Comté Cheese and Côtes du Rhône Wines: A Love Story [Infographic]

Comté cheese and Côtes du Rhône wines have many things in common. Both express century-old traditions and specific terroirs; both are made with passion and patience. The relationship between Comté cheese and the legendary wines of kings and popes is a gastronomic love story worth celebrating with abandon.

Both Comté cheese and Côtes du Rhône wines belong to France’s Protected Designations of Origin (PDO), a selection of food and wine whose existence is tightly connected to a unique region of production, unique geographic conditions, a singular human history and traditions.

The Comté and Côtes du Rhône PDO’s are connected by the Rhône River. It runs along the southern limit of the Jura Massif and then flows through the Côtes du Rhône to the Mediterranean Sea.

Each PDO has its own distinct production and aging methods. These, plus their unique natural terroirs, create a culmination of flavors within each cheese wheel and each bottle of wine. Comté cheese tasters have identified 83 aromas which they commonly use to characterize each Comté, according to the season of production, the fruitère, the affineur, and different ages. For Côtes du Rhône, the blending of as many as 23 different grape varieties creates a wide range of styles, from robust and inky to silky and elegant. This broad diversity of wines is ideal to complement the large array of aromas found in Comté. Matching wines and cheese born in neighboring regions enables great tasting pleasure as well as experiencing terroir and tradition.

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