- The wine and cheese experts at Asda have put together the ultimate pairing guide for Christmas 2023
- Asda’s cheese offering this year includes the Extra Special Specialty Cheeseboard (£12) which has five Extra Special cheeses; Mon P’tit Creamy Brie, Vintage Red Fox, Vintage Cheddar, Leicester Gold and Iberico Reserva
- Last Christmas, there were over 13 million combined customer searches for cheese and wine on Asda.com
- Plus, Asda’s popular ‘Buy 6, Save 25%’ offer on wine returns in time for the festive season – and now includes champagne
Ahead of Christmas 2023, Asda’s wine and cheese experts share the ultimate pairing guide for customers planning to elevate their post-Christmas dinner cheeseboards, showcase unique flavours at wine and cheese nights for friends or find high quality options at affordable prices, for festive gatherings.
This year, Asda’s offering includes cheeses that customers won’t find anywhere else in the UK, cheeses that have be produced by third-generation dairies in France and Spain and hidden gems.
Here Clive Donaldson, Asda’s Senior Manager of Wine Sourcing, and James Waters, Asda’s Product Development Manager of Cheese, recommend the ultimate pairings:
To pair with Asda’s Extra Special Specialty Cheeseboard (£12) which includes the following five cheeses:
Mon P’tit Creamy Brie is a triple-cream, ripened soft brie. Produced at an independent third-generation cheese dairy, the milk is all sourced within a 25km radius. Clive Donaldson says, “enjoy best with the Extra Special Plan De Dieu Côtes Du Rhône Villages (£8.75); complex and enticing, with a smoky, cherry flavour and a hint of cedar.”
The board is made up of two vintages, the Vintage Red Fox and Vintage Cheddar, both handcrafted in Shropshire using locally sourced milk from free-range, grass-fed cows.
The Vintage Chedder is matured for up to 18 months to give a crumbly texture and rich, bold flavour which Clive Donaldson recommends, “is best paired with Extra Special Port Late Bottled Vintage (£13) – a smooth and rich port full of intense berry flavours.”
The Vintage Red Fox is a hard-pressed cheese with a complex blend of sweet and savoury flavours, with a hint of crunch. “Flavours are heightened with the Extra Special Bordeaux Supérieur (£7.50),” says Clive Donaldson, “an intense and complex red wine with plums, blackcurrants and spice.”
Made exclusively for Asda and using traditional methods at the historic Tuxford & Tebbutt Creamery, the Leicester Gold is matured for longer to give a drier, rich flavour with a velvety, open texture. Clive Donaldson recommends, “the Extra Special Vouvray Chenin Blanc (£8.00) for its soft texture and long finish, which compliments the rich flavour of the cheese.”
The Iberico Reserva, produced in the Castilian region of Spain, is a hard cheese, made with ewe’s, goats and cow’s milk and matured for up to 16 months for a clean, sweet, subtly fruity and nutty taste. It’s best paired with the Extra Special Marques Del Norte Rioja Reserva (£9.00) according to Clive Donaldson, “a rich velvety red, with black bramble fruit flavours, elegant vanilla oak and sweet spice.”
Individual cheeses recommended by James Waters and paired with wines by Clive Donaldson:
Exclusive to Asda, the extra creamy Jersiaise au Kefir (£3.60) is made at Ferme de la Tremblaye, a sustainable French Farm. Customers are commending the quality of the cheese too, which one customer review on asda.com saying, “An extremely good cheese and a hidden gem for Asda. Chalky, crumbly in the centre and creamy at the rind with a creamy, subtly acidic taste and a none-too-powerful scent of fresh milk.”
Clive Donaldson recommends pairing this with, “the Macon-Villages Reserve Chardonnay (£10.50) or Extra Special South African Chardonnay (£7.25) – both full-flavoured, smooth and fresh bottles.”
The Tuxford & Tebbutt Melton Marble (£2.75) is a blend of Shropshire blue and Blue Stilton, made exclusively using traditional methods at the historic Tuxford & Tebbutt Creamery. Crafted to give a unique marbled appearance, creamy and crumbly texture and well-rounded mellow flavour, Clive Donaldson says, “it works deliciously with the Extra Special Vouvray Chenin Blanc (£8.00) which has a soft texture and a long finish.”
Produced at Fromagerie Milleret, an independent cheese dairy, the Extra Special Petit Valley (£5.50) is great eaten hot or cold. With a delicate creamy and buttery rich profile and smooth and creamy texture, the cheese is wrapped in spruce which gives it a unique woodiness. Clive Donaldson adds, “best paired with the Extra Special Languedoc Blanc (£8.00), anelegant wine showing lemon, peach and lifted white flower aromatics or Extra Special Viognier (£7.50) which has notesof orange blossom, almond and a subtle vanilla spice.”
To support customers looking to spread the cost of Christmas, Asda’s popular ‘Buy 6, Save 25%’ offer is back where customers can across 75cl bottles of wine and champagne over £5.50 from 17th November – 13th December (see full terms and conditions below).
Asda customers will be able to raise a glass to the holiday season as they receive 25% off the total cost of all six (or more) bottles. To unlock the unmissable deal, they can ‘mix and match’ on bottles, or buy six or more of the same variety.
