Perfect Pairings – Ribera y Rueda and Cheese

Ribera y Rueda and Cheese

Culinary Pioneer Guest Contributor Laura Werlin

James Beard AwardWinning Author & Media Personality

Red, white, Spain — and blue too. That’s almost all you need to remember when it comes to pairing cheese with its perfect Spanish wine partners. The “almost” part is the fact the wines are not just any Spanish red and white wines. Instead, we’re talking Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero and Rueda’s premier white wine, Verdejo. Both wines say cheese every time.

Verdejo-style Verdejo has three main styles – joven, lees-aged, and oak-aged. In other words, young (joven), creamy (lees-aged), and in the case of oak-aged wines, spice, structure, and broadness on the palate. In turn, the wines range from approachable, light, and bright-acidic to full-bodied. Flavors include grapefruit, lemon, lime, apple, peach, and nectarine. With joven wines, think Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc with a Spanish accent, while the more aged versions can be likened to Sancerre and Chablis.

Verdejo and cheese Whether from Spain or the United States, cheeses of all kinds fi nd comradeship with the many styles of Verdejo. The uber popular Humboldt Fog® is a prime example. This iconic American goat cheese from Cypress Grove Cheese in California is possibly the most wine-friendly cheese of any made in the world. Lemony, earthy, creamy, and mouthfi lling, it hits almost every note and because of that, is Verdejo’s perfect match.

The same is true for MitiCaña® Caña de Cabra and Leonora®, two of Spain’s excellent goat cheeses. Like Humboldt Fog, these cheeses have lemony fl avors and are creamy on the palate. Because of their bright fl avors yet lingering mouthfeel, this soft-ripened style of cheese takes to the joven and lees-aged styles of Verdejo particularly well. The relatively rare Monte Enebro also fi nds harmony with all styles of Verdejo and – bonus – some Tempranillos too. Its earthiness and thin blue exterior mold ensure this.

Cream and the crop Because of Verdejo’s fl avor and textural range, rich buttery and mushroom cheeses like Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam and Brie are also stellar Verdejo companions, particularly the lees-aged ones.

Firmly in the Verdejo camp The lees- and oak-aged versions of Verdejo pair well with 6- to 9-month-aged Manchego and Wisconsin’s Roth Cheese Grand Cru® Reserve – a close cousin of Swiss Gruyére. These cheeses share richness, nuttiness, and a long fi nish, which the acidity and mediumbodied texture of these styles of Verdejo happen to love.

Spain’s Most Prestigious Regions for Red & White Wines

Tempranillo hearts cheese If white wine and cheese isn’t your thing, then Ribera del Duero Tempranillo and cheese will be. This region’s Tempranillo runs the fl avor gamut from fruity and immediately approachable to complex, balanced acidity, herbaceousness, licorice, leather, and dark fruits. Like Rueda Verdejo, Ribera del Duero Tempranillo is made in a range of ages and styles.

The youngest style is called Crianza. These are aged a minimum of 24 months with no less than one year in oak. They generally have brighter red fruit fl avors, maybe a little black fruit too, and fresh fl avors that come from the higher acid and lighter body.

Reservas are aged a minimum of 36 months including at least 12 months in oak. These wines tend to be more dark-fruit focused, the oak is more pronounced, and the structure and tannins are fi rmer.

Gran Reservas are “gran” because they are aged a minimum of fi ve years, at least two of which are in oak and the rest of the time in bottle before release. The fruit in Gran Reservas is dark, sometimes compote-like, the oak structure and spice are more prominent, and the overall complexity of the wine is greater.

The classifi cation in both Ribera and Rueda known as Cosecha is a bit of a catchall as it adds up to a motley crew of wines that may or may not meet the specifi cations of the other three categories. Think of it as “winemaker’s choice.” Perhaps surprisingly, some of the most heralded wines in the Ribera del Duero are Cosechas. Pairing cheese with Cosechas can be a fun ride since it’s not immediately apparent what’s in the bottle. Ask the friendly folks in the wine department to guide you to the wines that will best suit you and your cheese needs.

No matter which Ribera or Rueda wine you choose, always check out the back of the bottle to make sure it has the offi cial Denomination of Origin (DO) label. This indicates quality and authenticity.

Pairing partners One of Tempranillo’s nicest cheese companions is Mahon Reserva from the island of Menorca. The 12-month-aged cheese is distinctive because of its rounded square shape, bright orange pimentón-rubbed rind and nutty, piquant, and even sweet fl avors. With Tempranillo, Mahon has enough personality to stand up to the earth and fruit in Tempranillo but not so much that it dominates.

Other cheeses to consider are aged Cheddars such as Cabot Clothbound from Cabot® Creamery and The Cellars at Jasper Hill and Beecher’s Flagship. These cheeses have savory, earthy, and sweet notes, which hit the Tempranillo mark perfectly.

Red and blue Matching Tempranillo and blue cheeses can be tricky because you don’t want a Tempranillo that’s high on the oaky side or particularly acidic. In both cases, most blue cheeses will exaggerate those characteristics, which are essential to great wine but best when in balance. When you fi nd a blue that’s a little earthy, has balanced salt, and a mediumcreamy texture you’re on the right track. Consider Point Reyes Cheese Company in Point Reyes, California, which churns out the exceptional Bay Blue – an earthy, caramelly, creamy blue cheese. Its creaminess yet earthy punch brings the fruit out in the wine and makes the pairing sing.

Counting sheep Maybe some of the most natural cheese pairings for Tempranillo are sheep’s milk cheeses. Like Tempranillo, most sheep’s milk cheeses have a pronounced tang on the fi nish. In addition, they are often rich, have justright salt, are a bit grainy (in a good way), and balanced.

Take Idiazábal. Hailing from the Basque country, this semihard sheep cheese with a hint of smokiness loves red wine, red fruit – basically anything called Tempranillo from the Ribera del Duero.

Zamorano too. Ribera del Duero and Rueda are part of Spain’s largest so-called autonomous region – Castilla y León. So too is Zamora, home of its namesake cheese. This raw sheep’s milk beauty is often compared to Manchego but is made with the milk of different sheep breeds. The result is a cheese with nutty, fruity, buttery, and sweet tones and one that loves Tempranillo’s darker fruit and bright acidity.

Mixing and matching Ribera del Duero and Rueda wines with cheeses is unquestionably a thrilling pursuit and a tasty one too. So grab some Tempranillo and Verdejo, head to the cheese counter, and boost your pairing pleasure by fi nding the matches that bring out the ¡olé! every time!

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