5 tips for perfectly pairing cheese and wine

With the holiday season in full swing – perfectly pairing cheese and wine takes a bit of planning. We’re here to help you out with SPAR’s delicious range of cheeses and Olive Brook wines from Tops at SPAR.

1. All about texture

Pair your wine and cheese according to texture – usually red wines work best with a hard cheese, while white works well with softer cheeses, and a rosé pairs beautifully with goat’s cheese or a fragrant Brie.

2. Sweet and nutty:

Semi-hard cheeses, like SPAR Marksbury Select Emmentaler, will pair gorgeously with the Olive Brook Prestige Collection Sauvignon Blanc – a fresh and juicy white! The acidity and crispness of this varietal offsets the slightly sweet and nutty taste of this cheese, which has a mild and smooth mouth feel. See image 2 in the carousel below. 

3. It’s in the body

Cheese loses a lot of moisture during the ageing process. Ageing introduces new flavours like nuttiness and butteriness and more mature cheeses need full-bodied wines to enhance the intense flavours of the cheese. The Olive Brook Pinnacle Collection Chardonnay is the perfect partner to the SPAR Marksbury Select Grana Padano. See image 1 in the carousel below. 

4. Pop the bubbly!

While a bottle of bubbles suits almost any occasion, it would be remiss to exclude it from your Christmas celebration. The bubbles cut through a cheese’s creamy texture, and the yeasty quality of many sparkling wines complements the salty flavours.

5. Ripe and red

Medium-aged cheeses, like SPAR Marksbury Select Mature Cheddar, require fruity, red wines with a smooth and silky finish to counteract the bold flavour. Serving the cheese with ripe, red berries and figs makes the combination with Olive Brook Prestige Collection Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon even more ideal. See image 3 in the carousel below. 

See all the perfect cheese and wine pairings in the carousel below.