The harmony of wine and cheese

To match the right cheese to the wine we have chosen, and so get the best possible taste experience, it is worth keeping a few basic rules in mind.

Soft-acid, fresh, fragrant and flavourful white wines – for example Kövidinka, Szürkebarát, reductive Rizling or Cirfandli – go best with fresh gomolya cheeses made from sheep's, goat's or cow's milk (ricotta, feta, mozzarella, cream cheese, mizithra).

Semi-hard cheeses – of the Trappista, Edam, Gouda and Óvári type – give a mildly sweet and salty impression at the same time, so their potential companion is either a dry white wine with refined acidity (Olaszrizling, Furmint) or a velvety, fuller-bodied red wine (Pinot Noir, Kadarka, Bikavér).

Hard cheeses of the Emmental type (for example Pannónia) create a wonderful harmony with fuller-bodied, more characterful white wines – so a Chardonnay, Zenit or Hárslevelű can be an excellent choice. And let us not forget their truly special flavour harmony with the highly tannic Kékoportó.

For dry Parmesan and Cheddar type cheeses, medium-bodied reds that are not too tannic (for example Rioja, Kadarka, Portugieser) are the best match, as are mineral white wines such as Irsai or Juhfark.

With white-mould cheeses – among others Camembert and Brie – dry white wines with elegant acidity are the best match, because the white-mould rind gives the cheese a characteristic mushroom flavour. So Ezerjó or Cserszegi Fűszeres can be an excellent choice. Rosés, Sillers and lighter reds (Zweigelt, Pinot Noir) also go well with them.

Cheeses with a red-mould rind (of the Pálpusztai, Münster and Cîteaux type) go well with dry white wines of lighter acidity, or with softer reds that are not too tannic.

The reason is that stronger acidity suppresses the enjoyment of the cheese. So with these cheeses, choose Hárslevelű, Furmint, or even a Kékfrankos.

In blue-veined cheeses – Roquefort and marble cheese, among others – part of the milk fat is converted into glycerine, which leaves a characteristic sweetish and bitterish taste in the mouth. The harmony of flavours is therefore most complete with naturally sweet wines, such as Tokaji Szamorodni-type white wines, but an excellent pairing can also be made with a Tokaji Aszú, a Madeira fortified wine or a Port.

When eating traditional Hungarian curd cheese specialities – körözött and smoked curd – we do not need to go without a drink either. With these, the flavours come out very well with full-bodied white wines with a piquant character (for example Muscat) or, for smoked curd, even a more tannic red (for example Cabernet Sauvignon).