Washed-Rind Cheese

Taleggio, Epoisses, and similar cheeses are pungent, salty, and rich.

Top Wine Matches

Washed-Rind Cheese — wine by wine

Best Match

The dish Washed-Rind Cheese

The wine Off-dry Riesling

Why it works

Washed-rind cheese has big aroma, salt, and creamy intensity. Off-dry Riesling works here because its gentle sweetness, low alcohol, and bright acidity cool spice, flatter salt, and refresh rich sauces. That makes the match feel deliberate: remembering that whites and bubbles often handle cheese more reliably than reds, respecting umami so the wine does not taste hollow or metallic, with the wine refreshing the next bite rather than stealing the spotlight.

Wine style

Off-dry Riesling mid

A lightly sweet, high-acid white style for spice, salt, pork, and aromatic cuisines.

Traditional-method sparkling wine

Traditional-method sparkling wine works here because its bubbles, acidity, and leesy texture scrub the palate and make rich, fried, salty, or delicate foods feel precise.

splurge

Amontillado or Oloroso Sherry

Amontillado or Oloroso Sherry works here because its nutty oxidative depth links beautifully with mushrooms, roasted nuts, aged cheese, braises, and caramelized edges.

mid

Silky Pinot Noir

Silky Pinot Noir works here because it brings perfume, gentle tannin, and savory red fruit without forcing the food into a heavy red-wine frame.

mid

Aromatic Gewurztraminer or Viognier

Aromatic Gewurztraminer or Viognier works here because its perfume, rounded fruit, and low-to-moderate acidity can meet spice, ginger, saffron, and aromatic sauces.

mid

Have a more specific question about this pairing?

Ask Scott →

← Back to Cheese

Still Stuck?

Just ask Scott.

Got a weird ingredient, a half-finished bottle, or a dinner-party puzzle? Scott has read every pairing in this database and a lot more — and he'll explain his reasoning.

Ask Scott a question →