The Best Wine & Cheese Pairings For Happy Hour
There are few things more classic, awesome, and primed for Great Times than cheese and wine. Whether you’re entertaining your Flock or enjoying your own personal happy hour - some of our best moments have been made over wine and cheese.
We’re breaking down our go-to pairings for each Sea Bird Wine varietal so you know exactly what to grab when you’re snacking and sipping.
When pairing wine with cheese, or really, any food, the things that will taste the best will be things that have a little bit of similarity. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “what grows together goes together,” this applies perfectly! If you’re drinking regionally, it helps to choose cheeses that are grown geographically close, if you can. If you can’t get that in-depth, try to identify nuance in the food that may come from spices, herbs or minor ingredients. This can be things like olive, fruits, bacon, etc…then select a wine that contains similar features like herbal notes, for example.
Chardonnay
Sea Bird Chardonnay (like our 2017 Courtney's Vineyard!) tend to be medium bodied, which pair perfectly in the “medium range” of cheese. Work your way down the list depending on the vintage. Newer vintages should pair with the top of the list, and if you’re drinking the Chardonnay young, could even venture into a salty, more crumbly cheese (feta, Cotija, Halloumi) and as it develops (2015 Robert's Road, anyone?), move further down the list into more buttery and then into harder, nuttier styles with age.
Avoid anything particularly pungent with Chardonnay - which means, sorry guys but blue cheeses is off the menu.
If you're looking for a more sour style of cheese, pair with:
- Sour cream
- Ricotta
- Havarti
- Chèvre
Charodonnay also love buttery, delicate cheeses like:
- Brie
- Camembert
- Burrata
- Device de bourgogne
If you’re looking for something more on the harder, nutty style to go with your older vintage Chard, go for:
- Aged gruyere
- Comte
- Provolone
- Emmental
Pinot Noir
Hard, nutty styles of cheese are the perfect pairing with a Sea Bird Pinot Noir (looking at you, 2013 Sonoma Stage Vineyard). Our Pinot Noir style is light bodied, more of a Burgundian style that captures the essence of California terroir. As a result, choosing a cheese too creamy, salty or pungent would take over your palate.
Head for the harder, nutty style cheese including:
- Aged gruyere,
- Comte
- Provolone
- Emmental
- Smoked Mozzarella
- Scamaroza
Merlot
You at me at Merlot! Aphrodite is the newest addition to our Flock - a plush, decadent Napa Valley expression with a kiss of oak makes for the happiest of hours. When sipping, opt for nutty, hard cheese or cheeses that have more of a fruity or umami quality which could be anything from:
- Aged gruyere
- Comte
- Provolone
- Emmental
- Smoked Mozzarella
- Scamaroza
- Cheddar
- Smoked Gouda
- Muenster
- Colby
- Ossau-Iraty
Cabernet Sauvignon
Our Cabernet Sauvignon styles of wine (most notably, Poseidon or Broken Rock from Napa Valley) are full bodied, and express the boldness of California terroir with the balance that holds age incredibly well. The bigger and bolder the wine, the more it can lead the show.
When sipping a Cab, avoid anything too sour or creamy - leave the ricotta and chèvre on the table. Cheese that play with fruity, nutty or umami flavors are your go-to, including:
- Cheddar
- Smoked Gouda
- Muenster
- Colby
- Ossau-Iraty
This is officially your permission to have wine and cheese for dinner. Have a particularly favorite pairing we need to know about? Tell us over on our Instagram page and tag us while you're enjoying Great Vines to Great Times with a bottle of Sea Bird.
