Spanish Wines And Cheeses: Perfect Partners For Fall -- Cheese Expert Michele Buster Makes Spanish Wine-Cheese Pairing Recommendations

With fall upon us, it's time to gear up for cooler weather and harvest foods. In celebration of the new season, cheese expert Michele Buster has prepared a listing of the best cheeses to pair with Spanish wines.

"Spanish wines and cheeses are natural counterparts as they not only share complimentary flavor profiles, but are also produced in similar regions," said Buster, cheese expert and vice president at Forever Cheese. "My list of cheese and wine pairings should satiate any palate, especially as we enter the fall season."

CAVA

Similar to Champagne, Spanish Cava is produced in varying levels of dryness: brut nature, brut (extra dry), seco (dry), semiseco (medium) and dulce (sweet). Sparkling wines are extremely complimentary to nearly any food. Michele's cheese pairing recommendations:

Miticrema ?: a sheep's milk cream cheese heralded as the first spreadable Spanish sheep's milk cheese. From the Murcia region of Spain.
MitiCa?a de Cabra ?: a flavorful, citrusy soft ripened goat log from Jumilla, Spain.

ALBARI?O

Depending on the vintage and sub region of R?as Baixas, this indigenous variety of Galicia in northwest Spain can be rich and expressive, with peach and apricot notes, or tart and bracing, like green apples and lemon peels. Michele's cheese pairing recommendations:

Naked Goat ?: a six-month aged raw milk goat cheese produced in Jumilla (Murcia). This is a full-flavored cheese with a slight tang in the finish.
PataCabra ?: this artisan goat cheese is unique in Spain as it is produced differently from others. Its unusual brick shaped appearance coupled with its secret recipe using Murciana goat's milk gives it a flavor profile that is complex and well balanced.

GARNACHA ROS?

Known as Grenache throughout the rest of the world, Garnacha is the most widely planted grape in Spain. Ros?s made from this grape have bright strawberry aromas with fresh cherry and currant flavors with traces of citrus and strawberry, with crisp acidity followed by a soft, round finish.

Michele's recommendation:

Young Mahon: a young cow's milk cheese, square in shape, with a characteristic orange rind, aged generally about 3 months and is mild, fruity and versatile.
Leonora ?: an exceptional goat cheese from a small producer in Le?n. The artisanal production is evident in the layered, complex flavor and long, lingering finish. This brick-shaped, white-mold-rind cheese is smooth and full bodied with the perfect balance of acidity and tanginess.

TEMPRANILLO

Known as the king of grapes in the Rioja region, Tempranillo is Spain's classic varietal, known for its vibrancy and variety. Expressive when young, and velvety rich when aged, the taste can vary from hints of vanilla, cherries and currants to coconut. Michele's recommendation:

Manchego: Made only from the milk of Manchega sheep in La Mancha, this cheese is extremely buttery and aged to perfection. The pattern on the rind comes from a time when the cheese was wrapped in sheets of woven esparto grass.
Malvarosa?: a beautiful sheep's milk cheese from Valencia, formed in the shape of a "servilleta" as it is aged knotted in a cheesecloth. The producers of this cheese use a rare and native breed of sheep, the Guirra, and the result is a buttery and smooth cheese.

SWEET SHERRY

Sweet Sherry is sweetened with Pedro Xim?nez (PX) grape juice. Pedro Xim?nez grapes have high residual sugar content as they are sun-dried to concentrate the sugars before being pressed. Flavors that one can expect from PX are the thick, sweet flavors of fig and molasses.

Cabrales: the most famous blue cheese from Spain, this cheese must be made in the town of Cabrales to bear the name. Produced mainly from raw cow's milk, but with sheep and goat's milk for a few months of the year as wel