Wine & Cheese Pairing Ideas

Treat yourself to a special night at home with these tips for wine & cheese pairings. Learn how to pair wines with flavored cheeses, and how to create a simple cheese board to enjoy at home.

Cheeses, crackers and fruits and nuts on wood serving tray next to glass of wine.

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Since we’re all spending a LOT more time at home these days, I thought it would be fun to create a guide on how to pair wines with flavored cheeses – like some of my favorites from Cabot Creamery – Cracked Peppercorn, Wildly Horseradish, Roasted Garlic, Spicy Jack and Smoky Bacon.

First thing’s first. You may be wondering what to put on a cheese board…

I have a simple method for that.

How to make a cheese platter:

Step 1:

Choose your board

You can make your board as small or as big as you’d like. For our date night at home, I kept things small with a small wooden serving tray.

Hands arranging board for wine & cheese pairings at home.

Step 2:

Choose your cheeses

My method of attack is generally to choose two or three cheeses of varying types. For example, a soft cheese and a hard cheese. Or, a cheddar, gouda, and brie.

But tonight, I decided to try something different. Since Cabot has so many amazing flavored cheeses in their Deli Bar lineup, I went with several different flavors of cheese.

For this board, I chose:

I like to cut the cheese in varying shapes like cubes, wedges and sticks, just to add some visual interest.

Different cabot cheeses next to serving board.

Step 3:

Add your accompaniments

Crackers, Chips, Bread. I love to serve up my cheeses with crackers or homemade crostini.
Fresh Fruits.
Dried Fruits.
Olives.
Nuts & Seeds.

Wine & cheese pairing:

Since these cheeses are all about the flavor, I chose certain wine pairings to complement them. This is the fun part! Open up a couple bottles and experiment to find your favorites! But here’s some ideas to get you started:

Peppercorn – Try robust reds, or red blends. Zinfandel, Syrah, and Rhone Blends are some great options.
Horseradish – Try a white wine with a hint of sweetness. Riesling, Viognier, and Gewurztraminer are all excellent pairings.
Garlic – Look for an aromatic white wine like Sauvignon Blanc or Gruner Vetliner.
Bacon – You’ve got a couple different options. Sparkling wine will be amazing with this rich cheese. Or, try a Pinot Noir. Its earthy notes will pair nicely.
Spicy Jack – To tame the heat, go with a sweeter wine, like a Sweet Riesling.