How to pair wine and food

Cheese can be a course by itself (for example as a starter), or be served after the main course instead of (or before) a dessert.

In this second case, it is important to pay attention wether the main course required a combination with a very structured and complex wine, after which is never a good idea to choose a less complex wine. It’s better to serve cheese that requires a wine whose complexity and structure are at least equal to that of the main course.

The characteristics that all kinds of cheese have in common and that influence the choice of wine to combine are fatness and flavor.

Depending on the type of cheese we will also find succulence (for example in mozzarella) a greater or lesser aromatic intensity, and a greater or lesser aromatic persistence. The wide spectrum of intensity and aromatic persistence of cheese guides the choice of wines which in turn may be more or less structured and less or more intense from an olfactory point of view.

When pairing wine with cheeses, it is also necessary to keep in mind how the bitter aftertaste typical of most kinds of cheese combines perfectly with the tannins of red wine, attenuating their perception.

When consumed with a good cheese, a red wine acquires roundness and softness.