Port Wine Cheese

Ah, the splendor of port wine and cheese

Port wine wants you to savor life's sweetest moments. Offering an array of flavors – from ripe berries and figs to raisins and toasted almonds – port appreciates the finer things, so you'll want to be deliberate when pairing port wine and cheese. Not that port is particularly picky – a well-aged cheddar, a gorgonzola, and a dunbarton blue will all get port's blessing.

Here in Wisconsin, we too are obsessed with the finer things in life – which is why we make more than 600 varieties, styles, and flavors of cheese. So, no matter what cheese port wine is in the mood for tonight, we're sure to have something that will match the moment.

Browse our website to meet some of the cheeses that port wine is most fond of, or look for other red wine and cheese pairings. Search our recipes for inspiration for a brilliant charcuterie tray. Or scroll down for more port wine and cheese recommendations.

Our favorite pairings for port wine and cheese

Your choice of cheese has a lot to do with the style of port you're drinking.

For tawny ports, salty, dry hard cheeses like aged gouda, gruyere, cheddar, and parmesan balance the mellow, rich, and nutty flavors of the wine.

Vintage ports need a powerful cheese that can hold its own against the strength of this remarkable wine. A creamy blue cheese like gorgonzola, or an extra sharp cheddar can match the chocolate, spice, and fruit in the wine.

The dryer taste of white port pairs well with gruyere, while a traditional late bottled vintage port matches up nicely with an aged parmesan or classic blue. And the sweetness of a young ruby port is perfectly balanced by the savory notes of a blue cheese.

Living the port wine and cheese life in Wisconsin

You only live life once. Which is why, in Wisconsin, we live life with port wine and cheese. Savoring a sip of sweet and fruity port while sampling a slice of Wisconsin's finest – that's what we call living.

Wisconsites have been living the cheese life for generations. From perfecting Old World recipes to inventing new cheeses, our cheesemakers have been obsessively making cheese since before Wisconsin was a state. That explains the 5500+ plaques for cheese awards hanging in our hallway – that's more than any other state or country in the world, by the way. And it explains why one-quarter of all the cheese in America is made in Wisconsin.

So, when it comes to pairing port wine and cheese, creating awesome meat and cheese trays, or just choosing a cheese for a Tuesday night casserole, life is always better with Wisconsin cheese.