Pear Pairings: Matching Pears with Cheese, Wine, and More

You may have heard that it’s important to serve the right wine with the right foods. Did you know it’s also important to serve the right pear with the right wine and cheese?

If you look forward to pear season but aren’t well up on the many varieties of pears, you may want to take a moment to check out the different types before loading up your charcuterie board. While it’s true that all pears, when allowed to ripen properly, attain a level of honey-sweet perfection, different varieties offer subtly different floral scents, complex flavors, and interesting textures that ensure some pair better with certain wines and cheeses than others.

Here are some perfect “pearings” that will make your next gathering a success:

Food Pairings: Pears + Wine and Cheese

Comice Pears

Juicy and sweet, Comice Pears have a buttery texture that’s so creamy, you can eat it with a spoon. Lacking the grainy texture many pears possess, Comice Pears are best eaten fresh, as they don’t hold up well when cooked. They’re so juicy and good, though, that you won’t want to eat them any other way!

The Comice Pear has a lovely, mild flavor with a sharp, citrusy undertone, helping it to complement perfectly dry or even extra-dry wines. Prosecco, with its pears-and-cream flavor and distinctive fizziness, accentuates the unique texture of the Comice Pear. A dry Marsala or sweet-yet-acidic French Sauternes are also excellent choices. When it comes to cheese choices to accompany Comice Pears, you can’t go wrong with a creamy goat or brie cheese, a salty, bright and earthy blue cheese, or a rustic gorgonzola.

May We Suggest: King Comice Pears and Stilton Blue Cheese with a Ruby Port Dessert Wine

Bosc Pears

Bosc Pears are popular for cooking and baking, both because of their firm texture that holds its shape well when cooked and for their flavor, which is sweet with undertones of fall spiciness (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger and even pepper). This makes it a natural for pairing with food and drink with bolder flavors, like aged cheddar and full-bodied, fruity but intense red or white wines. Such wines bring out the spiciness of this pear, while the flavor of sharp cheeses complements it perfectly.

Pear tip: when serving Bosc Pears with wine and cheese at a fall gathering, be sure to leave the skins on the fruit. The Bosc’s gorgeous, russet-brown color is a beautiful addition to your autumn décor!

May We Suggest: Pear Variety Sampler Box with Aged Cheddar Cheese and Cabernet Sauvignon or Gewürztraminer.

D’Anjou Pears

Like Bosc Pears, D’Anjou Pears have a firmer texture that makes them suitable for cooking and a sweet flavor that’s not overly sweet with spicy undertones. That sweet-yet-spicy flavor is different in the D’Anjou, however, with a slightly lemony flavor that goes well with creamy-textured goat and cow cheeses that have a nutty or tangy flavor. The D’Anjou Pear’s clean flavor, fresh aroma and juicy flesh go well with effervescent wines that are light-to-medium on the sweetness scale.

May We Suggest: D’Anjou Pears with Camembert and a Demi-Sec Champagne

Starkrimson Pears

Above, we mentioned the beautiful appearance of the Bosc Pear for fall arrangements. The Starkrimson is equally beautiful for holiday and winter ones, with a brilliant scarlet skin that stands out in any fruit basket. The flavor of the juicy, tender flesh (this pear should not be used in cooking recipes) is mild and sweet, however, with floral undertones. This means it pairs better with firm (but not hard) cheeses with a sweeter, nuttier flavor. For a wine, fruity but not too sweet is a good way to go.

May We Suggest: Starkrimson Pears with Gouda and Merlot