Syrah

Alpine-Style

Mountain cheeses like a robust drink with a slight sweetness, so we recommend Belgian-style ales, ambers, brown ales, bocks and stouts. For wine, any fruit-forward red or white such as cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel, beaujolais, riesling or grüner veltliner will do. Want more punch? Port, madeira, scotch and rye whiskey all love our alpine cheeses.

Asiago

Whether young or aged, asiago is a versatile cheese. Put-in-a-pint drinks that we favor with it include hard ciders and fruit beers, pilsners, pale ales and lighter Belgian ales. If wine sounds fine, then we recommend riesling, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, cabernet sauvignon and syrah. If liquor is more your speed, then both scotch and rye whiskey pair well. A nutty and assertive sake loves asiago too.

Blue

Big, bold blues as well as milder wedges go surprisingly well with all sorts of drinks. In Wisconsin, we normally pair our blues with cider or beer -- everything from fruit beers, stout, weiss beer, porter and Belgian ales get along famously with blue. In the world of wine, we recommend cabernet sauvignon, chianti, pinot noir, zinfandel, riesling, syrah/shiraz, ice wines and malbec. For higher-proof hankerings, reach for the port, madeira, tequila reposado or tequila añejo.

Cheddar