CHAMPAGNE CHARPENTIER & CHEESE: A CHICAGO PAIRING GUIDE
- Damien Casten
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Featuring pairings and thoughts from Erin Carlman Weber, All Together Now (Chicago)
All Together Now hosted Candid and Charpentier for an unforgettable trade tasting, pairing these Biodynamic Champagnes with the best of their cheese case.
After the tasting, Erin sat down with Damien Casten of Candid Wines and Stéphanie Creyssels, Export Manager for Champagne Charpentier. Stéphanie shared the pairing proposed by the estate's good friend, Xavier Thuret, Meilleur Ouvrier de France Fromager.
TL;DR Pairing Map
Brut Vérité + Leonora (Goat, Spain): Lactic tang meets chalky salinity — pure, elegant, iterative.
Blanc de Blanc + Pleasant Ridge Reserve (Cow, Wisconsin): Umami depth draws out tropical fruit — shy meets shy, then fireworks.
Rosé (100 % Pinot Meunier) + Délice de Bourgogne (Triple Cream, France): Butter-rich silk amplifies red fruit — joyful and indulgent.
Blanc de Noirs + Juliana (Herbed Goat, Indiana): Herbal rind and peppery spice mirror each other — complex, savory, surprising.
Pinot Meunier Zero Dosage + Manchego 1605 (Sheep, Spain): Dryness meets umami — layered, contemplative, precise.
Why These Champagnes Work with Cheese
Most people think Champagne and cheese belong together simply because bubbles cut through fat. True, but incomplete. Grower Champagne (and terroir driven cheese) have so much more to offfer each other. Jean-Marc Charpentier farms biodynamically, picks at full maturity, presses gently, and treats dosage the way a chef uses salt. That balance of texture, minerality, and depth gives these wines the backbone to stand up to cheeses with character.
The Terre d’Émotion collection isn’t built for simpping alone, it’s built for the table. Cheese can reveal the layers of this remarkable lineup.
The Philosophy: Match Intensity · Play with Texture · Mind the Rind
Match Intensity – Light wines love delicate cheeses; structured wines need character.
Play with Texture – Cream softens acid; crystals highlight minerality.
Mind the Rind – Rind bitterness reveals Pinot Meunier’s spice and depth. Always taste rind + paste together.
Service Standards
Cheese: Room temperature (30–45 min out of fridge).
Champagne: Serve cold (45–48 °F); let it warm slightly.
Tasting Order: Cheese → Wine → Cheese → Wine.
Goal: Each pass should reveal something new — acidity softens, minerality blooms, fruit expands.
Pairing #1 · Brut Vérité + Leonora (Goat · Spain)
70 % Chardonnay, 15 % Pinot Noir, 15 % Pinot Meunier | Low dosage | Chalk + salinity
Leonora’s citrus-laced creaminess mirrors the wine’s mineral drive. Erin Carlman Weber called it “a solid match — delicate but complex.” Stéphanie Creyssels praised its “purity and elegance.”
Serve: Include rind; its slight bitterness teases out Meunier spice.
Best for: Aperitif flights · by-the-glass programs · easy retail pairing.
Pairing #2 · Blanc de Blanc + Pleasant Ridge Reserve (Cow · Wisconsin)
100 % Chardonnay | 50–60-year vines | Chablis-like soils.
Pleasant Ridge’s nutty umami lifts the wine’s quiet tropical fruit. Erin called it “two shy people meeting … and then an explosion.”
Serve: Thick slices with rind; taste wine → cheese → wine.
Best for: High-end wine lists · cheese-driven restaurants · Champagne lovers sharing a bottle without elaborate dishes.
Pairing #3 · Rosé (100 % Pinot Meunier) + Délice de Bourgogne (Triple Cream · France)
Dry rosé with 12 % red wine portion | “Candy fruit,” not sweetness.
Triple-cream richness turns the wine’s fruit into velvet. “They just held hands in a really nice way,” Erin said. Stéphanie called it “a moment of happiness.”
Serve: 20–30 min room temp; one bite = rind + edge + center.
