"Start with a sound regional pairing and work from there. For example, white Sançerre is always the classic pairing with Crottin Chavignol AOC, a goat's cheese produced in the surrounding area. Try some of the other local goat's cheeses, such as a Selles Sur Cher AOC or a Saint Maure de Touraine, with a Sançerre.
"If you are already eating these goat's cheeses with Sançerre, why not try a Pouilly-Fumé, a Quincy or a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or South Africa? We had a lovely Premsteller Sauvignon Blanc from Kellerei Kaltern, in the Sud Tirol, and it was fantastic with St Tola, a raw-milk goat's cheese from Co Clare. Basically, the high acidity in the wines matches well with the acidity in the semi-fresh goat's cheeses."
Fennelly, who likes to drink Alsace wines, says that Gewürztraminer and Munster AOC cheese is one of the best, pairings he knows.
"The Munster should be properly ripe for this to work, and the Gewürztraminer shouldn't be too sweet. In contrast to the goat's-cheese-and-Sauvignon-Blanc pairing, this match works well because Gewürztraminer is both low in acid and aromatic. The low acidity means that the full creaminess of the Munster carries through on the palate, while the huge aromas in the Gewürztraminer combine fantastically with the whiffy finish from the rind of the Munster. Try it with Irish washed rinds such as Milleens and Ardrahan."
He says that sweet wines are great with blues. "Roquefort and Sauternes is a fantastic combination. Stilton with Sauternes also works really well, probably better than it does with port. There is a sweetness in good, well-balanced blue cheeses, which can be brought out by the sugar in the dessert wine. You need the acidity, though, to cut through the creaminess, which is why Sauternes is ideal.
"Vin Doux Naturel wines and Vin Santo can work well on slightly rounder-tasting blues, such as Fourme d'Ambert AOC or Crozier Blue, a ewe's-milk cheese from Tipperary.
"I have found that mountain cheeses such as Comte and Gruyère work particularly well with chunky Chardonnays, such as modern, oaky Pouilly-Fuissés. Comte seems to work better than Gruyère, I think, because the flavour is cleaner. Also, it seems to be more the oak than the Chardonnay which complements the wine. I think Borgo del Tiglio Tocai Friulano, a fantastic concentrated white from northern Italy, works well with it.
"I have tried the combination of Comte with more scaled-down, traditional white Mâcon, and it doesn't work to anywhere like the same extent."