Cheddar, flavouring profile

Cheddar, flavouring profile

Mature Cheddar is sharp, salty and savoury, and the wines that suit it bring either ripe fruit to set against the tang or a nutty depth to match it.

The compounds that matter. Glutamate and the crunchy crystals of long ageing, a savoury depth that makes firm tannin taste bitter. Lactic acid, which gives Cheddar its tang and makes a soft wine taste flat. Salt and fat in quantity, which soften moderate tannin and ask for acidity. Older Cheddars add a nutty, almost brothy note.

What it demands of a wine. Acidity to meet the tang and cut the fat. Ripe fruit, even a sense of sweetness, to balance the salt, or an oxidised, nutty register to mirror the age. Tannin kept moderate. Melted Cheddar in sauces and on toast wants the same things with a little more freshness.

Seek. Oloroso Sherry, dry but rich with walnut and dried fruit, the closest match for an old farmhouse Cheddar. Zinfandel from California, whose ripe bramble fruit sets off the salt. English sparkling made mainly from Pinot Noir, a Blanc de Noirs from Sussex, whose acid and red fruit cut through melted cheese. Dry Chenin Blanc from Vouvray, honeyed and sharp, for a milder Cheddar. Tawny Port, for the end of a meal.

Avoid

Young, firmly tannic reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon, which the savoury depth of the cheese turns bitter. Delicate, low acid whites, which the tang and salt leave flat.

Three to reach for. Oloroso Sherry, Jerez, Spain. Zinfandel, California, USA. English sparkling Blanc de Noirs, Sussex, England.