Vegan Cheese and Wine Pairing: A Guide from the UK's First Plant-Based Cheesemonger
Cheese and wine... few combinations are more instinctively pleasurable. And the good news is that pairing vegan cheese with wine follows the same logic as pairing dairy cheese: balance, contrast, and a willingness to trust your own palate.
We've been thinking about this since we opened our Fauxmagerie in 2019 and here's what we've learnt along the way.
The Golden Rule
Before anything else: lighter cheese, lighter wine. Bolder cheese, bolder wine. It's not the whole story, but it'll save you from most disasters. A delicate cashew cheese and a heavy tannic red might fight each other; a pungent, aged blue and a thin, acidic white will both suffer. Match the weight and intensity, then work from there.
A Note on Vegan Wine
Not all wine is vegan, something that surprises a lot of people. Traditional winemaking uses animal-derived fining agents (egg whites, isinglass, gelatine) to clarify the wine before bottling. Many natural, organic, and biodynamic wines skip this process or use clay-based alternatives instead, making them naturally vegan-friendly.
If you want to be sure, look for wines labelled vegan, or check Barnivore (a handy online database of vegan-friendly drinks). Your local independent wine shop will almost certainly be able to help too.
Pairing by Cheese Style
Soft and Cultured Cashew Cheese
Soft, spreadable, tangy... these pair broadly and generously. Fizz is the natural first choice: the acidity and bubbles cut through the richness beautifully. A good Crémant, a Blanc de Blancs Champagne, or a dry English sparkling wine all work brilliantly. If you prefer still whites, go for something with good acidity and restrained fruit like an unoaked Chardonnay, a Chenin Blanc, or a crisp Albariño.
Our Camden Cultured Classic is wonderful here. Try it alongside a glass of something cold and sparkling and a sweet onion chutney. Simple, yet extraordinary.
Smoked Cheese
Smoke is a dominant flavour and needs a wine that can meet it rather than compete with it. The instinct is often to reach for a big fruity red but smoke tends to flatten fruit notes in wine, leaving things feeling flat and disjointed.
Instead, lean into the smokiness. A Syrah or Shiraz from the Northern Rhône or South Africa has its own smoky, peppery character that harmonises rather than clashes. Alternatively, a lightly oaked white such as a white Rioja, or a Viognier with some body, can frame the smokiness beautifully without fighting it.
Our Shoreditch Smoked, with its real applewood character, pairs especially well with a velvety Côtes du Rhône. Pour a glass, add a sharp chutney alongside, and let the evening slow down.
Vegan Blues
This is the pairing people worry about most, but also the one that tends to produce the most memorable moments. A well-made vegan blue is pungent, complex, and salty. What it wants alongside it is something with sweetness to balance the funk.
The classic move is a dessert wine: a Sauternes, a Tokaji, or a tawny Port are all magnificent. The sweetness creates a contrast that makes both the cheese and the wine taste more of themselves. If dessert wine feels like too much, a jammy, full-bodied red (a Malbec or a Primitivo) also works well, the fruit providing just enough sweetness to sit alongside the blue's intensity.
Our Brixton Blue is made for this. A small pour of something jammy and red, a caperberry or two, and an apple preserve on the side... and you have something genuinely special.
White Rinded Cheeses (Camemberts & Brie)
Our ripe, bloomy-rind cheeses are creamy and earthy, with a mushroomy depth that builds as it matures. It wants a wine with enough structure to hold its own against the richness without overwhelming the delicacy.
Sparkling wine works again here as the bubbles and acidity cut through the creaminess in a deeply satisfying way. A Pinot Noir is another excellent choice: light enough not to dominate, with enough red fruit character to complement the earthiness of the rind. Avoid very heavy reds, which will swamp everything.
A Few Final Notes
Accompaniments matter for wine pairing too. A sweet fig chutney alongside a blue will shift how the wine tastes alongside it; a sharp pickle alongside a smoked cheese will do the same. Build the whole plate with the pairing in mind, not just the cheese in isolation.
And above all: trust yourself. The best pairing is the one you enjoy. Use this as a starting point, then explore.
