Food pairing
Wine and cheese pairing: fresh, aged and blue cheese
Fresh cheeses go with crisp dry whites, dry rosés and sparkling wine; hard, aged cheeses with tannic reds or fuller whites; blue cheeses with sweet wine. The basic rule is to match the intensity of cheese and wine, and to balance the cheese’s salt with the wine’s acidity or sweetness.
Which wine with which cheese?
| Cheese | Examples | Wine that suits it (from the sources) | From our wines (from each wine’s own data) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh and soft | cottage cheese, urdă, fresh goat’s cheese, mozzarella | crisp dry white, dry rosé, sparkling; not a tannic red | KAVI 150 MDL, Goliard Viorica 2023 289 MDL, Artitude Chardonnay 2021 189 MDL, 6N Riesling (Relax) 89 MDL |
| Bloomy rind | brie, camembert | Chardonnay, or sparkling wine whose bubbles cut through the fat | KAVI 150 MDL, Artitude Chardonnay 2021 189 MDL (their notes: fresh cheeses) |
| Semi-hard | cașcaval | a wine of medium intensity, to match the cheese | Artitude Merlot 2023 189 MDL, Goliard Merlot 2023 289 MDL |
| Hard and aged | aged cheddar, parmesan, aged gouda | a tannic red or a full white | Artitude Trinity 2016 349 MDL, Goliard Red Reserve 2017 449 MDL, Perla Neagră Red Blend 180 MDL, 6N Cabernet Sauvignon 89 MDL |
| Blue | roquefort, gorgonzola, Danish blue | a sweet or liqueur wine to balance the salt | BonaFlores Traminer 199 MDL, BonaFlores Cab-Merlot 199 MDL (their notes: fine or aged cheeses) |
The third column sums up the sources listed at the end; the last names only wines whose own pairing notes mention that kind of cheese (fresh, mild, semi-hard, aged or fine), at today’s price.
Red or white wine with cheese?
More often white. Wine Folly notes that white wines match a much wider range of cheeses than reds, because they have no tannin. Serious Eats explains why: tannins bind to the cheese’s protein and fat, so a tannic red is good with a rich, aged cheese but tastes too astringent next to a young one. If you want red with a fresh cheese, choose one low in tannin.
What is the basic rule?
Match the intensity: a delicate cheese with a light wine, a powerful cheese with a wine to match (Decanter). The other route is contrast: a wine’s sweetness balances salt, as in the classic pairs of Stilton and port, or Roquefort and Sauternes. Serious Eats puts it in three words: “salt loves sweet”.
What wine goes with blue cheese?
A sweet one: the salt in blue cheese calls for a wine with residual sugar (Decanter). Among our wines, the BonaFlores liqueur wines name cheese in their own pairing notes: BonaFlores Traminer, “desserts, fine cheeses”, and BonaFlores Cab-Merlot, “as a dessert wine, with dark chocolate and aged cheeses”. For brie and camembert, Decanter suggests Chardonnay or sparkling wine.
And Moldovan cheese?
The ONVV enotourism guide describes Moldovan brânză as a salty white cheese served with mămăligă and sour cream, and says that plăcinte (Moldovan filled pastries) with cheese are particularly good at wine tastings. On our Basic and Plus tours the tasting comes with plăcinte and greens, and on the Plus tour (380 MDL per person) with cașcaval too.
How should you serve cheese with wine?
- Take the cheese out of the fridge 45–60 minutes before serving and lay it out from the mildest to the strongest (Decanter).
- Serve each wine at the temperature on its sheet: KAVI at 6–8 °C, Goliard Viorica 2023 at 8–12 °C, Artitude Merlot 2023 at 16–18 °C, BonaFlores Traminer at 7 °C.
- −10% on 6 or more bottles of wine, the same wine or mixed: the discount appears in the cart by itself.
- Free home delivery by Nova Post courier on orders from 500 MDL.
- Pickup from a Nova Post branch is free.
FAQ
Red or white wine with cheese?
It depends on the cheese: dry white or sparkling with fresh cheese, a tannic red with aged cheese. White wines suit more cheeses because they have no tannin (Wine Folly).
What wine goes with blue cheese?
A sweet wine: the salt in blue cheese calls for residual sugar, as in the pairs Stilton and port or Roquefort and Sauternes (Decanter). From our wines, the BonaFlores liqueur wines.
What wine goes with brie or camembert?
A Chardonnay or a sparkling wine, according to Decanter: the bubbles balance the fat. From our wines, KAVI and Artitude Chardonnay 2021 name fresh cheeses in their pairing notes.
How long before serving should cheese come out of the fridge?
45–60 minutes before serving, according to Decanter.
Sources
- Decanter (Emma Young), “Cheese and wine matching: the ultimate guide”, 5 December 2024 (opens in a new tab)
- Decanter, “What are the best wines for cheese?”, 20 August 2010 (opens in a new tab)
- Serious Eats (Meg Houston Maker), “The Serious Eats Cheese and Wine Pairing Cheat Sheet”, 28 December 2013 (opens in a new tab)
- Wine Folly, “Wine and Cheese Pairing Ideas”, 2014 (opens in a new tab)
- Wine Folly, “12 Classic Wine and Cheese Pairings You Must Try”, 2019 (opens in a new tab)
- National Office for Vine and Wine (Wine of Moldova), “Enotourism Guide. Republic of Moldova”, 2025, p. 21 (Moldovan cuisine) (opens in a new tab)
- Doina Vin, each wine’s pairing notes and serving temperature (the wine’s page)
