Wine and cheese. They’re a match made in foodie heaven.
The two go together like peanut butter and jelly, bangers and mash, women and reproductive rights - you just can’t have one without the other.
The pairing of these two elements - cheese with its high fat content and wine with its balance of sweet yet acidic elements - has been going on for hundreds of years. It makes perfect sense when you think about it. Both comestible items tend to be made in the same regions, village, or farm and as the saying goes, “if it grows together, it goes together” (hello Rioja and manchego). The cheese-and wine-making industries require a similar level patience and artisanal touch to encourage the right level of maturation and so have been enjoyed together out of pure proximity. But it goes beyond just location and historical customs to science and the way that the flavours complement one another.
When combined, the sharp and astringinet hit that you get from a sip of wine meets the creaminess of cheese for a pleasantly addictive mouthfeel. The symbiotic relationship enhances the experience of both through the way in which the fat in the cheese blocks the taste receptors to drinks, expect that acidic wine is able to cut through.
When talking pairings, the old adage of ‘like with like’ runs true. It makes sense to match intensity and complexity so as not to overpower one or the other. Lighter cheeses go better with fresh wines, while full body and bold characters need the heavy dairy product to match. Think aged port and blue stilton, Chardonnay and camembert or Cabernet Sauvignon and aged cheddar vs Riesling and raclette, Pinot Grigio and mozzarella or Pinot Noir and brie. Salty cheese flavours bring out the body of the wine and counteracts bitterness.
When it comes to gifting, that’s where the iconic duo shines. Bar the dairy intolerant and the teetotalers, it makes a failsafe present for more formal occassions - birthdays, Christmas - as well as to not show up empty handed at dinner parties. It gives you something to talk about and enjoy together at the end of the meal.
We’ve left it to the experts to curate the perfect pairings and best of all, they’ve housed the wine and cheeses in a show-stopping wicker hamper or basket so you only need to stick a bow on the top and your work is done.
Shop the best wine and cheese gift baskets below
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Snowdonia Cheese Company Luxury Cheese & Wine Hamper
If you are yet to sample the creamy goodness of the Snowdonia Cheese Company’s Black Bomber, be sure to add two of these hampers to basket - one for your giftee and one for yourself. The wax sealed cheese is a firm favourite of at ES Best and makes a failsafe present idea for the dairy lover who has everything.
In this basket, the hero cheddar is set alongside Rock Star (vintage cave aged), Beechwood (naturally smoked), Red Storm (red Leicester) and Truffle Trove (black summer truffle) as well as crackers and a 750ml bottle of Montes Alpha Carmenère 2019.
Buy now £65.00, Amazon
Fortnum & Mason ”A Portrait of British Cheese” Collection
Fortnum & Mason may be synonymous with wicker hampers but the legendary department store is taking a slightly different approach with this bumper offering.
Housed in a logo adorned bag, the expert F&M foodies have curated a bundle to celebrate the best of British. In the keepsake tote, there’s drool-worthy dairy from our humble island including the Baron Bigod - a Suffolk-made crumbly brie-like variety, Stichelton and Hafod, a Welsh cheddar.
Pair with the Damson, Blackberry and Apple Chutney and All Butter Crackers provided and a sip of the rich complexity of Bourgogne Pinot Noir.
Buy now £85.00, Fortnum & Mason
Paxton & Whitfield Little Box of Cheese Treats
Cheese is Paxton & Whitfield’s bread and butter and the variety of different dairy on offer is expansive and sure to tickle your giftee’s tastebuds - but where to start?
This is the brand’s bestselling box so you know it has to be good, but not content on resting on its laurels, it has been upgraded to include a balance of hard and soft cheeses to suit all preferences as well as blue and goats for real impact. So that you can enjoy their complexities to the fullest, pour a glass of Taylors Vintage Port - one of the highest quality producers with a rich fruity character - and finish up with cube of caramel butter fudge that is given more intrigue with sea salt.
Buy now £42.00, Paxton & Whitfield
Cheesegeek The Stevie - Seasonal Cheese & Wine
What the Cheesegeek don’t know about cheese ain’t worth knowing. The brand proves that wine and the smelly stuff is a match made in heaven with The Stevie. The contents of this seasonal selection changes regularly but you’ll be sure to get a hard, soft and blue cheese as well as a wine that has been carefully selected in order to bring out the flavours - you get to choose whether you’d prefer red or white and there;s the option to add crackers too.
