Visit Champagne for the Wine AND the Cheese
Visit Champagne for the sparkling wine and cheese pairings. Photo credit Sue Winston
Gourmands everywhere know that the French region of Champagne is synonymous with its iconic sparkling wine, but few know that it’s also worth visiting for its lesser-known cheese culture.
“The bright acidity and bubbles of Champagne help to reset the palate” when enjoying different cheeses, says Emily Monaco, a Paris-based cheese tour guide and writer. “These wines typically pair just as beautifully with mild-mannered fresh cheeses as they do the bloomy-rinded and washed-rind cheeses native to the region.”
Paris-based cheese tour guide Emily Monaco
Because Champagne and the region’s cheeses pair so naturally together, we asked experts to share some favorite combinations.
First, a note on locating cheese in the region: Look to Champagne hubs like Reims and Épernay for standout fromageries. La Cave aux Fromages in Reims offers a broad selection of cheese from across France, with a focus on regional selections. Fromagerie du Domaine de Vincine in Épernay features a curated selection of local cheeses alongside an excellent selection of grower Champagnes.
Here are a few of our experts’ go-to pairing recommendations for exploring the Champagne region.
Pairing #1: Chaource with Alfred Gratien
Chaource cheese with Alfred Gratien Champagne
Chaource
This soft-ripened cow’s-milk cheese has a bloomy rind and a creamy, tangy flavor. “Chaource has the mushroomy rind and stone cellar notes common to brie and camembert,” says Monaco. “Chaource is rich, and can easily deceive people into believing it’s a double- or triple-cream cheese, but its intensely fudgy interior requires no added cream to take on its coveted texture.” It is saltier and more flavorful than Brillat-Savarin, Monaco explains, but is a relative unknown on the cheese cart outside of France, where it has earned AOP status.
2018 Alfred Gratien Clos Le Village
A vintage cuvée such as Alfred Gratien’s oak-aged Clos Le Village is lively and dynamic. With notes of almond, brioche, apricot, and plum, it sets off the cheese’s delicate fruit notes and richness.
Pairing #2: Langres with Laurent-Perrier
Langres cheese with Laurent-Perrier Rosé Champagne
This washed-rind cheese has a distinctive, alarming-at-first-glance sunken top known as a “fontaine.” It has a barnyardy pungency with a silky interior. In Champagne, chefs like Christophe Moret at Champagne’s Michelin-star restaurant Le Parc will occasionally whip it into an ephemeral mousse, transforming its appearance.
NV Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé delivers precision, suppleness, and a rounded sensation. The texture and fresh red berry notes balance and can keep up with the Langres funk.
Bonus Pairing Tip: For an especially decadent preparation, try pouring Champagne directly over the cheese’s sunken top. Warren Johnson, partner and cheesemonger at Saint Urban’s, a tiny wine and cheese bar in Charleston, S.C., loves to impress guests with Champagne-soaked Langres.
“If you’ve got friends popping over, make sure you bring the cheese to room temperature an hour or two before they arrive. When ready, open the cheese and insert the back of a wooden spoon into the top of the cheese to make a one-inch hole,” Johnson says. “Pour two to three tablespoons of Champagne into the cheese, and let it soak for a few minutes. Then pour your friends a glass and serve the cheese with a spoon.”
Pairing #3: Brie de Meaux or Brie de Melun with Pierre Paillard
Brie de Melun cheese with Pierre Paillard’s Les Mottelettes Champagne. Photo credit Jennifer Greco
Brie de Meaux or Brie de Melun
Brie de Meaux, which is an AOC-protected cheese, has been in production since the Middle Ages, and has been known as the King of Cheeses since it was declared the finest cheese in Europe by the Congress of Vienna, and has been notably favored by members of royal courts through the ages. Brie de Melun is even older, and more farmhouse in style. The AOC-protected cheese is dense, sometimes crumbly, with a salty, earthy funk.
Of the two, Brie de Meaux is more crowd-friendly. Supple, buttery, with notes of hazelnuts, this rind-ripened cheese develops fruity, softly savory flavors when aged, but never becomes bitter or aggressive. Brie de Melun can develop bitter flavors, and is decidedly firmer and more rustic than its buttery sibling.
2019 Pierre Paillard Les Mottelettes Blanc de Blancs Bouzy Grand Cru Extra Brut
Vincent Philippe, winner of the 2023 World’s Best Cheesemonger competition, is particularly fond of Brie de Meaux. “It pairs beautifully with a round, generous Champagne that has undergone malolactic fermentation,” he says.
Philippe recommends Pierre Paillard’s Les Mottelettes, with its creamy profile and notes of toasted bread and vanilla. He notes that the richness of Brie de Meaux or Brie de Melun plays well with this flavorful, textured Champagne.