Volume 2: Wines

In our last installment, you learned the ins and outs of beer pairings.  Now let’s get a little fancy and explore a pairing category that’s a tale as old as time—cheese and wine! 

Cherubic Young Gouda & Champagne: While any bubbly drink will do (Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, etc.) consider picking something semi-sweet to bring out the sweetness of the cheese.  The bubbles act as a palette cleanser for your tongue.  Plus, take into consideration the alcoholic content of the wine and strength of the cheese – because this Gouda is rather mild, you’d be wise to choose something with a lower ABV.

St. Mary's Gouda & Sauvignon Blanc: Couple St. Mary’s with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc – this wine is bright, herbaceous and grassy with some tropical fruit notes. The flavors in the wine will help intensify the flavor profile of the cheese, drawing attention to the quality of the grass-fed milk.  The fruitiness serves as a refreshing contrast to the cheese’s fattiness.

Jeffs’ Select Gouda & Lambrusco: Lambruscos are dry to semi-dry bubbly red wines from Northern Italy.  While they are traditionally paired with Parmigiano Reggiano, our Jeffs’ Select serves as a fun alternative because it is an aged, sweeter, tyrosine crystal-filled Gouda.  Select a semi-dry version to balance sweet and salty and cleanse your palette between each bite with the fizziness.

Fini Sharp Cheddar & Pinot Noir:  Reds are a favorite pairing with Cheddars, but they can often be overpowering.  Consider sticking to a lighter variety like Pinot Noir.  Its rich cherry, plum and berry flavors strike a lovely balance with Fini’s sharpness, and the wine’s earthy undertones will highlight the cheese’s cave-aging.

Felix Blue Cheese & Cabernet: Let’s pick a big red for a big Blue. Consider a more earthy Cabernet to highlight the cheese’s unique rind. During the affinage process, we allow for a natural rind from the cave walls to grow on the cheese. This adds a dank, earthy flavor to the cheese that will shine through when paired with the right Cab.

AmaBlu Blue cheese & Sauternes: Sauternes are sweet, white wines from France designed to be served chilled. The sweetness in the wine and the saltiness of AmaBlu results in the perfect salty-to-sweetness ratio.  Sauternes are generally served with Roquefort because of the "what grows together, goes together" mindset.  Fun fact—our caves were the birthplace of American Blue using a deconstructed recipe of Roquefort and they are geographically located on the same latitude as the Roquefort region in France!

AmaGorg Gorgonzola & Minnesota Apple Wine: Here we reemphasize that what grows together, goes together and that’s why an apple wine from Minnesota is the ideal match for AmaGorg.  Midwest fruit wines tend to be on the sweeter side, as is AmaGorg.  The bright acidity in the wine will help cut the rich texture of the cheese while the cheese will help cut some of the residual sugar found in fruit wines.

St. Pete's Select Blue Cheese & Ruby Port: Ruby Ports are the younger generation of Ports. They are aged only about two years and are packed with blackberry and red berry flavors. These sweeter flavors help to cut the piquant flavor that St. Pete's Select boasts. Plus the luscious texture of the port will intensify the creaminess in the cheese, making it a win-win for dessert time.

Stay tuned for our next installment, which will focus on the ultimate pairings for cheeses and non-alcoholic beverages!