Wine and cheese is a truly timeless epicurean combination, bringing decadent flavour to the palates of discerning foodies for centuries. There’s something intrinsically satisfying about washing a morsel of delicious cheese down with a glass of fine wine, with the contrasting textures and flavours marrying together to create a moment of culinary bliss.
Whether you relish a light, sparkling Chablis paired with a stinky French cheese like Époisses de Bourgogne; enjoy the crisp finish of an Italian Pinot Grigio combined with a creamy mozzarella; prefer a hard Spanish cheese like Manchego washed down with an Old Vine Garnacha; or are left satisfied by the way an acidic Pinot Noir cuts through a creamy, soft-ripened cheese like Roucolons — there are a near limitless number of possible wine and cheese pairings, making it almost impossible to taste test them all (although, we’re more than up to the challenge).
The question is — what are the world’s greatest wine and cheese pairings, and where might we be able to savour these wonderful and timeless combinations?
The task of choosing the world’s very finest wine and cheese pairings is made difficult when you consider just how popular the combination is, in seemingly every corner of the globe. Whether you travel to Europe, where the combination has been enjoyed for over 2,000 years since the time of the Romans, or Australia, whose relatively new wine industry now produces some of the world’s best-loved varieties; you’ll discover new and exciting wine and cheese pairings that take the palate to unexpected places — revealing regional differences and wonderful flavour combinations.
And then, of course, there’s the sheer number of wines and cheeses themselves, with thousands of different products produced across the globe. According to recent figures, well over 10,000 vintages of wine grapes are currently grown around the world, and around 1,778 different kinds of cheese — giving you an idea of how difficult it is to pinpoint the very best combinations of the two.
The task of finding the world’s very best wine and cheese combinations fell to travel experts Emerald Waterways, who, in partnership with the Manchester Wine School — organisers of fun wine tastings and courses across Greater Manchester — have rounded up a selection of perfect combinations which they believe represent the very best in wine and cheese pairings.
Combining their travel expertise with the viticultural know-how offered by the Manchester Wine School, Emerald Waterways have created an illustrated guide to the world’s greatest wine and cheese couplings — taking into account both old world and new world wines from places like France, Italy, Spain, Australia, South America and the USA. The guide includes everything from crisp German Riesling and Parmigiano Reggiano to Argentinian Malbec and St. Nectaire, so you’re guaranteed to find a pairing that tantalises your palate.
So, if you’re partial to the luxury combination of wine and cheese, check out the guide below for a little inspiration, and don’t forget to tell us your favourite pairings on our social channels.
