Which wine goes with which cheese? The eight pairings to serve your guests

Contrary to the red-wine-is-best rule, it’s tangy, assertive whites that make the best partners for cheese. Lots of big reds are just too darned tannic to cope with a well-stocked cheeseboard — and a fair few clash, leaving a nasty metallic taste in the mouth.
Much as I love runny, fully ripe cheeses, few make great marriages with wine, so avoid partnering them with your finest and rarest bottles. The trickiest cheeses of all are the strong blues, including France’s salty roquefort, but its traditional — and, frankly perfect — partner is sauternes. Britain’s fiercely flavoured stilton is almost as demanding; fogeys claim vintage port is the answer, but actually it’s a gentle, nutty tawny port that makes the best match.
As for our other favourite cheeses, here are my top picks to drink with each.
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2023 Pinot Grigio Pavia, Italy, 12 per cent, Marks & Spencer, £9Extra-rich, creamy burrata also loves delicate Italian whites and this light, floral, leafy Veneto is ideal.
2020 Chianti DOCG Riserva, Italy, 13 per cent, Lidl, £6.99Cheddar is a forgiving cheese and Lidl’s bold, gamey yet fruity chianti riserva should be just the job.
2022 Skouras Assyrtiko, Greece, 13.5 per cent, Majestic, £15.99Domaine Skouras’s herby, saline, basil and burnt-toast-licked assyrtiko is tailor-made for feta salad.
2021 Berry’s Sancerre by Domaine David Sautereau, France, 12.5 per cent, bbr.com, £21.15The Loire’s Chavignol goat’s cheese is perfect for the local, elegant, floral, flinty white: sancerre.
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2020 Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume, Domaine Séguinot-Bordet, France, 12.5 per cent, Co-op, £20.50Ripe unpasteurised brie is a challenge, but a superior, steely, leafy, marine 1er cru chablis easily hits the spot.
2019 The Best Valpolicella Ripasso, Italy, 13.5 per cent, Morrisons, £10A bold Italian red’s the answer here and this juicy, bitter cherry gem, refermented on grape skins, is just the ticket.
2023 Les Terrasses, St Nicolas de Bourgueil, France, 12.5 per cent, Tesco, £11Red-wine-loving camembert will bring out the best in this ripe, damson and redcurrant-stashed charmer.
2022 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, Italy, 13.5 per cent, Co-op, £7.25Easygoing, milky mozzarella relishes restrained Italian whites, especially this dry, herby, unoaked verdicchio.