Baked camembert

Baked camembert

Assuming a whole camembert baked in its box with garlic and rosemary, sometimes with honey, served with bread for dipping.

Baked camembert is molten, rich and earthy, with a mushroom rind and often a touch of sweetness from honey. The wine needs high acidity to cut the melted cheese, and fruit that meets the honey. Firm tannin turns metallic against soft cheese, and heavy oak makes it feel heavier still.

Pairs Perfectly. Chenin Blanc, dry, Loire, France. Apple, quince and a hint of honey on a firm line of acidity. It cuts through the molten cheese and its honeyed note meets any honey on top.

Pairs Well. Cru Beaujolais, Fleurie, France. Red cherry and violet with bright acidity and almost no tannin, a red that stays fresh beside soft cheese.

Pairs Well. Riesling, Clare Valley, Australia, dry. Lime sharp and bone dry, it slices through the fat, and it is inexpensive.

Worth Seeking Out

Chasselas from the Valais, Switzerland. Soft, gently nutty and low in alcohol, from mountains where melted cheese is everyday food.

Avoid

Tannic reds and heavily oaked whites. Tannin turns metallic against soft cheese, and oak adds weight to an already rich dish.

Failing That

A Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Italy.

If All Else Fails

Pale rosé of Pinot Noir, France.

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