The local cheeses of Champagne with the local wines that suit them, and why they work.
The cheeses of Champagne with the wines made beside them. Pairings marked as a local tradition are the ones a regional source names; the rest are our own picks, and say so.
A non-vintage brut Champagne's high acidity and fine mousse cut through Chaource's salted, creamy paste and leave its mushroom and hazelnut clear. The cheese comes from the Aube, which also grows Champagne.
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A non-vintage brut's acidity and bubbles cut Brie de Meaux's butter and cream and leave its hazelnut clear, so each bite of the rich, supple paste stays fresh.
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With no dosage, a zero-sugar Champagne has nothing to blur the mushroom and hazelnut of a young Chaource. Its high acidity and fine bubbles lift the salted, creamy paste.
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A rosé Champagne with vinous red fruit and some weight can sit beside a washed rind, and its fruit answers the yoghurt-and-cream note the Langres consortium describes.
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Chaource is salted, creamy and fine, with mushroom and hazelnut. A blanc de blancs, all Chardonnay, brings citrus or orchard fruit, high acidity and a fine mousse that refresh the paste and keep the hazelnut clear.
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A rosé Champagne sets red-berry fruit and fresh acidity against Chaource's salted, lactic paste and hazelnut, and its bubbles keep the cream from weighing on the palate.
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Blanc de noirs, white Champagne from Pinot Noir alone, brings apple fruit and some body, and its high acidity and bubbles cut the butter and cream of a ripe Brie de Meaux.
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An older, creamier Chaource has more depth, and a prestige or single-vineyard blanc de blancs, full-bodied with high acidity, matches it while keeping the mushroom and cream in focus.
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A ripe Brie de Meaux has butter, cream and hazelnut. A prestige cuvée Champagne, full-bodied with high acidity, has the depth to match that richness while its bubbles keep each bite fresh.
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Melun is stronger and slightly saltier than Meaux, so it takes a fuller brut. A full-bodied Champagne with high acidity has the weight to match it, and its bubbles cut the richer paste.
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Melun is stronger and saltier than Meaux. An oak-fermented Champagne, full-bodied with high acidity, has the depth to stand up to it where a light brut would be lost.
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Supertoinette says the ash-coated cheese tastes of Brie with a small smoky note. A rosé Champagne's red-berry fruit and fresh acidity meet that note and cut through the soft paste.
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Prestige rosé Champagnes are full-bodied, with red fruit over high acidity. That weight meets Langres's washed rind and its fruity paste of yoghurt and cream, where a delicate rosé would fade.
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Varietal Pinot Meunier Champagnes are full-bodied and vinous, with ripe orchard fruit and spice. That depth gives them enough weight for a washed rind and its fruity, creamy paste.
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during this discovery of Blanc de Noirs champagnes that pair perfectly with cheeses from our regions and other areas. Join us just a stone's throw from Notre-Dame de R...
Become immersed in an exceptional sensory experience: taste a champagne made from the 3 iconic grape varieties, accompanied by truffle bites, and let yourself be capti...
Embark on a shared or private group tour to discover the Champagne region and enjoy an authentic French lunch. Visit a world-famous champagne house and a family-owned ...
In the Aube and Yonne departments, in the Champagne Humide, a clay region on the border of the two, according to the Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité.
At least 14 days from renneting, with at least 8 days at 8 to 14 °C, per the appellation rules summarised on French Wikipedia. INAO describes the cheese at 14 days as mushroom, hazelnut and cream.
The large format weighs 450 to 700 g, made in moulds 110 to 115 mm across, and the small format 250 to 380 g in moulds 85 to 90 mm across, per French Wikipedia.
The consortium says the fontaine forms naturally because the cheese is never turned during making. Some producers ripen it with marc, and the alcohol poured into the dip spreads through the cheese.
Montbéliarde, Brune or Simmental cows, with Prim'Holstein allowed only below half the herd. Grazing must last at least six months a year, per the consortium.
The usual format weighs 280 to 300 g and measures 10 cm across and 5 to 6 cm high, per French Wikipedia.
INAO records the French appellation in 1991. Its Langres page also lists the European Commission regulations of 1996 and 1997 on the register of protected designations; the later dates sometimes quoted, 2009 (French Wikipedia) and 2012 (the consortium), are those of the revised rules and their European approval, not the first protection.
Part of its protected area lies in the Champagne departments of Marne, Aube and Haute-Marne, per INAO and the brie syndicate, but its home is Seine-et-Marne in the Île-de-France.
