meet elegant, quite mineral smoke in this malt from Scotland’s oldest working distillery. 

“Sweet, strong and very salty cheeses are the order of the day,” says Michelson. She suggests a Roquefort. “I like the blue to be quite dusty – almost charcoal in effect.” It creates a great touch-point with the Glenturret’s mineral smoke.  

There’s also a Ragusano, a golden cow curd cheese from Sicily. It’s quite dry and grainy with the concentrated flavour of a sundried tomato; a nice contrast to the whisky’s sweeter salted caramel. 

Non-alcoholic

Lalani & Co Saemidori Kabusecha 2024, £40, lalaniandco.com

A high-grade Japanese green tea that combines umami-rich notes of buttered spinach with a grassy, herbal freshness.

“Green tea is the best non-alcoholic match for cheese we’ve found,” says Melvin. And with the sakura-infused Brique it’s excellent; delicate, fragrant, leafy and wonderfully refreshing.

“A really good-quality pressed apple juice can also be great with cheese,” says Michelson, who recommends Townsend Jonagold, which provides a crisp-and-sweet counterpoint to the salty São Jorge. 

Join La Fromagerie Marylebone on 1 February 2025 for a talk and tasting of fine wine and cheese matches. Tickets for The Grand Tour: A Historical Deep Dive are £275, lafromagerie.co.uk

@alicelascelles