CHEESE AND CHAMPAGNE PAIRINGS FOR CHRISTMAS IN SWITZERLAND 2021
L’Atelier du Fromage: Our tips for Swiss cheese and champagne pairings this holiday season
Make this Christmas season extra sparkly with the help of Swiss artisanal cheese and Champagne delivered to your doorstep. And as a bonus, you’ll be supporting local businesses!
Johana and Lhney from L’Atelier du Fromage – aka The Cheese Ladies – love sharing their knowledge of the local artisanal cheeses. Here are their top tips for the perfect festive apéro.
Find out more about making your Christmas in Geneva more festive with Apéro Boxes from L’Atelier du Fromage in our previous articles: 5 PERFECT CHEESE AND WINE PAIRINGS FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS APÉRO and BEST SWISS SELF-CARE AND GIFT BOXES TO ORDER DURING COVID.
We love bubbles and there is no better time to pop open a bottle of Champagne than the holidays! It’s a time to gather with loved ones to share the holiday spirit, reflect on the current year, and look forward to a new year with new adventures.
What’s our fascination with Champagne? These bottles are special because they are created through a second fermentation in the wine bottle to create the precious sparkling carbonation that we all adore. During this process, the wine is bottled with yeast and sugar called “liqueur de tirage.” This is why Champagne often has flavours and aromas of brioche and buttered toast or a slight yeastiness. When pairing Champagne, you can keep these flavour profiles in mind as you consider what foods you may want to serve your guests.
There are many delicious dishes that you can serve with Champagne. Since we are known locally as the Cheese Ladies, we will guide you through pairing it with three different styles of cheeses and recommend 5 specific artisanal cheeses within these styles.
CREAMY, BLOOMY WHITE RIND CHEESES
A sure hit are super creamy cheeses that envelope your mouth like velvet. Then the bubbles can get their groove on and dance all over your tongue and clear your palate in anticipation of your next delicious bite. Look for soft bloomy, white rind cheeses that can melt at room temperature like a Tomme or soft cheeses that have a tender texture like a Brie.
Dolly is an artisanal cheese produced by Jumi AG in canton Bern that makes you weak at the knees when you watch it flow at room temperature. We are enchanted by the light grassy flavours from the Bernese meadows where the fresh ewe’s milk originates.
Emmenthaler Brie produced by Dorfkäserei Sumiswald also in canton Bern has the ideal tender texture. This cheese has that slight earthiness of fresh mushrooms that reminds us of strolling through the forest after it rains. It also has buttery notes that complement the creaminess of Champagne, which comes from the malolactic fermentation – the conversion of malic acid (associated with the tart taste of green apples) to lactic acid (associated with a softer rounded, buttery taste).
SALTY, NUTTY AGED HARD CHEESES
Champagne also pairs very nicely with salty, nutty cheeses like an aged Parmesan. These flavour profiles enhance the brioche-like aromas we find in more aged Champagne and the liqueur de tirage we discussed earlier. You can’t go wrong selecting a nutty cheese when serving Champagne.
On our cheese-hunting road trips across Switzerland, we discovered the Huuschäs Wolfertswiler produced by Käserei Kreuzstrasse in canton St-Gallen. It’s a beautiful example of an aged hard cheese that hits all those yummy salty, nutty notes and has the delightful crunch of crystals formed from the aging process. Take your cheese chisel or knife and break off chunks so that your guests can pop the golden nuggets into their mouths before taking a sip from their Champagne glasses!
CREAMY, BLUE-VEINED CHEESES
You may find it strange, but blue cheeses make for a wonderful pairing with Champagne because of their salty, earthy, and mineral profile. Look for an extra-creamy blue cheese so that you can enjoy more of the bubbles tickling your tongue!
Jersey Blue produced by Willi Schmid from Städtlichäsi Lichtensteig in St-Gallen
is known as the king of blue cheese because it is noble and balanced. Made from the milk of Jersey cows, it is super creamy and rich. Jersey Blue is not only creamy but also nutty, salty, and peppery, which all of these flavour profiles go well with Champagne. If you are a blue cheese lover, try one with your next glass of bubbles!
If you are timid about blue cheeses, we recommend the Tomme au Bleu produced by Fromagerie Blanc Meyrat from canton Vaud. This artisanal cheese is soft, creamy, and delicate to the palate. There is a hint of the blue-veined cheese taste but it is more subtle and gentle. Perfect for beginners! The creamy earthiness is another perfect pairing with Champagne.
WHO IS L’ATELIER DU FROMAGE?
Celebrate Swiss artisanal cheese and wine makers with L’Atelier du Fromage. Known as the Cheese Ladies, Johana Eidam Vautherot and Lhney Steiner road trip across Switzerland in search of the hidden treasures of Swiss artisanal cheeses.
Joined by Wine Expert, Ana Laura Hernandez, and Sommelier and Wine Educator, Marc Checkley, the Cheese Ladies have expanded their team to enhance their Box selections with the best wines in Switzerland – and now also abroad, with the launch of the new Gourmet Box.
Our December Gourmet Box features three of the artisanal cheeses mentioned in this article perfectly paired with a boutique Champagne not easily available in Switzerland!
Every month L’Atelier du Fromage shares their new discoveries. Follow them on their adventures through Facebook and Instagram.
L’Atelier du Fromage wishes you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday filled with an abundance of Swiss artisanal cheese, wine, and Champagne!
Want to read more? We think you’ll like these:
5 PERFECT CHEESE AND WINE PAIRINGS FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS APÉRO
BEST SWISS SELF-CARE AND GIFT BOXES TO ORDER DURING COVID.
Editor’s note: This article was sponsored, but we only write about businesses we personally love – and we think you will, too!