Buy now £50.00, Cheesegeek
Artisan Deli Market Wine & Cheesestopper Hamper
Artisan Deli Market fills its hamper with luxury food items sourced from small businesses. This Wine & Cheesestopper selection takes you around the world with its flavours. You begin in Argentina with a Malbec before heading back Europe way by way of Spanish acorn fed pork Iberico Salchichón. Cheese-wise, you only need to look to the striking Whirl Herbs & Garlic that has an exterior of red Leicester and cream cheese and herb filling to see that this is a gift set that’s sure to impress.
Buy now £58.00, Artisan Deli Market
Hampers luxury wine, cheese & rillette hamper
The full-bodied flavours of the Tinto Figuero ‘4’ red wine that is at the heart of this hamper from the specialists at Hampers.com pair beautifully with Snowdonia Cheese Company’s cheddar. The bottle is brimming with notes of black liquorice and rose pepper that are enhanced even further with the creamy cheese and the accoutrements like the pork rillette, Tracklements sticky fig relish and kalamata pitted olives so there’s everything you need for a stellar evening of cheese and wine enjoyment.
Buy now £76.00, Hampers
Hay Hampers Cheese And Wine Night
Don’t underestimate the power of a hamper collection to delight your gracious hosts. When you are struggling for gift ideas, the combination of wine and cheese goes down a treat, especially when it is filled with not one but two bottles of grape goodness as well as an array of universally adored dairy.
There’s a Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon included in this box so that whether they prefer red or white, you can’t go wrong. In the cheese department, Red Leicester from Snowdonia and Cropwell Bishop Blue come complete with a side of piccalilli or onion marmalade that blend tangy and sweet, especially when set on a base of oat baked chia seed crisp bread or Scottish oatcakes.
Buy now £65.00, Hay Hampers
Fortnum & Mason The Cheese & Wine Hamper
Put a luxury twist on your wine and cheese night with a helping hand from Fortnum & Mason. Packed into the department store’s signature wicker hamper is an array of cheeseboard staples. Start your flavour journey with the creamy Triple Cream Cheese that has a subtle touch of lemon and salt. Indulge next in the crumbly Cheddar Truckle, while enter more complex realms with the Traditional Stilton.
Place these tangy sensations on the Walnut & Seed Cracker or Smoked Paprika & Chilli Cheese Sables, add a loaded teaspoon of Caramelised Onion Marmalade and take a break from each bite with a sip of either the crisp fruity white Pouilly-Fumé care of Domaine Jean-Claude Chatelain, classic Beaujolais or delicate, dry Bardolino Chiaretto Rosé (or all three - no judgement here!).
Buy now £160.00, Fortnum & Mason
Daylesford Cheese & Biscuit Box
Any self respecting cheese connoisseur will know of Daylesford’s offering that is made by hand on the farm in the village of the same name, a stone’s throw from the Cotswolds. But if they’ve not yet been initiated, may this be their official introduction or at least a certification of their addiction.
The Bledington Blue cheese has a rich and creamy flavour that can be enjoyed alongside the lighter Penyston brie, the award winning organic Cheddar and a bottle of either the full-boded Daylesford Rosso piceno d.o.c made on the family’s vineyard or creamy oak notes of the Mont’Albano Merlot Refosco from northeastern Italy.
A dollop of Fig Apple & Balsamic Chutney finishes off the taste explosion with a balance of sweet and sour, especially when atopped the cheese biscuits.
Buy now £60.00, Daylesford
Melrose and Morgan The Charcuterie and Cheese Gourmet Hamper
Pop the cork on a sparkling wine from Spain with the Ancestral Montonega Pet-Nat 2018 Can Sumoi included in this wicker hamper from Primrose Hill-based deli Melrose and Morgan. The wine is set alongside a combination of local British cheeses and those found on the Continent sourced from La Fromagerie and The Fine Cheese Company.
The selection includes a Tunworth, Golden Cross, and Truffle Gloucester and incorporates the addition of charcuterie too - Fennel and Garlic Salami, Coppa and Bresaola. Perello Gordal Olives add to the feast as well as M & M’s own brand Parmesan and Poppyseed Biscuits, and Buttermilk Crackers.
Buy now £150.00, Melrose and Morgan
