The Flavor Profile That Pairs Best With Stilton Cheese
Believe it or not, pungent Stilton pairs super well with sweet flavors. According to Tasting Table’s own Lucia Capretti, pairing wine with blue cheese like Stilton is all about matching strong with strong. Capretti recommends enjoying your Stilton with a sweet, fortified, red vintage Port wine. Vintage Ports offer bold flavor notes of chocolate, dark berries, nuts, and spice. It might sound like a peculiar combination at first, but the Port’s sweet-yet-robust profile matches the strength of Stilton’s savory funk.
On a cheese board, MasterClass recommends drizzling Stilton with sweet honey and serving it alongside fruits and nuts. Fresh cranberries, apricots, and pears provide a fresh element with a complimentary perfumed earthiness. If you’re feeling decadent, the Stilton Cheesemakers’ Association suggests serving it with a dessert wine. But palettes who shy away from the sweet side might prefer a full-bodied red instead.
Perhaps the most important element to truly enjoying Stilton, however, is ringing up a few friends to munch it with. As James Beard himself once famously put it, “Good cheese needs good companions.”
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