Pairings
The Pairings Hub
Find what goes with anything on your board
The best charcuterie pairings balance fat with acid, salt with sweet and soft with crunchy. Search any of 325 ingredients or 18 drinks to see what goes with it and why.
Start with your drink
- Wine12 styles, from Champagne to port
- Beer & Cider6 styles, from lager to stout
- Cocktails & SpiritsMartinis, spritzes, bourbon, sherry
- Zero-ProofTea, cider, kombucha and spritzes
Pinot NoirCabernet SauvignonChampagne & ProseccoSauvignon BlancChardonnayRoséRieslingMerlotMalbecChianti & SangiovesePortBeaujolaisIPALager & PilsnerStout & PorterWheat BeerBelgian AleHard Cider
Start with your food
Pairs, Trios & Quartets
The most popular and most interesting combinations, each one tested against our ingredient data. Tap one to build a board around it.
Perfect Pairs Two foods that make each other better.
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Perfect Pair · Salt loves sweet
Brie + Fig Jam
Sweet, dense jam against mild, salty cream. The pairing most people try first, for good reason.
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Perfect Pair · What grows together goes together
Manchego + Membrillo
Spain's nutty sheep's cheese with its own quince paste. Firm and sweet, salty and floral.
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Perfect Pair · Salt loves sweet
Prosciutto + Melon
Salt makes the melon sweeter; the melon's water makes the ham taste silkier.
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Perfect Pair · Acid cuts richness
Aged Cheddar + Apple
Crisp, tart apple cuts the fat of a sharp cheddar and resets your palate.
Trios Add a third bite and the pairing gets a texture or a bridge.
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Trio · Contrast the texture
Brie + Fig Jam + Walnuts
Creamy, sweet and crunchy in one bite. The walnut adds the texture brie lacks.
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Trio · Salt loves sweet
Gorgonzola + Pear + Walnuts
Juicy pear cools the blue, walnuts add crunch and a bitter edge.
Gorgonzola + Pears + Walnuts
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Trio · Acid cuts richness
Smoked Salmon + Cream Cheese + Capers
Smoke, cream and brine: the bagel-shop trio.
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Trio · What grows together goes together
Manchego + Chorizo + Marcona Almonds
A tapas bar in three bites: nutty, smoky and salty-crunchy.
Quartets Four-part bites: a whole board's worth of contrast on one cracker.
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Quartet · Contrast the texture
Burrata + Prosciutto + Basil + Olive Oil
An Italian summer plate: cream, salt, herb and a peppery finish.
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Quartet · What grows together goes together
The Spanish Four
Nutty cheese, smoky pork, sweet quince and salty almonds. Every Spanish tapas flavor on one cracker.
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Quartet · Contrast the texture
Brie + Pear + Honey + Walnuts
Soft, juicy, sweet and crunchy: four textures that make mild brie taste bigger.
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Quartet · Acid cuts richness
The French Ham & Cheese
Nutty Gruyère, sweet ham, sour cornichons and sharp Dijon: a croque-monsieur without the bread.
The six rules behind every pairing
- 1
Fat tames tannin
Tannin grips your tongue; fat and protein give it something softer to grab, so a firm red tastes smoother next to aged cheese or salami.
Examples → - 2
Acid cuts richness
Bright acid in wine, fruit or pickles rinses butterfat off your palate, so the next bite of a creamy cheese tastes as good as the first.
Examples → - 3
Salt loves sweet
Salt makes sweetness taste rounder and sweetness makes salt taste less harsh, which is why ham and melon or blue cheese and honey work.
Examples → - 4
Match the weight
Light with light, bold with bold. A delicate cheese disappears next to a heavy red; a pungent one flattens a crisp white.
Examples → - 5
What grows together goes together
Foods and drinks from the same region grew up on the same tables, so Manchego and Rioja or Parmigiano and Lambrusco rarely miss.
Examples → - 6
Contrast the texture
Crisp against creamy and chewy against crunchy keeps every bite interesting; bubbles do the same job in a glass.
Examples →
What to pour for
Pairing questions
What are the basic rules of charcuterie pairing?
Balance fat with acid or tannin, pair salty with sweet, match light foods with light drinks and bold with bold, and put foods from the same region together.
What drink goes with a charcuterie board?
Sparkling wine is the most versatile, followed by dry rosé and Pinot Noir. For beer, choose a lager or dry cider; without alcohol, sparkling apple cider.
What fruit goes with charcuterie?
Grapes, pears, apples, figs and melon. Juicy, sweet fruit balances salty meat and rich cheese.
What cheese goes with prosciutto?
Burrata, Parmigiano-Reggiano, fresh mozzarella and mild creamy cheeses. Prosciutto's silky salt suits milky or nutty cheese.
How many pairings should a board have?
Aim for every cheese to have one sweet partner and one crunchy one, and every meat to have one acidic or briny partner.
Do I need wine for a charcuterie board?
No. Tea, sparkling cider, kombucha and sparkling water with citrus follow the same pairing rules as wine.
Free printable
Get the Charcuterie Cheat Sheet
How much to buy for any guest count, the build order, fridge timing and pairing rules on two printable pages. Plus the Lab Report: one pairing that works and why, and new printables the day they land.