Which wine to pair with cheese?
There are countless types of cheese so when deciding which wine to pair with it, there are numerous possibilities. At a wine and cheese tasting, it is important to pair each cheese with a wine that enhances the flavour while simultaneously balancing the aroma and harmony of the bouquet with the strong flavours. A mature cheese goes well with a firmly structured, potentially aged wine with a good alcohol content; a full-fat, creamy cheese needs a full-bodied white wine or a sour and aromatic red wine, while blue cheeses pair well with sweet, fortified wines and lots of sunshine and sugars. Although it is not easy, you will see how much fun it is finding a good balance. Strength, flavours, and aromas should be paired, so why not regions and geographical areas too? For example, Toma Piemontese cheese and Nebbiolo grapes, or Sardinian cheeses and white wines from the island balance well.
Passito and cheese pairings
Here we have a more specific type: bloomy rind cheeses are more fatty, aromatic, stronger, more firmly structured, and have a high intensity, depth of flavour, and very intense aroma of the forest, mushrooms, and truffles. These cheeses are soft and creamy, and are made using special moulds. Bloomy rind cheeses like Brie or Camembert pair well with a lightly structured red wine that is slightly soft and has some acid tones, like the majority of the Sangiovese wines from Emilia Romagna and Tuscany. For those who are not fans of red wine, excellent white wines like Chardonnay with impressive body and perhaps wood and barrique nuances are also recommended.
Abbinamenti passito e formaggi
At dinner, cheese can usually be served whole or as snacks and appetisers. In the first case, the cheese and wine pairing options are limited, especially if the main dish needs to be accompanied by a very complex and firmly structured wine. You cannot go back and choose a less complex wine, so you will need to choose a cheese that suits a wine with greater or equal complexity and structure to the main dish. For example, a red meat that calls for a powerful red wine should be followed by a blue cheese (Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola) and an equally powerful wine. You can use all your imagination when pairing a wine with dessert. Think sparkling wines or Franciacorta . Italy has a long tradition of producing sweet wines nd Passito. Here, a good wine and cheese pairing will delight a sweet tooth too. Sweet wines have specific organoleptic and aromatic properties that make them perfect for dessert or to accompany a cheese platter of tangy or mature spiced cheeses for an aperitif. And we must not forget to pair wine and cheese with some grapes and walnuts for a majestic dish. Let’s look at them together.
Which wine to pair with Pecorino?
Depending on the maturation period, Pecorino can be mature, semi-aged or fresh. There are a number of perfect pairings, but finding the ideal combination will really make the difference. It can be said that wine pairs better with a specific cheese based on the consistency, sensation in the mouth and the intensity of the flavours and aromas. With fresh Pecorino, young wines and spumantes are ideal, along with other sparkling white wines to create a contrast with the buttery and fatty nature of fresh cheeses. A Vermentino goes very well with Pecorino, as does a Franciacorta. When it comes to semi-aged Pecorino that is not fully developed, white wines with impressive body pair well with it, such as Chardonnay, or fragrant and medium-bodied red wines. In this case, a Chianti would be highly recommended. While for mature Pecorino with more complex flavours, full-bodied, firmly structured red wines are ideal, especially when their maturation complements their tannin content. In this case, we recommend following this rule: the more mature the cheese, the more powerful and intense the wine should be.