The best wines to pair with fresh cheeses

The combination of wine and cheese is an interesting and often underestimated topic. Usually the problem of pairing arises only when you decide to make a dinner based on cheeses, but most of the time the topic is overlooked. It is certainly simpler and more intuitive to combine a wine with a pasta, a plate of fish, vegetables or meat. The world of cheeses, with its apparently and misleading homogeneity, due to the common nature of the raw materials, is likely to prove confusing. In reality it offers a range of shades of extraordinary variety in which it is easy to get lost. The basic pairing rules also apply to cheeses, linked to the basic concepts of structure, intensity of aromas, concentration and persistence of flavors. Characteristics that in the world of cheeses are mainly due to the type and above all to the expected aging period. Obviously the rule of the search for balance through contrast always applies, for example balancing fatness with acidity, flavor with softness. It may seem strange, but in general all cheeses find the best combinations with white wines compared to red ones and the rule applies even more for fresh cheeses or with very short refinements, which express a flavor still substantially tied to the primary notes of milk. We will choose white wines which, by structure, aromas and persistence, go well with the characteristics of the dairy products. Where possible, we will try to give priority to territorial matching. Traditions should never be underestimated, especially in the case of a product strongly linked to the production area such as cheese. In general, young white wines are combined with fresh cow's milk cheeses, with goat's milk cheeses, more savory and intense, softer whites, even with a short passage in wood. For fresh cheeses that have more complex and multifaceted flavors, more fragrant and slightly aromatic wines can be combined, for example a Sauvignon Blanc or a Chardonnay go very well with the Formaggella di Stella, typical of the Savonese area.

Just to give some other examples, with the classic buffalo mozzarella from Campania , rich, soft and creamy, an Asprinio d'Aversa or an F al anghina del Sannio will be perfect. With a Piedmont Robiola we will combine a Gavi , with a Casatella from Treviso we will uncork a Prosecco Superiore Valdobbiabene Conegliano Brut , with a Caprino a more harmonious and less acidic wine, such as a Soave Classico . With a fresh Apulian Canestrato a Locorotondo Bianco , with a fresh Montasio a Pinot Bianco or a Friulano del Collio , with a fresh Tuscan Pecorino a Vernaccia di San Gimignano .