Wine with Blue Cheese
Salt, funk, and intensity — sweet wine is the only answer.
Blue cheese is among the most challenging foods for wine. Its saltiness, sharpness, and funk can make dry wine taste hollow and metallic. Sweet wine is almost always the solution.
Top Wine Pairings
Sauternes
Roquefort and Sauternes — perhaps the greatest cheese-wine pairing in existence.
Sauternes · Barsac
Tawny Port
Nutty, raisined, and complex — a natural partner for Stilton.
Douro
Amontillado Sherry
Dry-ish and nutty — its oxidative character bridges the gap beautifully.
Jerez
Late Harvest Riesling
Sweet, high-acid white — handles the saltiness without cloying.
Germany · Alsace · Australia
The classic pairing is Roquefort with Sauternes — one of Bordeaux's enduring traditions. The sweetness, acidity, and botrytised complexity of the wine provide a foil for the pungent sheep's milk cheese. This logic extends across all blue cheeses: Stilton with Vintage Port, Gorgonzola with Recioto della Valpolicella, Cabrales with an Amontillado Sherry.
Port — particularly Tawny Port or Late Bottled Vintage — is perhaps the most accessible sweet wine for blue cheese. Its dried-fruit sweetness, walnut notes, and oxidative complexity handle the most pungent blues. Sweetness is not required: a demi-sec Vouvray or an old Amontillado Sherry can also work, their nutty, slightly oxidative character providing a bridge.
Dry tannic reds — metallic and harsh against the salt and fat. Very light whites disappear entirely.
The stronger the cheese, the sweeter the wine should be. A young Gorgonzola dolce can handle something drier than a mature Stilton.
Common Questions
What wine goes with blue cheese?
Sauternes is the classic choice. Roquefort and Sauternes — perhaps the greatest cheese-wine pairing in existence. Tawny Port is an excellent alternative.
Which wines don't work with blue cheese?
Dry tannic reds — metallic and harsh against the salt and fat. Very light whites disappear entirely.
Any serving tips for blue cheese and wine?
The stronger the cheese, the sweeter the wine should be. A young Gorgonzola dolce can handle something drier than a mature Stilton.
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