Soft Cheeses Like Brie + Wine Pairings for Difficult Days
We were leaving Chattanooga when I spotted a cheese shop.
Not just any cheese shop.
A proper little cheese shop called Bleu Fox.
Naturally, I informed Mr. Wine & Drama that we needed to stop the car.
Immediately.
Inside, I made friends with the cheesemonger, who turned out to be the owner, because apparently the universe occasionally rewards good behavior.
Fabulous woman-owned cheese shop.
Then she casually mentioned that her best friend is a wine distributor.
At which point my exact response was:
“How can I become friends with both of you and get invited to your parties?”
Because these are the relationships one should be cultivating in middle age.
She introduced me to a Tennessee cheese I had tried once before, Walden from Sequatchie Cove Creamery.
Gave me a sample and it was magical.
I brought it home, tried it the next day, and immediately decided we needed to discuss emotional-support cheese.
Because there are Tuesdays when you meal prep and go to the gym.
And then there are Tuesdays when the correct response to life is a soft cheese, good bread and a bottle of wine.
Today, we are discussing those Tuesdays.
No elaborate boards, no seventeen garnishes, no rosemary strategically wedged between crackers for Instagram.
One beautiful cheese. One wine. Difficult Tuesday handled.
Walden + Cava
Tennessee Understands Emotional Support
Walden was my Chattanooga discovery.
Soft, buttery, creamy, with that lovely bloomy-rind situation happening around the outside.
It is the kind of cheese that requires very little assistance. Good bread, maybe some pear or apple, and bubbles.
I would pour our house favorite, Segura Viudas Cava, or another really good dry Spanish Cava.
The acidity and bubbles cut through all that creamy richness, which means you can continue eating far more Walden than you originally intended.
A tragedy.
The pairing: Walden + dry Cava
Brie de Meaux + Champagne
Soft Edible Reassurance
France, predictably, understood emotional-support dairy long before the rest of us.
Brie de Meaux is creamy, buttery and earthy, with just enough mushroomy funk to remind you this is real cheese and not something designed to survive a nuclear event.
Let it come to room temperature, get a baguette and pour Champagne.
This was our original French pairing, and there is absolutely no reason to tamper with civilization.
The pairing: Brie de Meaux + Champagne
Robiola + Barbera
The Creamy Little Angel
Robiola is what I want when I have had enough stimulation for one day.
Soft, delicate, slightly tangy, and very little aggression.
Spread it onto bread, add a drizzle of olive oil if you can still summon that level of ambition, and pour Barbera.
Its bright acidity is exactly what all that creamy cheese needs. That was our Italian pairing in the original board, and I’m keeping it.
The pairing: Robiola + Barbera
Galotyri + Assyrtiko
For When Feta Feels Like Too Much Work
Galotyri gives you that tangy Greek-cheese personality in a softer, creamier, spreadable form.
This wants tomatoes, olives, warm bread and good olive oil.
Possibly absolutely nothing else.
Pour Assyrtiko, our original Greek wine pairing.
Bright, mineral wine against creamy, salty cheese.
Excellent.
The pairing: Galotyri + Assyrtiko
Butterkäse + Dry Riesling
Germany Occasionally Chooses Joy
They literally named it butter cheese.
I don’t know what additional persuasion you require.
Butterkäse is mild, creamy and comforting. This is the cheese equivalent of discovering that the meeting you were dreading has been cancelled.
Our German pairing was dry Riesling, and it is perfect here.
Freshness and acidity against all that mellow buttery cheese.
The pairing: Butterkäse + dry Riesling
Azeitão + Vinho Verde
Emotional Support With Opinions
Portugal’s Azeitão is what you choose when you need comfort but haven’t completely surrendered.
Soft and rich, yes.
But with more personality.
This is for an irritating Tuesday rather than a catastrophic one.
Pour Vinho Verde, which was our Portuguese pairing from the original board.
Then eat Portuguese cheese while drinking Portuguese wine and resist the completely rational urge to investigate houses for sale in Portugal.
The pairing: Azeitão + Vinho Verde
Baron Bigod + Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs
Britain’s Very Good Answer to Brie
Baron Bigod is rich, buttery and gloriously soft, with that bloomy rind that practically begs for good bread.
And if we are doing English cheese, let’s do the wine properly too. Serve English sparkling wine.
Pour Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs, made in Sussex.
It is bright and elegant, with citrus and apple notes and enough creamy texture to meet the cheese rather than disappear underneath it.
This is the pairing for the Tuesday when you are technically exhausted but still somehow expect standards.
The pairing: Baron Bigod + Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs
Your Tuesday Does Not Need Improving That Much
This is the part I think we forget.
Not every evening needs to become an event.
You do not need a themed dinner or a centerpiece. You certainly do not need to spend forty-five minutes building a cheese board for an audience that is not coming.
Sometimes you need one very good cheese, one bottle of wine, maybe some bread, salami, and olives, and permission to declare the day complete.
That is enough.
Want Me to Pick the Wine and Cheese For You?
That is basically why I made Sip, Slice, Repeat.
It gives you wine, cheese and something to watch together, so instead of standing in front of the refrigerator asking yourself what goes with what, you can get on with the important part.
Eating it.
Cheers, Alexandra
FAQ’s:
What wine pairs with soft cheese?
Sparkling and high-acid wines. Bubbles and acidity cut through creamy richness, which is why Cava works with Walden, Champagne with Brie de Meaux, and dry Riesling with Butterkäse. The general rule: the softer and richer the cheese, the more the wine needs to bring freshness.
What is Walden cheese?
A soft, bloomy-rind cheese from Sequatchie Cove Creamery in Tennessee. Buttery and creamy, in the same family as Brie, and proof that emotional-support cheese is now being produced domestically.
What is a good British alternative to Brie?
Baron Bigod, a rich, buttery bloomy-rind cheese from Suffolk. Pair it with an English sparkling wine like Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs and the whole evening stays on one island.