Best for: Wine bars · retail tastings · anyone who thinks rosé must be sweet.
Pairing #4 · Blanc de Noirs + Juliana (Herbed Goat · Indiana)
80 % Pinot Noir · 20 % Meunier | 5 yrs on lees | Extra Brut
Juliana’s herbs and calendula bring spice that matches the wine’s structure. “Body met body,” Erin said. Stéphanie noted it “needs a cheese of character.”
The French Touch: Follow Xavier’s lead and try this with Camembert. Stéphanie remembers he added a “whisper” of butter to his slice of baguette, giving the Camembert for extra softness. She also thought his "whisper" looked like a shout. Don't be shy with the butter!
Best for: Somm-level pairing menus · herb-forward cuisines · adventurous flights.
Pairing #5 · Pinot Meunier Zero Dosage + Manchego 1605 (Sheep · Spain)
Single vineyard · Single variety · Zero dosage.
Dry Meunier and aged sheep’s milk share earthy, umami depth. Stéphanie: “Each element subtle, two people who understand each other.” Damien Casten framed it as “grower Manchego + grower Champagne.”
Serve: Room temp thick cuts; wine cold → warming.
Best for: Highlighting Zero-dosage wines · High Spanish menus with access to the best · wine lovers looking to geek out..
General Guidelines
Match Intensity.
Brut Vérité → fresh goat.
Blanc de Blanc → nutty cow.
Rosé → triple cream.
Blanc de Noirs → herbed or washed rind.
Zero Dosage Meunier → aged sheep or cow.
Mind the Rind. Eat it — that’s where Pinot Noir and Meunier come alive.
Taste Iteratively. Cheese → wine → cheese. Notice the change each time.
Be Adventurous. Rosé with blue cheese or Camembert with butter can sing.
Selling Champagne + Cheese
For Wine Bars & Restaurants
Offer a 3-wine flight with cheese pairings and story cards.
Train staff to say why rind matters.
Describe effects so people look for the pairing experience (“minerality pops,” “fruit blooms”), not just names.
For Retail
Bundle bottle + cheese + pairing card.
Highlight “grower Manchego/grower Champagne” for Slow-Food appeal.
Host tastings that demonstrate how dosage and rind interact.
For Sommeliers
Build a by-the-glass menu around Brut Vérité and Pleasant Ridge.
Feature Zero Dosage + aged sheep as your “geek” pairing.
Use the phrase “Chardonnay that pinotes” to sell Blanc de Blanc.
FAQ
Q · Why does Charpentier Champagne pair so well with cheese? Because low dosage and ripe fruit give structure and minerality that stand up to umami and rind bitterness. These wines are remarkably complex and the cheese helps reveal their layers.
Q · How to pair goat cheese and Champagne? Brut Vérité + Leonora: lactic tang meets chalky salinity for a clean, elegant match.
Q · Triple cream and Champagne — still a thing? Yes. Rosé (100 % Meunier) turns Délice’s butter into silk and proves fruit ≠ sweetness.
Q · Best hard cheese pairing? Pinot Meunier Zero Dosage + Manchego 1605 — dry on dry, umami on umami. Olè!
Q · Can I eat the rind on this cheese? The Cheese Professor, Christine Clark has a wonderful guide to study and share with staff. She says "Rinds provide a textural contrast to the cheese but ultimately whether you choose to eat them or not is a personal decision. “I almost always eat the rind, unless the cheese is a firm cheese that is aged for a long time—like a year or more,” says Saxelby Cheesemongers owner Anne Saxelby in her book The New Rules of Cheese. “If you’re not sure about eating the rind, just try a little bite with the interior (also known as the paste) of the cheese and see what you think. You might be surprised!”
Final Thought
These pairings demonstrate how dosage is like salt and rind is structure. When wines are grown biodynamically and handled with restraint, they belong on the table. Experiment, taste iteratively, and watch guests stop mid-bite, smile, and say, “Wait — that’s different from the first sip.”
That’s when the wine sells itself.
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