Want to know how to come up with exquisite cheese and sparkling wine pairings such as triple-cream cheese and Extra Brut Champagne? By the way, try it and you’ll never want to serve them separately again. The logic behind it is that triple creams are decadent and buttery making perfect matches for the refreshing and cleansing Champagne.
Pairing is more of a subjective process. It’s about what you like. The experts can tell you a lot of things but they can’t tell you what you like. And, in essence, that’s what food and wine pairing is all about. If you like Port wine with Finetti then by all means, enjoy.
How to pair cheese and Champagne
It’s not worth more than noting that Champagne is only originated from the region of Champagne, other sparkling wines are called just that: sparkling wines. Anyway, most every Champagne is a blend between Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and bubbles. Every sparkling wine has to have it’s bubbles.
The exact percentages of each wine type in a Champagne blend is beyond the scope of this article. Regardless almost every Champagne is highly acidic, and it wouldn’t be sweet if not for the added sugar. Everything is different from pairing “normal” wine with cheese because added sugar and effervescence, not bothered by ridiculous amounts of alcohol, provide a wonderful new array of possibilities.
Champagne has a cleansing effect, obviously thanks to the bubbles, and that changes everything. Even hearty, fat cheeses will have a refreshing feeling when paired with Champagne. Not to mention the balance between blue cheeses and the sweetness inherent in Champagne.
When you want to pair cheese with Champagne the key factor is the sweetness in the wine. Extra Brut means the least sweet and most dry. Next are Brut, Extra Dry, Dry, Sec, Demi Sec and, last but not least, Doux – the sweetest.
How to pair cheese and sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is the accepted name for any effervescent wine that is not Champagne. While they don’t have a name with such full history sparkling wines are as varied and wonderful as Champagne itself. Of course there are a lot more than could ever be covered in one article, but here are some great examples:
Sparkling Brut Roses – Originating in Loire Valley, France, the refreshing, strawberry flavored sparkle. This wine pairs very well with a light goat cheese that has a lemony feel. Chevrot is an excellent idea for this wine.
American sparkling wines – Of which there are many have a wide range of delicious styles. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir based sparkling wines seldom mismatch with creamy cheeses while Blanc based sparkling wines have a crisp tone, so keep in mind to avoid any salty or pungent cheeses.
Pairing sparkling wine and Champagne with cheese gives an interesting, new and refreshing point of view on both the wine as well as the cheese. Blue cheeses you could barely even taste will become delicious treats you can’t have enough of.
Further reading:
- How To Pair Red Wine And Cheese - It’s common knowledge that red wines are burly brawlers and white wines are delicate, a bit like men and women. But in the realm of cheese and wine this means that white wines cannot hold up to strong cheese. However...
- How To Pair White Wine And Cheese - Let’s begin by saying that unlike some dish combinations, pairing white wine and cheese is not very hard. Generally everything revolves around pairing local cheeses with local white wines. For example Italian white wines pair well with many types of...
- Champagne And It’s Sparkling Wine - Champagne lies just east of Paris. At the first look it might seem as though Champagne is just another one of France’s awesome wine making regions. Don’t mean to say it isn’t, but there’s a little more to it than...
- Tips And Tricks On Wine And Cheese Pairing - We’re all here because we love how well food and wine compliment each other. The chemistry between them is wonderful. Of all the types of food we all live to enjoy, it’s safe to say there are not many dishes...
- How to Properly Store Champagne and Sparkling Wine - Champagne is one of those wine types everyone must have. Finding a reason to celebrate is easy enough, what with all the holidays and different events, not to mention your own personal achievements and joys. Whatever reason you may have...
