What wine goes with cheese?
Sparkling wine is the most cheese-friendly wine there is, and white wine beats red with most cheeses, because the acidity and bubbles cut through the fat, while tannin in red wine often clashes.
Wine and cheese is supposed to be easy, but most cheese is actually kinder to white wine than red. Fat and salt love acidity and bubbles. Red wine works best with hard, aged cheeses, and sweet wine is the secret weapon for blue cheese. For a board with lots of cheeses, put out bubbles and you can't lose.
4 bottles that actually work with cheese
1. Kirkland Signature Brut Champagne
about $22Champagne blend · Costco
Real Champagne at a Costco price. Crisp, toasty bubbles are perfect with brie, camembert and anything creamy on the board.
2. Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc
about $17Sauvignon Blanc · nearly everywhere
Tangy and citrusy. Goat cheese and Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best matches in all of food and wine.
3. Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon
about $12Cabernet Sauvignon · grocery stores
For aged cheddar, gouda and manchego. Hard cheeses have enough fat and flavor to soften a Cabernet, and this one is a great value.
4. Graham's Six Grapes Reserve Port
about $24Port blend · grocery and wine shops
Sweet, rich and strong. Port with blue cheese like Stilton or gorgonzola is a classic for a reason: salty plus sweet. A bottle lasts weeks after opening.
Depends how you are cooking it
- Brie and soft cheeses
- Sparkling wine or an unoaked Chardonnay.
- Goat cheese
- Sauvignon Blanc, no contest.
- Aged cheddar, gouda or parmesan
- Hard, nutty cheeses can take red. Cabernet, Malbec or Chianti.
- Blue cheese
- Sweet wine. Port, or a late-harvest Riesling.
What to skip
- Big red with soft, creamy cheese
- Tannin and creamy cheese clash, making the wine taste metallic and the cheese chalky.
- Dry wine with blue cheese
- The salt and funk make dry wine taste bitter. Go sweet.
Also worth a look
Last checked 2026-10-04.