Gourmet cheese and wine has gotten complicated with all the conflicting advice and noise flying around. As someone who gone from grocery store cheddar to cave-aged French wedges, I learned everything there is to know about what’s worth the splurge. I got into gourmet cheese the same way I got into wine – slowly, then all at once. One day I was eating cheddar from the regular grocery aisle, the next I was spending thirty dollars on a wedge of something aged in a cave in southern France.
No regrets. Good cheese is worth it. Here are the wines and cheeses I’d actually recommend trying.
Cheeses Worth the Money
Époisses: A washed-rind cheese from Burgundy that smells like feet and tastes like heaven. Soft, oozy, intense, unforgettable. Not for beginners but absolutely for anyone who wants to understand what cheese can be.
Comté: French alpine cheese, nutty and complex, gets better with age. The 24-month stuff has these little crystals that crunch. Probably the cheese I buy most often for myself.
Manchego: Spanish sheep’s milk, firm and tangy with a slightly oily texture. The aged versions are incredible. Very versatile, works with lots of different wines.
Roquefort: The original blue, from specific caves in France. More complex than most blues, with this particular tang that’s hard to describe. Salty, sharp, memorable.
Délice de Bourgogne: A triple cream that’s basically butter in cheese form. Insanely rich, melts on your tongue. Save this for when you want to impress someone.
Wines Worth Pairing
For Époisses: Champagne or Burgundy. The regional pairing makes sense – the earthiness of both the cheese and the wine align. Champagne if you want contrast, red Burgundy if you want complement.
For Comté: White Burgundy (Chardonnay) or Jura whites if you can find them. The nutty notes in aged Comté echo similar notes in good Chardonnay. That’s what makes discovering great cheese endearing to us cheese lovers.
For Manchego: Spanish wines obviously. Rioja, Ribera del Duero, even a good Garnacha. The cheese has enough intensity to handle reds.
For Roquefort: Sauternes is the classic. The sweetness against the salt is legendary. If Sauternes is too expensive, any good sweet wine works – late harvest Riesling, port, even ice wine.
For Délice de Bourgogne: Champagne. The bubbles and acidity cut through all that cream. This is the only way I serve triple cream now.
A Gourmet Board Setup
If I’m doing a fancy cheese spread, I pick:
One soft washed-rind (Époisses if available, or Taleggio)
One hard aged (Comté, Manchego, or aged Gouda)
One blue (Roquefort or Gorgonzola dolce)
One wildcard (whatever looks interesting that day) Probably should have led with this section, honestly.
Plus honey, membrillo (quince paste), good crackers, and maybe some marcona almonds.
Wines: Champagne for the creamy stuff, something white with character for the hard cheese, sweet wine for the blue.
What I’ve Learned
Expensive cheese is worth it in a way that expensive wine isn’t always. A fifty-dollar cheese is noticeably different from a ten-dollar cheese. A fifty-dollar wine often isn’t that different from a twenty-dollar wine.
Let the cheese come to room temperature. Always. Cold gourmet cheese is a waste.
Start mild and work toward intense. Your palate adjusts. If you start with Roquefort, everything else will taste like nothing.
Ask at the cheese counter. The cheese people at good shops know their stuff and love talking about it. Tell them what wines you’re serving and let them guide you. I’ve discovered some of my favorites this way.
