 Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray. Once again, it is upon us - National Cheese Day, June 4. Admittedly, this is one of those tricky holidays. One wouldn’t want to confuse it with, say, National Cheese Lovers’ Day (January 20), National Cheese Doodle Day (March 5), National Cheese Ball Day (April 17), National Cheese Pizza Day (September 5) or, particularly, International Respect for Chickens Day (May 4), because if there’s anything a chicken hates, it’s being mistaken for a large wheel of Gouda. Be that as it may, there’s a lot of cheese in the world - hundreds of different kinds, made from the milk of everything from buffalos to yaks - and every last bit of it, to my mind, tastes even better with wine. Well, except for casu marzu, a Sardinian cheese with live cheese-fly larvae in it. I have no idea why anyone in their right mind would eat that, as it could not possibly taste anything other than revolting, no matter how powerful the alcohol was that you poured with it. Anyway, generally speaking, here are a few thoughts about pairing cheese with wine. Of course, as always with pairing, these are suggestions - there are no rules, other than to eat food you like and drink wine (or whatever else) you like with it. 2. If Red, Go Light or Old 3. Cheese Is Food 4. OK, Fine, Drink Cabernet 5. Blue Cheese and Sweet Wine Love Each Other More from Food & Wine Best Grilled Cheese in the U.S. Previously - Eat the rind, don't sweat the sweat – an artisan cheese primer and Cheeses that pair well with beer and How to assemble a cheese plate © 2011 American Express Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. 
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Man oh my.....some of these NEGATIVE people had too much Strawberry's Boone's Farm in the Eighties!!! Negative, Negative, Negative!!! Probably Overweight, too! I tend to see they go hand in hand! Shame, Shame people!!! Start eating better....you'll be a nicer person! Great Post!!!! Off to eat some FINE wine AND fine cheese!!!! Happy New Year!
Sparkling water with Cheese is also excellant.
Sparkling water is turrible.
Sake is even easier to pair win a broad range of cheese. No tannin, low acids, very diverse flavor and sweet/dry levels.
Remember the big flap about reds with red meats and whites with chicken and fish??? You are what you eat. There ARE no rules if you eat and drink what you truly enjoy! Oh, and I serve all my wines in one style glass...
I love you. Exactly how I think.
Pouliet Fuisse seems to go with all those cheeses, but then again that is my taste. A good Pinot Noir with beef, pork, lamb, etc. I only have wine when I eat, I do not like it for cocktails. (I must say, I get a kick out of all the wine drinkers I know that do not feel as though they are imbibing if they are only drinking wine. I think they are just fooling themselves!
It's funny the lengths people go to delude themselves. Reality is, all wine tastes horrid – like all alcohol – and you aren't drinking it for the taste. That people make a sort of high-class ritual out of pairing it with specific cheese varieties is absurdly laughable.
Cheeze Doodles and Mad Dog. That's all ya gotta know.
Absolutely freaking this.
What an absurd comment. I love the taste of good wine - where are the commitment papers? Sorry but articles like this are helpful for getting the MOSt enjoyment out of food amd wine. But anyone who has followed food and wine writing in rcent years knows most of the old rules are out the window, as is the notion that people who enjoy wine are snobs. If you like something, go for it. Doesn't say a thing about your social standing. Sorry, Mac, you feel so...lower class.
I hope you're leveling, but if not then F you.
Funny how you project your views on others, because nobody could possibly be different then you. I'm guessing that you are a teatotaler who wants to prohibit and control others. Let me guess you think we should all smoke weed instead? Whether people will choose what they prefer for themselves despite people like you having fits.
Completely agree. Next, it will be about who's diaper is the most fragrant. The most foul one will sell for the highest price. People just trying to church up something that tastes like crap. The winery thanks you as they laugh all the way to the bank with all the money you douse on fermented grape juice.
Ok, so I see all my favorite cheese pairings. So what about caned aerosol cheese wiz? Should I use my 1978 Montrachet or Chteau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1986? I'll probably just stick to my box of 2012 Corbet Canyon Pinot Noir.
Why would you beat your cheese Whiz?
I was thinking the 2012 Charles Shaw or a nice Thunderchevitz.
Ah! The wine and cheese set.
But for bread, you don't really need anything else to eat, do you? Okay, greens. Fine. But that's just medicine, really.
I'm sorry we can't live up to your ripple standards.
There really are no rules. What should be honored is quality – in both food and wine. If you start with that, you cannot go wrong. (Although most of the country thinks canned cheese and Ritz crackers are a "pairing" combo.)
Solo, you are exactly correct. There are no rules about wine and cheese. I'll go even further and say it's irritating for a wine and food writer to try to impose "rules" on us. One wonders why Mr. Isle couldn't write of five suggestions, rather than five rules.
Oh? Ya think so?
Eh, then again some palettes tend to clash, it'd be good to know some principles about that. After all I remember as a kid loving milk and apple juice...but combined they're horrible, I don't care how good of quality they are.
touche
Wrong. It's cracked pepper triscuits & pepperjack cheese
I was given casu marzu without being told what it was... at a candle-lit dinner. And it was delicious, perfectly paired with a rustic Sardinian rosé and we were all in exctasies until someone turned the light on and it was clear that the surface of the cheese was moving.
Some pleasures are best enjoyed in the dark.
Yeah, someone was trying to make you uncomfortable. Most people remove the fly larvae before they serve the cheese. Ecch. Its great cheese, though, absent the larvae thing.
Ahhh, nothing beats an evening amongst frenemies.
I'm an incredibly adventurous eater, but AAAGGGGHHHHHH! Warn a person before they ingest maggots!
I just learned something new today.
Disgusting.
Nothing look a cool, crisp German white on a hot New York day.
Racist.