Cheese Buyer - May 2025

51 XXXXXXXXXXX CHEESE PAIRING specialityfoodmagazine ANDY SWINSCOE, THE COURTYARD DAIRY Poached rhubarb with Yorkshire Pecorino is worth a try, says Andy. “I first tried it at Skosh restaurant in York and was converted.” STEPHEN FLEMING , GEORGE & JOSEPH “I love Single Variety Co’s Fireflame Chilli Jamwith Baron Bigod,” says Stephen. “The sweetness of the jam counterbalances so well with the bitter notes of the cheese, and there’s just enough heat to not overwhelm everything.” SVETLANA KUKHARCHUK, THE CHEESE LADY Svetlana has a sophisticated pairing to suggest. Her top pick is a luscious Delice des Cremiers ... with Champagne, of course. Otherwise she’s very happy to tuck into burrata drizzled with chestnut honey on date and walnut bread. DANIEL WILLIAMS, GODFREY C WILLIAMS & SON Daniel is partial to ArteliumBlanc de Blancs with Sharpham’s Elmhirst. “This Supreme Champion from Sussex has a vibrant mousse and lemon posset palate that combines beautifully with the triple-cream freshness of the Devon cheese.” Cheese expert and food writer Juliet Harbutt shares her take on the topic of pairings... ciders, or a big, hoppy IPA. Their character can be balanced, Julie says, with dried figs, Muscatel raisins or caper berries. ● Almost any wine will match with harder cheeses such as Cheddar or Pecorino, but Juliet’s general rule is the stronger and darker the cheese, the bigger and darker the wine. “White wine loses itself to a strong, mature cheese; the cheese’s butterfat coats the palate, blocking the wine’s flavour. Fortified wines like Fino Sherry, vintage Port, Marsala or an old Madeira can be truly magnificent with the very old, very hard brittle cheeses.” ● “The salty tang of European blues holds strong attraction for the sweet and luscious dessert wines like Muscat, Late Harvest Gewurztraminer, Montbazilliac and some of the less sweet pudding wines of the NewWorld,” says Juliet. MY FAVOURITE PAIRINGS ● Soft, wrinkled cheeses like Crottin and St Maure prefer dry, white wines with acidity, like Sauvignon Blanc. “The older they are the more intense the flavour, so they’ll need a more spicy, forthright wine like the young, fruity reds of the Loire or the soft-natured Merlot.” ● Young, slightly sharp, salty cheeses prefer sweet, late harvest wines, while “double cream cheeses need a fruitier wine with a good acidity to cut through the extra fat like rosé, fruity whites or Champagne,” says Juliet. “The more meaty, savoury classic Brie- style cheeses prefer a full-bodied, oaked white or soft tannin red like Pinot Noir, and the French love a dry cider.” ● Pungent washed rind cheeses demand the complex but mellow character of a Pinot Noir, a Cabernet-Merlot blend, something from the Alsace, fruity, assertive