What drinks should you pair with blue cheese? Are there alternative options to the traditional Port? Cropwell Bishop Creamery’s Robin Skailes gives us his guide to pairing cheese with other foods and beverages. Watch the short videos above to find out some traditional and more unusual drinks choices that work exceptionally well with our Stilton, Beauvale and Blue Shropshire cheese.
More top tips from Robin:
Basic serving guide:
When tasting cheese, first look at the external appearance, then assess the texture and finally, taste the cheese.
Make sure you bring cheese up to room temperature before eating (Stilton will require at least one hour, and Beauvale 30 minutes).
Place the cheese on a big plate, it's always useful to have room around the cheese to place biscuits or accompaniments.
Balance stronger cheese with heavier flavours, e.g. Stilton and Port
Plan for 30g of cheese per person, unless you're me and it's triple that!
Make sure you take a look at my cheese etiquette guide before serving.
Pairing Cropwell Bishop cheese with wine and other beverages:
| Cheese | Wine | Other drinks |
| Blue Stilton | Port or Sauternes | Barley wine (ale) or most beers |
| Blue Shropshire | Red wine (Pinot Noir) or Orange Muscat | |
| Beauvale | Riesling / Gewurztraminer | Proper cider |
Pairing Cropwell Bishop cheese with condiments:
| Cheese | Sweet | Savoury | Fruit | Off piste! |
| Blue Stilton | English honey | Walnuts | Apples | Bacon |
| Blue Shropshire | Quince jam | Celery | Pears | Mango chutney |
| Beauvale | Blueberry jam | Watermelon | Figs | Cranberry sauce |
There are no set rules when it comes to pairing cheese, so experiment, and if you find something special that works, I'd love to hear about it!