Courtesy of Golan Heights Winery

Shavuot is approaching - the Jewish holiday during which it is customary to eat dairy foods. Combining cheese and wine is one of the most popular customs in the gastronomic world. A great pairing of excellent wine and cheese should enhance the flavour of both, and provide a really wonderful culinary experience.

Basic rules:

• It is best to focus on two kinds of high quality cheese and one bottle of wine that really go together perfectly. This is better than serving many kinds of cheese, some of which are of lower quality and/or less suitable for the wine served.
• It is important in that context to mention the main cheese families to which it is then easier to match certain types of wine.

Classic combinations:

Soft cheeses (with or without mould) such as Brie
These have a very dominant texture and taste and high fat percentage, so aromatic white wines with high acidity, such as Yarden Gewurztraminer, will be best.

Blue or spicy cheeses, such as Roquefort or Gorgonzola
These are characterised by their flavour and saltiness, high fat percentage and rich, dominant taste. The most suitable types of wine would therefore be sweet or dessert wines such as Yarden Muscat and Yarden HeightsWine. This combination will provide a rare culinary experience.

Goat cheeses
Goat cheese is almost solely identified with Sauvignon Blanc white wine. This wine is just perfect for goat cheese because of its freshness and young age. Light Chardonnay, such as the Golan Chardonnay, will also go well with goat cheese.

Hard cheeses, such as Parmesan or Emmenthal
These cheeses go fantastically well with red wine. Of the red wine types, the most suitable would be the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Gamla Sangiovese.