How to Build a Better French Cheese Board for Summer

Editor’s note: Lynda Balslev shared with us the top cheeses from Denmark and recently wrote a book on charcuterie and cheese. She has graciously agreed to share her secrets for making gorgeous cheese boards.

As the saying goes, what grows together goes together–and this adage certainly applies to a cheese board. Let the season and terroir of France guide your summery cheese board arrangement. Imagine a sunset gathering in the hilly vineyards of southern France with distant views to the sparkling Mediterranean. Create a cheese board that conveys this vision, inspired by this region’s natural abundance and mode de vie that is at once casually elegant and inviting. Arrange a selection of cheeses that are lush, floral, and nutty, with a touch of salt to greet the summer heat. Accompany with ripe stone fruit and briny bites that reflect the season’s bounty, then tie the experience together with wines that pair with the cheese in their mutual expression of the local terroir.

The Cheese

Bûche de Chèvre is a soft-ripened cheese made from pasteurized goat’s milk. It’s primarily produced by dairies in the central Poitou-Charentes region, but it can be produced anywhere in France. The cheese is formed in logs (bûches) and aged for a minimum of seven days for a fresh cheese or two months for a mature cheese. During this time a bloomy, white mold crust develops, encircling a creamy, flaky interior. The flavor is mildly sweet with a slight tang. Accompany with stone fruit, runny honey, and fresh baguette. Pair with a crisp, mineral white Sancerre or Provençal rosé.

Ossau-Iraty is a semi-hard pasteurized sheep’s milk cheese from the French Pyrénées. It’s made with milk from herds that graze in the mountainous pastures. The cheese is produced by dairies and co-operatives that draw their supply from local farms and dairies. The cheese is aged for a minimum of six months and is AOC protected. It has a smooth, dense ivory paste with buttery, nutty, and hay notes. As the cheese ages, it becomes sharper and saltier in flavor and develops calcium crystals. Accompany Ossau-Iraty with briny pickles, olives, fresh fruit, and cured meats, such as sausisson sec or jambon to complement the cheese’s nuttiness and salt. Pour a white northern Rhône blend (Marsanne and Roussanne), or a medium-bodied red Rhône blend. Istara is a producer of Ossau-Iraty.

Fourme d’Ambert is one of France’s oldest cheeses, dating back to the Roman period. It’s produced in the village of Ambert in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes. The production is both cooperative and artisanal, and the name is AOC protected. Fourme d’Ambert is a semi-hard blue cheese made from cow’s milk. The curds are packed in cylindrical molds (fourmes) and matured for two to three months. The interior paste is velvety, fruity, and slightly earthy in flavor. It’s the mildest of blue cheeses, less spicy than its iconic neighbor, Roquefort, which makes for a smooth and easy-going addition to a summery cheese board. Accompany with stone fruit, pears, walnuts, and honey. Pair with a white northern Rhône blend (Marsanne and Roussanne) or a medium-bodied red Rhône blend.

Brebirousse d’Argental is a silky, soft-ripened sheep’s milk cheese produced by Fromi in the Rhône-Alpes region. It has a white mold rind notably speckled with orange, which is created by annatto, a natural food dye. The interior is rich, smooth, and dense when young. As it matures, the paste softens and is runny at room temperature. The flavor is buttery, milky, and salty, with a hint of mushroom. Accompany with ripe stone fruit, honey, and baguette. Pair with a medium-bodied red Rhône blend.

Wine pairings

White

A crisp, flinty Sancerre will cut through the creaminess of goat cheese without overwhelming it, and its fruit will complement the sweet notes in the cheese. Domaine Roc de l’Abbaye – Florian Mollet Sancerre Tradition Cuvée is a flint terror wine in the Sancerre appellation with floral, citrusy, and flint aromas, complemented by elegant acidity.

A medium-bodied northern Rhône white wine blend (Marsanne and Roussanne) pairs well with bloomy, creamy, buttery, cheeses as well as smooth mild blue cheeses. Medium-bodied and dry, with moderate acidity, it pairs well with all milk sources. Domaine Rousset Crozes- Hermitage Blanc is an 85% Marsanne and 15% Roussanne blend. Grown on powdered granite with clay and gravel, with fresh aromas of peach, apricot, orange, and honey. The palate is round and acidic with stone fruit, citrus, and flint, with a ripe and mineral finish.

rosé

A crisp, bright Provençal rosé pairs well with fresh goat cheese and mild bloomy rind cheese. Château La Coste Rosé is a Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet, Cinsault blend from the Côteaux d’Aix- en-Provence region. Well-balanced with a refreshing finish, it offers aromas of citrus, peach, pear, and exotic fruits.

Red

A medium-bodied Côtes du Rhône blend is famously versatile and drinkable. Medium-bodied with balanced tannins, red stone fruit, and spice notes, it complements nutty, medium-strength, and mildly earthy cheese. E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône Red (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre) is full and round on the palate, led by plummy Syrah, with blackberry, blackpepper, and a hint of garrigue.

Accompaniments

Saucisson sec (dry salami)

Jambon de Bayonne (cured ham)

Fresh stone fruit (apricots, cherries, peaches)

Tapenade, Olives, Nuts, Pickles such as Dilly’s Pickles mild cauliflower

Lavender honey

Accoutrements

Olive wood board

Small mason jars for olives, nuts, and honey

Fresh garden flowers and herb sprigs, such as lavender, rosemary, thyme

How to Build a Better Cheese Board: Passport to France