The complex layers of earthy and sometimes funky flavors that give goat cheese its unique character can make pairing wine challenging. Choosing wine from the list below will increase the odds of finding a harmonious pairing, one that will show off the flavors of the cheese and the wine.
1. Sauvignon Blanc
Photo by Jennifer Meier
Sauvignon Blanc is the wine most often chosen to accompany goat cheese and for good reason. The zippy acidity in the wine matches the tangy acidity in the cheese. The combination of the two is fresh and invigorating. This classic pairing is also a regional one - France's Loire Valley is famous for both chèvre and the Sauvignon Blanc based wine Sancerre.
2. Albarino
Photo by Jennifer Meier
Albarino is a white Spanish wine known for its bold acidity and citrusy flavor. It is a crisp, clean wine that can stand up to the tangiest of fresh goat cheeses.
3. Riesling
Photo by Jennifer Meier
Riesling rarely meets a cheese it doesn't like. The wine offers everything - lush texture and fruit, refreshing acidity and a long flavorful finish. Fresh goat cheeses with a mellow, milky flavor pair well, as do aged goat cheeses with a harder texture and earthier, floral flavor.
4. Chardonnay
Photo by Jennifer Meier
Choose a Chardonnay with a creamy texture (but not much oak) and refreshing flavors of apples and pears - perhaps a French Macon-Villages, Pouilly-Fuisse or Chablis. Serve Chardonnay with aged goat cheeses, such as Spanish Garrotxa or domestic Tumalo Tomme or Sunlight Goat cheese.
5. Syrah
Photo by Jennifer Meier
Reach for a bottle of Syrah from Washington state or California, one that has big ripe flavors of ripe summer berries. The lush fruit will mellow out the funky, bitter flavors that some people find overwhelming in soft goat cheese. Syrah can also pair well the sweet, rich flavors in Goat Gouda.
