Cabrales (Spain)

Cabrales PDO is a famous Spanish blue cheese from Asturias, produced using traditional, artisanal methods from raw Cow milk or blended with goat/sheep milk.

It is aged for 2-5 months in natural limestone caves, producing a strong, spicy flavor and a creamy yet crumbly texture with intense blue-green veins.

Cabrales

Wine Pairing Cabrales

Our favorite wine pairing is Riesling Spätlese.

Another favorite is Red Port.

Dessert Wines

Late Harvest Riesling

Late harvest Riesling offers intense aromatics, ripe fruit flavors, and a hint of sweetness. Its acidity can provide a refreshing contrast to the pungency of Cabrales, while the sweetness complements the cheese's tanginess.

Late Harvest Gewürztraminer

Late harvest Gewürztraminer offers intense aromatics, tropical fruit flavors, and a hint of spice. Its sweetness and acidity can provide a refreshing contrast to the pungency of Cabrales, creating a unique and enjoyable pairing.

Sauternes

Sauternes is a classic pairing for Cabrales. This sweet white wine from the Bordeaux region of France offers flavors of honey, apricot, and botrytized fruit. Its richness and sweetness can balance the sharpness and saltiness of the cheese, creating a harmonious combination.

Note: Similar wines like Monbazillac or Sainte Croix du Mont are a more affordable alternatives.

Fortified Wines

Aged Port

Port wine, particularly a vintage or late bottled vintage (LBV) Port, can be a delicious pairing with Cabrales. The wine's rich, fruity flavors, and sweetness complements the cheese's intense flavor and creamy texture, enhancing its complexity. The older the Port is, the stronger the cheese can be.

Pedro Ximénez Sherry

This dark, raisiny, and highly viscous sweet wine is considered a classic "contrast pairing". The intense sweetness balances the sharpness of the blue veins, similar to the traditional Port and Stilton combination.

Canary Islands Malvasía

On islands like Lanzarote, volcanic soils produce distinctive sweet and semi-sweet wines from Malvasía Aromática or Malvasía Volcánica grapes, known for their saline finish and stone fruit notes.

DO Malaga

The hundred-year-old Bodegas Málaga Virgen combine high-production wines such as Málaga Virgen, a blend of up to four types of sweet wine, with two excellent trasañejos (blends of wines aged for about 30 years using the solera system) and modern, naturally sweet Moscatels in which all the sugar and alcohol come from the grapes.

Madeira

Madeira, with its oxidative style and rich flavors of caramel, nuts, and dried fruits, can be an excellent match for Cabrales. Look for a medium-dry or medium-sweet Madeira to balance the cheese's saltiness and enhance its creamy texture.

Sparkling Wines

Demi-Sec Cava

This is often considered the best approach for blue cheese. The increased sweetness in a Demi-Sec provides a necessary counterbalance to the saltiness and intense flavor of the blue veins.

Moscato d'Asti

Moscato d'Asti is a sweet and slightly sparkling white wine from Italy, known for its floral aromas and flavors of ripe stone fruits. Its light effervescence and sweetness can balance the sharpness of Cabrales, making it an enjoyable pairing.

Lambrusco

This slightly sparkling red wine from Emilia-Romagna, Italy, offers a touch of sweetness, bright acidity, and fruity flavors that can balance the richness of Cabraleswhile cleansing the palate between the bites.

Red Wines

Full bodied red wines can be a suitable choice if you’re eating Cabrales as a part of a meal rather than on its own. Anyway, the red wine must be bold, aromatic and savory.

For pairing red wine with the intense and pungent Cabrales, you generally need a wine with significant boldness, power, and structure to match its fiery, salty character.

Priorat

These bold red wines from Catalonia, typically made from Garnacha and Cariñena grapes, are an excellent choice. Their rich dark fruit flavors, firm tannins, and characteristic mineral edge can stand up to the robust and spicy notes of the cheese.

Full-Bodied Spanish Tempranillo

Intense reds from Ribera del Duero (Tempranillo) or Rioja Gran Reserva have the character and oak-aged depth necessary to balance such a strong cheese.

Monastrell

A full-bodied, fruity, and spicy Monastrell (also known as Mourvèdre) from regions like Jumilla or Yecla can mirror the cheese's intensity.

Mencía

For a slightly different profile, a fruity red like Mencía—often found in the Bierzo region of Spain—is highly recommended. It offers enough complexity and boldness to complement the pungent flavors of the blue cheese.

Dessert Wines

Vin Santo

Vin Santo is a sweet dessert wine from Tuscany, often made from dried grapes. Its honeyed flavors and nutty undertones can pair beautifully with Cabrales, particularly when served as a dessert pairing.

