snowkiss winery

wine. reimagined.



Pairing Snowkiss Wines with Cheese





22 October 2023



Cheese and wine taken to a fruity new dimension!





Wine and cheese- is there any more classic food and beverage paring? Just like there are a seemingly endless variety of flavor profiles of wines (especially when you are thinking outside the grape) cheeses have an amazingly extensive range of flavors as well. From choosing which milk to use in the cheese making process, to deciding aging times and whether to add additional components to the ripening cheese, a cheese maker has a nearly endless number of ways to make their own, unique cheese.


Exploring which cheeses to pair with our fruit wines was a somewhat difficult, albeit delicious challenge. Luckily, we were aided by the presence of Cheese Importers, an amazing local cheese shop in our town of Longmont, CO. Cheese Importers has a gigantic cheese cave that is home to hundreds of cheeses from around the world. I first stumbled across this shop in early 2019 when my wife and I were exploring the different towns and neighborhoods of Northern Colorado, trying to decide where we wanted to make our new home, and I’m not ashamed to say that Cheese Importers was one of the reasons why we decided to move to Longmont!


So, with an incredible source of global cheeses readily available, we set out to the arduous task of trying to decide which cheeses to pair with which wines. This initially involved a lot of researching traditional grape wine and cheese pairings, followed by trying to guess where our wines might fit into the mix. Once we made the selections, we were off to Cheese Importers to stock up on a couple dozen cheeses. Then, the hard part: a trial and error tasting of different combinations. I think our efforts paid off nicely and we made several discoveries along the way by trying cheeses we have never heard of before. I hope you enjoy!



Rochoso Cheese Pairings





Rochoso Apricot + Comte Elegance



Comte Elegance is a raw cow’s milk cheese similar to Gruyere that is semi-hard and typically has a pale-yellow coloration. Younger cheeses are often described as milky, but when aged, these cheeses take on fruity and nutty flavor. Commonly paired with a crisp white wine, we paired a 15-month aged Comte Elegance with our Rochoso Apricot and found that the delicate flavors of the wine nicely balanced the nutty notes in the cheese.



Rochoso Blackberry + Sharp Cheddar



Rochoso Blackberry is one of our boldest wines and requires a similarly bold cheese for pairing, making it a perfect partner for cheddar. While the options for cheddar cheese are seemingly endless, we decided to go with a year-old Wisconsin extra sharp white cheddar. The bite of this cheese matched up nicely with the sweet berry-forward tartness of the wine for a delectable combination.



Rochoso Blueberry + Caerphilly



For our Rochoso Blueberry, we elected to use a Welsh Caerphilly cheese. Cheddar’s mellow cousin, Caerphilly cheese is often served with fruits or preserves. When paired with Rochoso Blueberry, the savory and slightly tart Caerphilly balanced nicely with the smooth but rich berry flavors of the wine.



Rochoso Cranberry + Capricho de Cabra



Capricho de Cabra is a Spanish cheese that is made from the milk of Murciana goats, which produce a milk that is high in fat and protein. Typically very rich as a result of the milk, Capricho de Cabra has a sweet flavor profile that makes it a fantastic partner for a variety of fruits. Capricho de Cabra matches fantastically with our Rochoso Cranberry, and we decided to use an herbed version that evoked festive holiday dinners.



Rochoso Peach + Fourme D’Ambert



A mild French blue cheese, Fourme D’Ambert is made from cow’s milk and has an overall mild flavor profile. We paired this cheese with our Rochoso Peach. A touch of tartness of the wine beautifully matched the creamy nuttiness of the cheese.



Rochoso Plum + Stilton



Another excellent blue cheese, Stilton is an English crumbly cheese made from cow’s milk. Stilton cheeses have a bold and tangy flavor, which matched exceedingly nicely with the spicy notes found in our Rochoso Plum wine.



Rochoso Raspberry + Parmigano Reggiano



With its sharp, tart, and berry forward flavor profile, Rochoso Raspberry requires an equally bold cheese partner, which we found in Parmigano Reggiano. Parmigano Reggiano is an Italian cow’s milk cheese. Commonly aged for over two years, the Parmigano Reggiano is a hard cheese with a sharp, salty taste and notes of nuts and fruits, making it a perfect match for the zingy flavors of our Rochoso Raspberry.



Rochoso Strawberry + Brillat Savarin



Brillat Savarin is a famed French triple crème cheese made from cow’s milk. Buttery and richly creamy, Brillat Savarin is often paired with champagne or a light rose wine. We found that this cheese also works very nicely with our Rochoso Strawberry. The soft, summery fruitiness of the wine smoothly matched the richness of the cheese, yielding an undeniable blend of cream and berry.



Vin Cheese Pairings





Vin Apricot + Wensleydale



An English cheese made from cow’s or sheep’s milk, Wensleydale cheese is soft and creamy, often with a touch of sweetness. With its overall mild but fruity flavor, we decided to pair this cheese with our Vin Apricot. We even found a Wensleydale cheeses with added bits of dried apricot to further seal the pairing.



Vin Blackberry + Manchego



Spanish in origin, Manchego is made from raw sheep’s milk and typically aged for at least a year, providing a crumbly cheese with a nutty flavor profile. With it’s berry forward body and tart aftertaste, Vin Blackberry made a very nice partner for Manchego’s richness.



Vin Blueberry + Mascarpone



Mascarpone is a soft, sweet, and easily spreadable Italian cheese made from heavy cream and is a key component of tiramisu often paired with Moscato wine. Mascarpone made a fantastic accompanist to the silky richness of our Vin Blueberry.



Vin Cranberry + Mimolette



Undoubtably our favorite pairing by far is Vin Cranberry with Mimolette cheese. A French cheese made from cow’s milk, Mimolette has a distinctive bright orange coloration and is a hard cheese that typically has a nutty profile, sometimes tinged with sugary notes. When paired with Vin Cranberry, the colors and flavors blend together to produce a symphony for all the senses to enjoy.



Vin Peach + Port Salut



Port Salut is a semi-soft French cow’s milk cheese with a distinctive orange rind and a mild flavor that is both sweet and savory. Paired with our Vin Peach, the stone fruit notes of the wine matched well with the velvety richness of the cheese.



Vin Plum + Smoked Gouda



Traditionally made in the Netherlands, Gouda is a cow’s milk cheese that is semi-soft and has a distinctive earthy smell. When smoked, Gouda takes on a nutty flavor profile that we found was an excellent match for the spicy flavors in our Vin Plum wine.



Vin Raspberry + Camembert



Camembert cheese originates from France and is a soft cow’s milk cheese with a pungent odor, a creamy texture, and edible rind. Aged Camembert is traditionally paired with lighter red wines, and we found that the brightness of our Vin Raspberry was elegant match for this rich cheese.



Vin Strawberry + Brie



Perhaps the most well-known French cheese, Brie is typically made from cow’s milk and yields a smooth, creamy cheese wrapped in a thick rind. Brie typically has a light and subtle flavor profile with buttery overtones and is often paired with champagne. We found that fruity acid of our Vin Strawberry made quite a lovely match with this delectable cheese.



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Proudly made in Longmont, CO



snowkiss winery
wine. reimagined.