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Zinfandel

Zinfandel is to California as cheese is to Wisconsin. They love it, they're great at making this fruity-slightly-spicy wine, and they've been doing so since the mid-1800s.

Zinfandel

Baby Swiss

It’s hard to do baby swiss wrong, unless you try to pair it with something too sweet. We never hesitate to pull out the wine and beer for collaborations with baby swiss. Beers that pair well include stout, porter, weiss beer and lager. Wines that enjoy babysitting: oaked or unoaked chardonnay, grüner veltliner, champagne and cava.

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.

Colby

Colby is a mild, crowd-pleaser of a cheese, so it’s friendly with all sorts of drinks. If you're wanting beer, go for a pilsner, pale ale, brown ale or lager. Wines that pair well with colby include cabernet sauvignon, chianti, pinot noir, red zinfandel, champagne, riesling and malbec. If you prefer the strong stuff, tequila reposado and rye whiskey are definitely good bets.

Gorgonzola

Nothing but big flavor all-around for heavyweight gorgonzola. For beer, pair it with stout, porter and Belgian ales. Wines that match gorgonzola’s boldness include cab sauv, chianti, pinot noir, merlot, red zinfandel, riesling and malbec. If you want a sipper with your gorgonzola, we recommend port, madeira, scotch, tequila reposado, tequila anejo and definitely mescal.

Havarti

Havarti is easy to pair and you really can partner it with just about any drink that sounds good in the moment. If we were pushing your havarti-filled cart in the beer aisle, however, we’d fill it with weiss beer, doppelbock, stout or ESB. Wines that we matchmake with havarti include buttery chardonnay, riesling, sauvignon blanc, beaujolais or an on-the-lighter-side pinot noir.

Muenster

Beers and wines are our go-to for Wisconsin muenster. Stouts, pilsners, pale ales, porters, brown ales, lagers and Belgian ales are all really tasty with it. If you’d rather sip on wine, we suggest chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot, red zinfandel, riesling, sauvignon blanc, beaujolais, pinot gris or gruner veltliner.

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