Riesling Cheese Pairing Ideas That Will Make Your Friends Envy You

If you want to pair the perfect cheese with Riesling – you are in luck! Riesling is one of the most versatile wines that you can pair with just about any cheese. 

Of course, the best cheese to pair with Riesling will depend on the type of Riesling you have, so we’ll go through the different varieties and the best cheese pairing.

Why does Riesling go well with cheese?

Riesling is very aromatic and has a very natural flavor profile depending on the type of Riesling. We also briefly mentioned it earlier, but one of the other main reasons why Riesling pairs well with cheese is because of its versatility. 

In terms of flavor profile – Riesling ranges from sweet to dry and light to medium-bodied, which means that it pairs well with a variety of different cheeses. So, the key is to pair the right cheese with the type of Riesling you have.

The great thing about Riesling is that it pairs well with a lot of different types of cheese, but you will notice the difference when you pair the right RIesling with the right cheese.

Best Cheese To Pair With Riesling

Now, let’s get into the thick of things and discuss the best cheese to pair with Riesling! We will discuss different combinations so that you have a variety of pairings, depending on your preference.

Let’s start with a dry Riesling and the best cheese pairing for it. We would recommend a creamy cheese with hints of nuttiness. 

While there are several different kinds of creamy cheese, you could pair a dry Riesling with – the best choice out there would be goat cheese because of its earthy and tangy flavors.

However, goat cheese is not for all cheese lovers, so there are plenty of different alternatives as well. 

Another cheese we would recommend is a very popular cheese – none other than brie! Brie is also creamy and nutty, but it is more buttery compared to goat cheese and is a great choice to pair with Riesling.

The last cheese we would recommend to pair with Riesling is muenster. This type of cheese is actually from the Alsace region in France and would pair very well with an off-dry Riesling from the Alsace region in France.

However, if you have a sweet Riesling, different cheese pairings work better than its dry counterpart. Therefore, we will discuss a few options to give you the opportunity to add different varieties to your charcuterie board!

The first and possibly the best pairing for a sweet Riesling is one of the most popular types of cheese in the world – the famous parmesan! This is a great choice to pair with a sweet Riesling because the parmesan’s saltiness offsets the sweetness of the Riesling.

Another popular type of cheese that pairs well with a sweet Riesling is aged gouda. It is important to have an aged gouda instead of a younger gouda because the flavors become more intense the older the gouda becomes. 

Our last cheese recommendation to pair with a sweet Riesling is another popular cheese – feta! Feta is another tangy and salty cheese, which are the main characteristics we have discussed that pair well with a dry Riesling.

While we have discussed a few different types of cheese that pair well with either a dry Riesling or sweet Riesling – we hope that this can serve as a pairing guide. 

Think about creaminess when it comes to a dry Riesling, but a sweet Riesling is better paired with saltier cheese.

Cheeses to Avoid Pairing with Riesling

One of the best aspects of Riesling is its flexibility when it comes to cheese pairings. Not all Rieslings are the same, so not all cheeses pair well with a specific type of cheese.

For instance, if you have a dry Riesling – you would want to avoid pairing it with parmesan because the saltiness would overpower the Riesling and would throw off balance between the pairing. 

On the other hand, if you have a sweet Riesling – parmesan is a great choice, but brie would be too creamy and nutty and would take away from the sweetness of the Riesling.

The great thing about getting into the world of wine and cheese pairings is that you will start to understand that the logic behind these pairings does not just apply to Riesling but can also be applicable to several different types of wine.

However, when in doubt – you can always do more research until you feel comfortable making these pairings on your own!

Final Thoughts on Riesling Cheese Pairing

Riesling is not only a popular wine but is a great introductory wine to better understand pairings between wine and cheese. 

It is a wine that pairs well with many different types of cheese, and the most important aspect of these pairings depends on the type of Riesling you have.

To sum everything up – a dry Riesling pairs well with creamy and nutty cheese, while a sweet Riesling pairs better with saltier cheeses. 

This is the basic logic behind wine and cheese pairings, but there are still subtle differences in cheese, so try out different combinations to see what works best for you.