What Wine Goes
with Cheese Fondue?

Why a dry white works

At its core, a cheese fondue is melted cheese with white wine and a splash of kirsch. It's rich, savory, and fatty. A wine with clear acidity pushes back, lifts the palate, and makes every bite fresh again. A heavy red with tannin, on the other hand, collides with the cheese and quickly turns bitter.

An old table rule says: with fondue, you drink the same wine you put into it. That's no accident. It makes for a coherent, rounded whole.

The best wines for cheese fondue

• Chasselas / Gutedel - the Swiss classic, mild and with fine acidity, made for fondue.
• Dry Riesling - more aromatics, plenty of acidity, a sure hit.
• Grüner Veltliner - savory and fresh, handles the richness of the cheese with ease.
• Sauvignon Blanc - when you want it especially zingy and herbaceous.

And what about tea or schnapps?

In the Alps there's a stubborn belief that you shouldn't drink anything cold with fondue, because the cheese will clump in your stomach. There's no scientific basis for it. The acidic white wine actually helps digestion. A little kirsch in between is tradition and does no harm, but it's not a must.

The right bottle in seconds

Which specific wine suits you depends on your taste. With VinoSomm you scan a bottle or the wine list and instantly see whether it fits the fondue and fits you.

The basis for that is your taste profile: it grows out of your ratings and turns the general rules above into a personal recommendation with a match score, so it won't be just any Chasselas, but yours.