Blue Cheese is widely considered to be one of the most difficult foods to pair with wine. Whether it’s Roquefort, Stilton or Gorgonzola, every blue cheese comes with an extremely salty, pungent flavor that can easily overpower or clash with lighter-bodied wines. The best characteristics to look for in a bottle of wine are boldness/full body, high acidity, rich flavors, and possibly some sweetness. Dessert wines are a great pairing with blue cheese, but in this article, we’ll also include some dry options to cater for all tastes.
Wine Characteristics To Pair With Blue Cheese
| Characteristic | Detail |
| Sweetness | Dry to Sweet |
| Acidity | High |
| Tannins | Medium to High |
| Body | Bold |
| Tasting Notes | Intense fruit flavors, including but not limited to notes of apricot, mango, citrus, raspberry, blackberry and plum. Dried fruit, honey, jam and baking spice are also desirable. |
A wine with good acidity is important, to help cut through the richness of the cheese and make a balanced pairing. Too much tannin can clash with the cheese, but of course, there are some exceptions. Finally, a hint of sweetness can help to balance out the saltiness of blue cheese and unlock its funky flavors.
Best Red Wine To Drink With Blue Cheese
There are some utterly timeless red wine and blue cheese pairings that we have included in this list, along with a couple of more diverse pairings – for the times when blue cheese is served as part of a broader dish. These wines all have two things in common – high acidity and a cornucopia of intense dark fruit flavors.
Port
Port is a mysterious blend of up to 40 Portuguese different grapes, with a sweet and potent character. It’s a classic pairing for blue cheese and Stilton in particular. The sweetness of the wine helps to balance out the strong pungent flavors of the cheese. Port and Stilton are tested and true, but keep in mind that it’s still possible to go wrong with dessert wines. Sometimes, the higher alcohol content in fortified wine can clash with particularly strong blue cheeses. Tawny Ports are generally considered to be the best pairing option with blue cheese, due to their creamy mouthfeel, and notes of nut and oak gained from aging.
Sherry
Sherry works for many of the same reasons as Port. Find a sweet version to match the pungency of the cheese, sit back, and enjoy the divine culinary experience. The rich, nutty profile of Sherry really makes the funkier flavors in blue cheese pop – and the more aged you go with your Sherry, the richer and nuttier it will be. We recommend looking for a cask of Amontillado, Oloroso, Pedro Ximénez, or Cream Sherry.
Malbec
If you have more of an inclination towards savory treats, you can also pair your blue cheese with a dry, fruit-forward red wine. Malbec is a fantastic choice, with its complex and darkly fruity flavor profile. It usually features very smooth tannins and juicy acidity, reducing the risk of clashing with the bitterness of blue cheese. Malbec and blue cheese can be a delightfully creamy combination. We recommend a Malbec from Argentina, where the acidity is usually sky-high, thanks to the influence of high-elevation vineyards.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Blue cheese is often served as a side dish with meat, and for those occasions, it’s important to have a wine that can cut through a juicy steak, burger, or buffalo wings. Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon are both great choices. Cabernet does feature more prominent tannins, which is exactly what you need to absorb fat and protein and allow the flavors of a blue cheese dip to shine through.
Best White Wine To Drink With Blue Cheese
Pairing with blue cheese isn’t just a game of finding the best red wine – there are some truly gorgeous white wine options too, some of which top the red wine options in terms of class. All of the white wines in this list are full-bodied or intensely flavored, which is exactly what you need to combat a ripe chunk of blue cheese.
Sauternes
A beautiful blend of overripe Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle, Sauternes is one of the most luxurious dessert wines on the planet, period. Its intense honeyed character, dry fruit flavors, and deep notes of nut, marmalade and spice make it a beautiful companion for blue cheese, particularly stronger ones like Roquefort. Although Sauternes is not overly sweet, its implied sweetness cancels out any bitterness, and its range of flavors perfectly complements the intense funk of blue cheese.
Some people like to put their blue cheese on a piece of bread with some butter and a squeeze of honey to smooth out the extreme edges of its flavor. Sauternes pretty much offers the wine equivalent of that, with an added layer of fruity complexity – pairing these two items really is an incredible culinary experience.
Chardonnay
Dry whites with some extra body gained from oak-aging are also a great option with blue cheese. Chardonnay is an obvious and classic choice. The tropical, citrusy notes are a good match for the blue penicillin streak, and the oaky character in an aged Chardonnay helps to extract some extra nutty character from the cheese. We specifically recommend an oak-aged Chardonnay from Burgundy, such as Pouilly-Fuissé. It’s particularly good with Stilton, and you can also pair Chardonnay with meals that include blue cheese as an ingredient, such as a salad or a ham and blue cheese tart.
Prosecco
This is probably the lightest wine that we have mentioned so far, but Prosecco’s intensely fruity and effervescent character makes up for the lack of body. We recommend sticking to lighter, creamier blue cheeses like a mild Gorgonzola – the creaminess on both sides will be heaven in your mouth, and Prosecco will help to accentuate the sharp, cheesy flavors. With light, fruit-forward sparkling wines like Prosecco, there is also no risk of clashing or creating a harsh pairing, thanks to the absence of tannins.
Best Wine To Drink With Blue Cheese
Finding the right balance between wine and blue cheese is famously tricky – you want an intensely flavored wine, but if you pick one that is too tannic or a cheese that is too funky, it’s very easy to end up with a harsh combination. Our advice is to stick to the tried and true combinations, such as Sauternes and Roquefort, or Port and Stilton. If you want to explore, just remember to try it out with a cheaper wine first!
- Sauternes
- Port
- Sherry
- Pouilly-Fuissé
- Malbec
