Some of the most commonly loved examples of wine and cheese combos are brie and Cabernet; mild cheddar with Pinot Blanc; strong cheddar with Cabernet, Rioja, or Sauvignon Blanc; colby or Monterey jack with Riesling; feta with Beaujolais; provolone with Chardonnay; stilton and Port; and baby Swiss - baby Swiss of course being what happens when two pieces of cheese really love each other - and Chardonnay.
When you really get to the nitty gritty, wine and cheese, like anything that involves eating or drinking, all comes down to individual taste. There are literally hundreds of different types of wine and hundreds of different types of cheese; everyone is bound to find something they like, even if it seems to go outside the general guidelines. There may be people who find that a sharp cheddar is great with a light Vernaccia. There may be people who find feta to go exceptionally well with champagne. There may be people who swear that the duo of a 1787 Chateau Lafite and a bag of cheese puffs is the greatest combination of all. Anything, whether ordinary or not, can go. When it comes to wine, there are thousands of ways to say cheese.
Article comments
1 - Didier Bertrand
I personlly taste a good cheese and a good wine from the same or similar terroir. The history of the cheese or of the wine may inform me in that regard. What wine would you sip with raw milk camembert? In Normandy (where Camembertans reside) there are no vines! But there are plenty of apples and pears. Hence a beautiful - but way too seldom used - pairing is Apple or Pear cider and Camembert. Try it and tell me that 350 years of terroir specificity cannot inform the palate!
Didier
2 - LStaff
Here is an article that suggests that wine is not the best complement to cheese.
"As a longtime cheese aficionado, The Chronicle's weekly cheese columnist and a nightly wine drinker, I've reluctantly concluded that many cheeses give wine, especially dry wine, a rough time. But after several weeks of "research, " including two marathon tastings, I'm convinced that beer as a partner for cheese rarely stumbles."