The Best Wines To Pair With Colby Cheese

Fresh, flavorful cheese and a bottle of wine go together so perfectly, it's like a match made in heaven — and you get to play matchmaker.

According to MarthaStewart.com, wines and cheese have been served together for centuries with a focus on matching wines and cheeses from the same region. While that rule is a good place to start when selecting a cheese and a wine to serve together, not all wines and cheeses make a good couple, per Cheese Origin. To pair a wine and cheese, it's important to be aware of the wine's characteristics because its tannins may not interact well with the butterfat and lactic bacteria found in cheese. Cheese also can be classified into different families, including creamy cheese, aged cheese, and moldy blue cheeses, according to Food & Wine. Michaela Weitzer, of NYC's Murray's Cheese, told Food & Wine that what's most important to take into consideration when pairing wine and cheese is the family of cheese that is being used versus what type of milk the cheese was made from (goat's, cow's, sheep's).

But when it comes to Colby, with its firm texture and mild, buttery flavor, this cheese pairs well with both white and red wine, per Wisconsin Cheese. 

With their low amount of tannins, white wines like Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio make for a great companion to a piece of Colby, according to Wisconsin Cheese. Cheese House agrees that the ideal white wine to pair with Colby cheese is a glass of Riesling. As a semi-hard cheese, sharing the same category with cheeses like Havarti and Gouda, Colby pairs well with dry, white wines (via Wine Enthusiast). White wines with a slightly oaky taste include Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Rioja. 

Some of the other characteristics of semi-hard cheeses are that they contain a lot of moisture and have a salty and nutty flavor, per Palate Club. As a result, white wines with fruity notes pair well with the saltiness of a semi-hard cheese. Light-bodied wines and sparkling wines should also be considered to match with your Colby. Palate Club recommends Champagne, Chardonnay, Beaujolais, and Chenin Blanc to go with your Colby.

When it comes to enjoying Colby with a glass of wine, red is the way to go, according to Real Simple. Bottles of bold Cabernet Sauvignon make for a great pairing with Colby, especially one that has berry, vanilla, or espresso notes. Real Simple says the big flavors of a Cabernet Sauvignon complement the mild flavors of Colby. Wisconsin Cheese agrees that a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon is a great way to go if you want to pair a bottle of red wine with Colby, but also recommends Malbec and Pinot Noir because of their fruit flavors. Wine Enthusiast has a few different suggestions. Red wines that do not taste heavily of oak, but have a strong flavor that work well with Colby are Côtes de Rhône, Corbières, St-Chinian, Chianti, Mencía, and young Bordeaux blends. Two other red wines to consider, per Palate Club, are Carménére and Merlot.