Sweet Marsala

Sweet Marsala wine from Italy has rich flavors of caramel, dried fruits, and spices. Its sweetness and depth of flavor can complement the bold flavors of Cabrales, creating a delightful pairing.

Aged Port

Port wine, particularly a vintage or late bottled vintage (LBV) Port, can be a delicious pairing with Cabrales. The wine's rich, fruity flavors, and sweetness complements the cheese's intense flavor and creamy texture, enhancing its complexity. The older the Port is, the stronger the cheese can be.

Pedro Ximénez Sherry

Sweet (not dry) Sherry works well with blue cheese. Pedro Ximénez or Cream Sherry, with their rich, sweet flavors of raisins, caramel, and nuts, are both delightful pairings with Cabrales. The sweetness in the wine balances the saltiness in the cheese and enhances the creamy cheese texture.

Madeira

Madeira, with its oxidative style and rich flavors of caramel, nuts, and dried fruits, can be an excellent match for Cabrales. Look for a medium-dry or medium-sweet Madeira to balance the cheese's saltiness and enhance its creamy texture.

Sweet Wines

Late harvest wines like Spätlese, Auslese, and Tokay, with a bit of residual sugar will dance with the tanginess and saltiness of a blue cheese.

Sauternes

Sauternes is a classic pairing for Cabrales. This sweet white wine from the Bordeaux region of France offers flavors of honey, apricot, and botrytized fruit. Its richness and sweetness can balance the sharpness and saltiness of the cheese, creating a harmonious combination.

Note: Similar wines like Monbazillac or Sainte Croix du Mont are a more affordable alternatives.

Late harvest Gewürztraminer

Late harvest Gewürztraminer offers intense aromatics, tropical fruit flavors, and a hint of spice. Its sweetness and acidity can provide a refreshing contrast to the pungency of Cabrales, creating a unique pairing.

Late harvest Riesling

Late harvest Riesling offers intense aromatics, ripe fruit flavors, and a hint of sweetness. Its acidity can provide a refreshing contrast to the pungency of Cabrales, while the sweetness complements the cheese's tanginess.

Late harvest Chenin Blanc

Late harvest Chenin Blanc offers flavors of ripe stone fruits, honey, and floral notes. Its sweetness and acidity can balance the cheese's sharpness and enhance its creamy texture, creating a harmonious pairing.

Sparkling Wines

Moscato d'Asti

Moscato d'Asti is a sweet and slightly sparkling white wine from Italy, known for its floral aromas and flavors of ripe stone fruits. Its light effervescence and sweetness can balance the sharpness of Cabrales, making it an enjoyable pairing.

Lambrusco

This slightly sparkling red wine from Emilia-Romagna, Italy, offers a touch of sweetness, bright acidity, and fruity flavors that can balance the richness of Cabraleswhile cleansing the palate between the bites.

Red Wines

Full bodied red wines can be a suitable choice if you’re eating blue cheese as part of a meal rather than on its own.

Barolo

An excellent Italian Nebbiolo, particularly in the form of Barolo or Barbaresco, offers complex flavors of cherry, rose, and earth, along with firm tannins and high acidity that can stand up to the richness of Cabrales.

Malbec

Malbec from Argentina is a full-bodied red with notes of black berries and plum. This distinctive flavor profile makes it a great partner for Cabrales. Oaked Malbecs also has hints of cocoa, coffee, tobacco and leather, so the complex flavors of Cabraleswill not overwhelm the wine. Instead, they marry together beautifully.

Cabernet Sauvignon

A full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with its rich dark fruit flavors, firm tannins, and hints of spice can provide a bold complement to Cabrales.

The wine's structure and intensity can balance the cheese's creamy texture and enhance its nutty undertones.

Syrah / Shiraz

A bold and fruity Syrah/Shiraz can be a delicious pairing with Gorgonzola. The wine's dark fruit flavors, spicy notes, and firm tannins complements the cheese's robust flavors.

Zinfandel

Zinfandel, particularly those with jammy fruit flavors and a hint of spice, can complement the richness and complexity of Cabrales. The oak, the tannins, the acidity, and the aromas of vanilla and coconut in Zinfandel match the blue cheese without overpowering it.

Personal Preferences

Enjoy your wine and cheese with local fruits nuts and bread!

Personal preferences play a significant role in wine and cheese pairings, so don't hesitate to experiment to find the combination that suits your taste buds best.

Consider adding some accompaniments like fruit, nuts, or bread to enhance the pairing experience: