The holidays are here, which means it’s time to elevate your entertaining game! Whether you’re hosting a festive gathering or bringing a dish to share, one pairing never fails to impress: wine and cheese. But with so many options, how do you create combinations that truly wow your guests?
Who better to help us than our favourite drinks expert Natalie MacLean, editor Canada’s largest wine review site at nataliemaclean.com.
Welcome, Natalie.
Great to be back with you! The beautiful thing about wine and cheese is that even mistakes taste great. Like, “Oh no, I accidentally paired a creamy cheese with sparkling wine and now I’m having the best Tuesday of my life!”
I love it! So, Natalie, let’s dive right in. What’s our first pairing?
We’re starting with a Canadian combo that brings both heat and sparkle to your holiday table. Bothwell Cheese from Manitoba has just launched a stunning new Spicy Dill Pickle cheese that features bright dill with pickled jalapeños, delivering a mild kick that wakes up your palate without overwhelming it. Feel free to try it.
Bothwell Spicy Dill Pickle Cheese
New Bothwell, Manitoba
This cheese is tangy, creamy, and has that addictive pickle-forward flavour with just enough heat to keep things interesting. Bothwell has been making award-winning cheeses for 90 years in New Bothwell, Manitoba. They’re farmer-owned, using only 100% Canadian milk with no artificial colours or flavours. These are the people who wake up at 4 am because cows don’t understand the concept of sleeping in. #Respect!
Now, here’s where the magic happens. Feel free to try it with the Chill Street Starry Nights Flavoured Cider.
Chill Street Starry Nights Flavoured Cider
St. Catharine’s, Ontario
This innovative cider is made from Niagara apples, blackberries and vidal grapes infused with mango flavour, creating something truly special. The aromas reveal notes of blackberry and pear while juicy flavours of mango, apricot, and peach burst across the palate. This unique blend is wonderfully fruity yet finishes dry, making it incredibly versatile with food.
This pairing works because the cider’s stone fruit flavours complement the cheese’s tangy pickle flavour, while that dry finish prevents the combination from becoming cloying, and the blackberry notes add a berry dimension that bridges sweet and savory.
It is sophisticated enough for a dinner party but fun enough that it would definitely watch reality TV with you on the couch.
My pairing tip to help you remember: soft and mild loves fruity and wild.
I should note that all the drinks we’re tasting today are in the LCBO and the cheeses are in local grocery stores.
More Pairings
- Try it with a festive crostini topped with the spicy dill cheese, crowned with paper-thin slices of prosciutto that melt on your tongue, finished with a drizzle of hot honey that glistens in the candlelight. The salty ham mingles with the cheese’s tang while the honey bridges to the wine’s fruit.
- Imagine smoked salmon pinwheels wrapped around the spicy dill cheese, their silky texture contrasting with the cheese’s firm bite, garnished with fresh dill fronds and capers that pop with briny intensity. The salmon’s richness echoes the wine’s body while its smokiness adds depth.
- Try crispy potato latkes, golden and crackling straight from the pan, topped with a generous dollop of the spicy dill cheese that starts melting from the residual heat, creating creamy pools. The starch balances the wine’s acidity while the fried notes complement the toasty bubbles.
- Consider seared scallops with their caramelized crust giving way to sweet, tender flesh, paired with the spicy dill cheese melted into a warm sauce that coats each morsel. The scallops’ natural sweetness plays beautifully against the wine’s fruit while the richness demands those cleansing bubbles.
- Envision chilled shrimp cocktail arranged on ice, their firm snap followed by the spicy dill cheese mixed into cocktail sauce for a creamy, tangy kick. The shrimp’s oceanic sweetness contrasts the cheese’s heat while the rosé’s berry notes add a surprising harmony.
That pairing was incredible! What’s next?
Now we’re moving into classic comfort territory with Black River Maple Cheddar. This is for when you want to be fancy but also want to be wearing your softest yoga pants emotionally.
Black River Maple Cheddar
Madoc, Ontario
This Ontario cheese from Madoc has been crafted for over 100 years, and they’ve infused their medium-aged cheddar with pure maple syrup from Prince Edward County. Could this get any more Canadian?
The result is a beautiful balance of sharp cheddar tang folded into gentle caramel sweetness. It is a flavour profile that feels like a hug from a lumberjack who uses high-quality moisturizer.
This cheese has big cozy energy. Feel free to try it.
Now feel free to try it with the Yellow Tail Chardonnay from Australia that has a fresh new label for your holiday table.
Yellow Tail Chardonnay
Southeastern Australia
This Chardonnay is approachable and fruit-forward with generous tropical fruit flavours of ripe peach and pineapple, subtle vanilla and toasted oak notes adding complexity, and a smooth, creamy mouthfeel that feels luxurious without being heavy. It’s the perfect crowd-pleaser with enough richness to stand up to cheese.
This pairing works because the wine’s tropical fruit mirrors the maple’s natural sweetness while its creamy texture matches the cheese’s richness, and those subtle vanilla notes create a bridge between the maple and the oak aging.
My pairing tip to help you remember: fruit and savour gives you lots of flavour.
More Pairings
- Picture warm, flaky brie en croute where the maple cheddar replaces traditional brie, the golden puff pastry shattering under your knife to reveal molten cheese studded with toasted pecans. The buttery pastry melts into the cheese while the nuts add textural contrast and earthy depth.
- Imagine roasted butternut squash soup, velvety smooth and sunset orange, topped with crumbled maple cheddar that slowly melts into silky ribbons throughout the bowl. The squash’s natural sweetness amplifies the maple while the soup’s warmth releases the cheese’s full aromatics.
- Try grilled pork chops with their charred edges and juicy interior, topped with a compound butter mixing maple cheddar and fresh sage that melts into the meat’s crevices. The pork’s richness demands the wine’s fruit while the sage adds herbal complexity.
- Consider apple galette with its rustic, free-form crust cradling cinnamon-spiced apples, finished with maple cheddar crumbles that bake into caramelized pockets of sweet-savory magic. The apple’s acidity cuts the richness while the cheese adds unexpected sophistication to dessert.
- Envision bacon-wrapped dates, the bacon crispy and the dates sticky-sweet, each one stuffed with maple cheddar that oozes when you bite through. The bacon’s smoke plays against the maple’s sweetness while the date’s texture creates delightful chewiness.
I’m already hungry! What’s our third pairing?
Time to turn up the heat! Bothwell Red Hot Chili Pepper cheese brings medium-level spice that builds gradually without overwhelming, creating that addictive warmth that keeps you coming back.
Bothwell Red Hot Chili Pepper Cheese
New Bothwell, Manitoba
The cheese itself is smooth and creamy, letting the chili peppers be the star of the show. It’s like when you wear a simple black dress so your statement earrings can shine, except this time the earrings are jalapeños and the dress is dairy. And somehow, it works better than that metaphor just did.
Feel free to try Inniskillin Late Autumn Riesling with the cheese.
Inniskillin Late Autumn Riesling VQA
Niagara Peninsula, Canada
This iconic Inniskillin wine is beautifully aromatic with vibrant green apple leading the charge, followed by bright citrus and refreshing lemon-lime notes that dance on the palate. A touch of residual sugar provides wonderful length and balance while crisp natural acidity keeps everything fresh and lively.
Started in 1975, Inniskillin was Canada’s first Estate Winery awarded a license after prohibition and has helped define the Canadian wine landscape on the world stage. They convinced the world that Canada makes more than icewine and apologies, and for that, we’re eternally grateful and not sorry.
My pairing tip to help you remember: sweet meets heat. The wine’s residual sugar literally tames the chili heat, while the acidity refreshes your palate, and those citrus notes provide a cooling counterpoint that makes the spice feel balanced rather than burning.
It is the relationship dynamic we all strive for: one is spicy and dramatic, and the other is sweet and calms everyone down.
More Pairings
- Picture spicy Thai spring rolls with their delicate rice paper wrappers barely containing vermicelli noodles, crisp vegetables, and fresh herbs, served with the red hot chili cheese incorporated into a creamy dipping sauce. The rice paper’s neutral backdrop lets both cheese and wine shine.
- Imagine honey-glazed chicken wings, their skin lacquered and sticky, tossed with the melted red hot chili cheese creating a sauce that clings to every crevice and drips down your fingers. The honey’s sweetness mirrors the wine’s while the chicken’s richness needs that acidic cut.
- Try jalapeno poppers where the red hot chili cheese replaces the usual filling, creating layers of heat wrapped in crispy bacon and baked until bubbling. The bacon fat carries the spice while the wine’s sweetness provides essential relief.
- Consider seared ahi tuna with a sesame crust that crackles between your teeth, the ruby-red interior barely warmed, topped with the red-hot chili cheese mixed into wasabi aioli. The tuna’s clean flavor lets the heat build while the wine’s fruit adds tropical harmony.
- Envision spicy Korean fried cauliflower with its impossibly crispy batter coating tender florets, tossed in gochujang sauce and sprinkled with melted red hot chili cheese. The double heat finds perfect balance with the wine’s sweetness and acidity working in tandem.
The heat and sweet combination is brilliant! What comes next?
Black River Honey Cheddar
Madoc, Ontario
Now we’re moving into something truly unique. Black River Honey Cheddar combines their medium-aged cheddar with pure Canadian honey, creating a cheese that’s both sophisticated and comforting with genuine honey sweetness.
Warm N Cozy Mulled Wine
Ontario
Feel free to try Warm N Cozy Mulled Wine made from Ontario grapes at Sprucewood Shores, a family owned and operated winery. I have the regular size that’s in the LCBO and the very merry party size that’s in Costco.
This ready-to-heat mulled wine is like wrapping yourself in a cashmere blanket while watching the snowfall through a frosty windowpane. It’s warming and yet it has only 8.5% alcohol. The nose opens with a rush of bright orange peel and warming cinnamon that mingles with the deeper notes of clove and freshly grated nutmeg, that instantly transports you to a Christmas market.
On the palate, the wine delivers a comforting embrace of spiced fruit that’s not too sweet with the orange zest providing a citrusy lift that keeps the heavier spices in beautiful balance. The finish lingers with a gentle warmth that radiates from your chest outward, making this the perfect fireside friend on holiday evenings when you simply can’t be bothered with measuring out your own spice blend. Because let’s face it, we’re all one cinnamon stick away from just giving up and ordering pizza.
It’s traditional to make a wish while stirring it clockwise as it simmers on the stove making the entire house smell like a Christmas market – stirring counterclockwise is thought to bring bad luck.
If you can’t wait because Miracle on 34th Street is starting, you can also pour into a mug and microwave. It’s ready is to watch until wisps of steam appear.
Do not boil this wine, but it can be enjoyed quite hot if that is your preference. Serve it in your favorite coffee mug.
Charles Dickens made mulled wine famous in A Christmas Story when Scrooge is offered a steaming cup of “smoking bishop,” a mulled wine–style punch that helped turn the drink into a holiday classic.
There’s also the “wassail” tradition in England, where people would go door-to-door singing and sharing spiced wine, which evolved into modern Christmas caroling. The word “wassail” comes from the Old Norse “ves heill,” meaning “be healthy.”
This pairing works because the wine’s warming spices complement the honey’s natural sweetness, while those orange notes brighten the rich cheddar, and the comforting warmth creates a cozy harmony with the cheese’s creamy texture.
Both of these homegrown products in Ontario share similar soils and climate.
My pairing tip to help you remember: what grows together, goes together.
More Pairings
- Picture honey-drizzled fig flatbread, the crust thin and crispy with charred bubbles from a hot oven, topped with caramelized onions and generous chunks of honey cheddar that melt into golden pools. The figs’ jammy sweetness intensifies the honey while the onions add savory depth.
- Imagine charcuterie-stuffed mushrooms, their caps tender and earthy, filled with a mixture of crumbled sausage, breadcrumbs, and melted honey cheddar that turns into a savory-sweet custard when baked. The mushrooms’ umami amplifies the cheese while the cider’s fruit cuts the richness.
- Try glazed ham bites where thick-cut ham gets brushed with honey and studded with cloves, each piece topped with a generous cube of honey cheddar that turns sticky-melty. The ham’s salt balances the sweetness while the spices add warming complexity.
- Consider pear and walnut salad with crisp autumn greens tossed in honey vinaigrette, topped with warm honey cheddar croutons that add both crunch and creaminess. The pear echoes the cider’s fruit while the walnuts provide bitter contrast.
- Envision honey-butter cornbread muffins, still warm from the oven with steam rising when you break them open, each bite revealing pockets of melted honey cheddar that stretch as you pull the muffin apart. The corn’s sweetness amplifies the honey while the cider cleanses between bites.
That was amazing! What’s our final pairing?
We’re finishing bold! Bothwell Habanero with Cracked Black Pepper brings serious heat for those who love adventure on their cheese board.
Bothwell Habanero with Cracked Black Pepper Cheese
New Bothwell, Manitoba
We like to end on a high note. Or in this case, a hot note. A very hot note. This is hot-level spice where the habanero provides fruity heat while the cracked black pepper adds aromatic sharpness and visual appeal.
Feel free to try Small Gully Wines The Formula Robert’s Shiraz with the cheese.
Small Gully Wines The Formula Robert’s Shiraz
Barossa Valley, Australia
This is boutique, hands-on winemaking at its finest, a multigenerational effort led by father-and-son team Stephen and Joe Black who focus on small-batch ferments and gentle handling to preserve depth and character.
Named after the original vineyard site located in a small valley dip on the Western Ridge of the Barossa Valley, this Shiraz showcases their rich, bold house style. It’s renowned for plush, full-bodied character with layered dark fruit, warming spice notes, and velvety tannins that coat your palate.
Here’s why this pairing works: the wine’s bold fruit can stand up to the intense heat, its alcohol provides a warming sensation that complements rather than fights the spice, and those peppery tannins actually echo the black pepper in the cheese creating a harmonious spice bridge. It’s big, it’s bold, and it demands attention. It’s the diva of the table, and we are just here to serve it.
My pairing tip to help you remember: bold with bold never gets old. It’s what I tell myself when I wear plaid with polka dots.
More Pairings
- Picture slow-roasted beef short ribs that fall off the bone with the gentlest pressure, their exterior caramelized and sticky, topped with melted habanero cheese that adds molten heat. The beef’s richness demands the wine’s power while the meat’s fat tames the spice.
- Imagine espresso-rubbed lamb chops with a dark, crusty exterior revealing pink, juicy meat inside, served with habanero cheese crumbled over warm couscous that absorbs all the flavorful juices. The lamb’s gaminess plays beautifully with the wine while the spice adds excitement.
- Try spicy beef empanadas with their flaky, golden crusts shattering to reveal seasoned ground beef mixed with habanero cheese that creates strings of melted goodness when you pull them apart. The pastry provides textural relief while the wine’s fruit complements the spice.
- Consider dark chocolate bark studded with candied bacon, sea salt, and chunks of habanero cheese that create pockets of spicy-sweet-smoky complexity. The chocolate’s bitterness balances the heat while the wine’s dark fruit harmonizes with cacao.
- Envision grilled portobello steaks, their meaty texture charred and smoky, topped with habanero cheese melted into the gills and drizzled with balsamic reduction. The mushrooms’ umami depth matches the wine’s complexity while the balsamic adds tangy brightness.
Natalie, these suggestions are fantastic! Any final words of wisdom for our viewers?
Holiday cheese boards are like people. They’re at their best when there’s variety, a little sparkle, and nobody is pretending the crackers are only for decoration.
Choose cheeses that make you curious, wines that make you smile, and pairings that make your guests pause mid-sentence in that very good way.
The real secret to holiday entertaining is that people remember how you made them feel, not whether your cheese board was Instagram-perfect. Though if it happens to be both, well, that’s just showing off in the best way.
Wine and cheese pairing isn’t about following rules, it’s about discovering what makes you happy. Some of the best pairings I’ve ever had came from just trying things and seeing what worked. Be bold, be curious, and most importantly, have fun with it.
Thank you, Natalie! Where can we find you and these wines and whiskies online?
On Instagram, I’m at @NatalieMacLeanWine and online, my website is nataliemaclean.com.
Come for the wine recommendations, stay for the reassurance that you’re not alone in your cheese obsession.
Posted with permission of CTV. Please drink responsibly.
