Which Wine to Pair With Goat's Cheese?
Goat's cheeses come in a wide variety of flavours and styles. Vinatis helps you to understand the best food and wine pairings for each type.
Dry Loire white wines for goat's cheese
Which Wine With Cheese: Red or White?
Without hesitation, the best wine waiters will answer ‘white wine’!
It can all depend on the type of cheese, its intensity, its character, its texture, but tannins do not always allow you to appreciate the subtleties of a dish.
For a long time, the French tradition has been to pair red wine with cheese, but this habit can not only mask the aromatic richness of fine red wines, but also overwhelm the taste buds with too much tannin, leaving no room for the cheese on the palate. In itself, white wine is a harmonious pairing that will give way to flavours and go better with the creamy texture of cheese.
The secret is to play on the balance: acidity for fresh cheese, strength for mature cheeses.
Which Wine for Goat's Cheese?
An essential part of the summer season, goat's cheese is mainly eaten from late spring until autumn. Produced mostly in France, these cheeses with a strong, assertive flavour come in a variety of shapes. Ash grey goat's cheese, in logs, in palates, in pyramids, with a white or bluish colour, or even in tomme, these cheeses are extremely diverse!
The ageing of the cheese is absolutely decisive in the final style obtained. Whether it is fresh, creamy or dry, different aromas and textures develop. While there are several possible pairings between goat's cheese and wine, our experts focus on the main axes to consider in order to enhance the goat's cheese.
Red wine and goat's cheese: a pairing to avoid
Enjoying cheese with red wine has a long tradition, yet red wine is far from the best match!
Historically, red wines were much lighter and less tannic. Today, thanks to vineyard management, winemaking techniques and generally higher temperatures than 60-80 years ago, even the lightest red wines have some tannins. It is precisely the tannins in red wine that make the pairing unpleasant. The milk proteins and lactic acid bacteria in the cheese clash with the tannins in the red wine. Combined with the salt, which is present in all goat's cheeses, these elements tighten the tannins in the wine, making the wine's texture rough and its taste metallic.
Regional wine pairings with goat's cheese
As with all food and wine pairings, local alliances are always favoured. From the same region and therefore from the same terroir, cheese and wine are thus harmoniously matched. Just like wine, goat's cheese has a typical character that develops over time. Its unique character, its particular aromas and its pronounced acidity make it a good choice for a white wine. Among the immense variety of goat cheeses, here are a few suggestions for pairing them:
- Crottin de Chavignol and white wine from Sancerre
- Sainte-Maure and dry still or sparkling white wine from Touraine
- Cabécou and dry white wine from Bergerac
- Picodon and white wine from Côtes du Rhône
- Corsican Chèvre and white wine from Patrimonio
Which White Wine to Accompany Fresh Goat's Cheese?
Fresh goat's cheese requires a dry, light and fruity white wine that is not woody. Its delicate aromas and texture require a wine that can accompany the cheese without overwhelming it.
A dry white wine from the Loire Valley is always a good choice. The Sancerre appellation, located in the Upper Loire region, is an undeniable reference, but the Pouilly-Fumé appellation, located in the same region, also produces wines with similar characteristics. With added smokiness, Pouilly-Fumé wines reveal some of the more subtle aromas present in fresh cheese.
Champagne and Crémant With Semi-aged or Creamy Goat's Cheese
Ageing cheese involves drying it, which not only changes its texture, but also allows certain flavours to be revealed during the maturing process. Between fresh and dry, often runny or mellow, semi-aged goat's cheeses go very well with sparkling wines.
A Blanc de Noirs Champagne, made from the Pinot Noir grape variety, echoes the grape varieties of the Upper Loire. The fine bubbles of the Champagne bring contrast to the texture of the goat's cheese, semi-refined or creamy. The effervescence cleanses and refreshes the palate, preparing for the tasting.
For a more regional and affordable pairing, opt for a Crémant de Loire. As the sparkling wines of the Loire Valley are made according to the traditional method, some of the cuvées can rival the Champagnes.
Late Harvest Wines With Aged Goat's Cheese
Aged goat's cheese reaches another level of aromatic power. The fresher the cheese, the more it requires a wine with the same freshness. The more mature and dry the cheese, the more it requires a wine of the same calibre. In order to balance the forces, for aged goat cheese, choose a Grand Cru from Alsace or a late harvest wine from the same wine region.
Late harvesting, which consists of harvesting the grapes at an over-ripe stage, gives the wines power and aromatic richness. Notes of sweet almond, honey and tangerine are revealed on the nose. As for the palate, it offers a very good length.
Which Wine With Warm Goat's Cheese?
As with fresh goat's cheese, a dry white wine from the Loire Valley is recommended with warm goat's cheese whether in a salad or in the form of toasts. The Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé appellations offer white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc, which are absolutely ideal for accompanying the greens in a warm goat's cheese salad.
Because if the cheese is to be highlighted, the other ingredients on the plate are not negligible - green vegetables, with their pronounced bitterness, do not go well with all wines. The Sauvignon Blanc grape variety, with its slightly green notes, meets the needs of the food and wine pairing with warm goat cheese.
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