Loaded with cheese, meat, crackers, and fruit jams, charcuterie boards are a fun appetizer for any occasion. In every bite, you will get to explore salty, creamy, and nutty flavors with crunchy textures to enjoy in combination.
Depending on the meat and cheese selection, red or white wine is typically served with the platter. But when paired with the right champagne, charcuterie can become a masterpiece.
What are the best champagnes for a charcuterie board? When selecting the perfect champagne, the type of cheese plays a primary role. Champagne has delicate bubbles and sparkling taste that is very complex and pairs wonderfully with bread like flavored cheese.
A good rule of thumb to follow, the stronger the cheese is, the heavier the wine needs to be, which i why the acidity of champagnes pairs well with lighter cheeses. Aged champagnes go well with aged cheese such as Gouda or aged sharp cheddar.
For champagne pairings, focus on the main components of the foods being the fat, acidity and salt. The champagne should have a higher acidity than the salt, which is why foods high in fat require more acidic brands.
Discussed below are a few principles for selecting the best champagnes to include with a board for charcuterie. Answered below are frequently asked questions about serving champagne with meat and cheese platters, and what pairings work best together.
Does charcuterie go with champagne?
Yes, charcuterie goes well with champagne. In fact, champagne is a must-have beverage, other than wine, to serve with a high-end charcuterie board.
The acidity in champagne helps cut through the fattiness on a meat and cheese board. It also complements the salt and fat, which are often dominant tasting factors.
Be sure to select more acidic varieties as the salt tends to soften champagne’s acidity.
Furthermore, consider adding toasted almonds, hard cheese like gouda or cheddar, and berries that aren’t too sweet to overpower the champagne taste.
What champagne flavor goes well with a charcuterie board?
For champagne, citrus, apple, vanilla, and strawberry flavored champagnes should be the go-to. These champagnes offer contrast to the charcuterie and give other foods a chance to shine.
Nutty-flavored champagnes also pair perfectly with cheeses and meats on a board with a mix of items.
Here are classic champagne flavors that go well with basic charcuterie boards:
- Non-vintage: Light body, low alcohol and has citrus, mineral, and toast.
- Vintage: Rich, full-bodied and has brioche, nuts, baked apples, vanilla, and creamy flavors.
- Blanc de Blancs: Dry style champagne with lower alcohol level and has citrus, mineral, and tropical fruit flavors.
- Blanc de Noirs: Richer flavor and uses red grapes to get the red berry flavors, and has aroma of citrus, peach, and mineral.
- Rosé: Pink color with red berries, citrus and earthy aroma.
What kind of charcuterie goes well with champagne?
When selecting an ideal champagne pairing, be mindful of the cheese type on the charcuterie board.
Younger champagnes with good acidity pair perfectly with light cheeses, while aged cheese such as cheddar, goat and gouda cheese with a salty, nutty taste compliment the brioche-like aromas from rich, aged champagnes.
- Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut & Parmesan
- Ruinart Blanc de Blancs & Manchego
- Moët & Chandon Imperial Rosé & Goat cheese
- Ruinart Rosé & Tomme de Montagne cheese
- Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label & Comte
- Veuve Clicquot Rose & Ossau-Iraty
If there are any white meats on the board, be sure to go with fruity champagnes such as Moet imperial or rose.
For cured meats, pop open a rose wine since it cuts through the saltiness and fattiness, while also adding savory depth to the meat. Vintage and brut champagne will do the trick too.
If there is soppressata, genoa, prosciutto or salami on the platter, be sure to include bubbly, extra-dry, sweet champagnes such as doux and demi-sec.
The cheese and meats are usually the star of a charcuterie board. So, if the champagne complements these two, the rest of the ingredients will no doubt appreciate it.
Champagne With Charcuterie: Conclusion
Whatever champagne you select, there’s always a cheese, bread or cracker on the charcuterie board waiting to be consumed with it. Consider the fat content, acidity and saltiness of the foods on the board to help determine the sweetness level of the champagne.
Unlike wine, champagne adds bubbles and a crisp refreshing taste that pairs wonderfully with flavors and textures of ingredients on charcuterie boards.
When pairing champagne with cheese, choose stronger flavor cheese with heavier champagne and lighter cheese with acidic champagne. In addition, aged champagne goes well with gouda and aged cheddar cheese.
There are non-vintage, vintage, blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs, and rosé that varies in flavor and aroma. And these kinds of champagnes taste good with specific cheese including parmesan, manchego, goat cheese, and many more.
Additionally, the type of meat plays an important role as well to determine the champagne selection. With white meats, Moet imperial or rosé are a great option.
Cured meats taste good with rose, but you can replace with vintage and brut champagne to enhance the charcuterie board experience. However, if there is sopressata, genoa, prosciutto, or salami, go with doux or demi-sec to enjoy the in-depth salty and rich taste with extra dry and sweet taste of the bubbly.
Using this list, you won’t have to go through the daunting wine tasting process to find the right champagnes to serve with your charcuterie board. Let’s toast to that!