5 Non-Conventional Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Perfect Wine Pairings
Celebrating a Childhood Favourite in a Grown-up Way
Grilled cheese is one of those meals that everyone loved as a kid. And then, we grew up and our tastes became a bit more sophisticated. Perhaps it was because we discovered the joy of wine and cheese pairings.
Good news, you don’t have to leave your love of grilled cheese in your childhood. We’ve gathered some elevated grilled cheese recipes and found the perfect wines to pair them with.
Not-So-Classic Grilled Cheese
This is close to what you remember but without peeling the plastic wrapper off the cheese. Instead, select an aged white Cheddar and add some Brie. If you want melty, this is the grilled cheese for you. We suggest a whole wheat bread or the classic sourdough.
Pair this sandwich with Inniskillin Dark Horse Vineyard Chardonnay, JT Grand Reserve Chardonnay, or Black Sage Vineyard Chardonnay
Greener Grilled Cheese
We have two ways to go green with your grilled cheese. You can sandwich some arugula between two slices of mild Cheddar or, you can line the inside of your bread with pesto. If you really want to go all the way with this idea, you could do both! We love this one done on seedy bread.
The Inniskillin Reserve Fume Blanc is lovely with this sandwich as is the Jackson-Triggs Sauvignon Blanc and the Nk’Mip Cellar White Meritage.
5-Alarm Grilled Cheese
This sandwich is definitely not for little kid tastebuds! We’re going spicy with this one. The star of this sandwich is the Pepperjack cheese but the nuanced heat comes from a smear of jalapeno pepper jelly on the insides of each slice of bread. If you want to take the heat up a notch, add banana peppers and serve with sriracha mayo.
Offset the spiciness with a wine pairing that can balance it out. We suggest Jackson-Triggs Reserve Riesling, Nk’Mip Qwam Qwmt Riesling, or See Ya Later Ranch Riesling
Three Times the Grilled Cheese
If you often look at your grilled cheese and think, ‘I need more cheese’ then this is the sandwich for you. We don’t just double the cheese, we triple it! Layer on some Mozzarella, Gruyere, and sharp white Cheddar. If you shred the cheeses, you’ll find they blend together a bit more but you can layer slices too. Just make sure you pick a thickly sliced bread for this big boy.
Enjoy your cheese-overload with a glass of See Ya Later Ranch Rover, SunRock Vineyards Shiraz or Nk’Mip Cellars Qwam Qwmt Syrah
Romancing the Grilled Cheese
Here’s a grilled cheese for sharing with someone you love! We’re layering cream cheese (a healthy smear), dark chocolate (you can use chocolate chips or thin slices of a bar), and sliced strawberries. Choose any bread you like with this one because it’s really about what’s in the middle. It’s so decadent and delicious!
Pair this treat with a Pinot Noir. We suggest the Dark Horse Vineyard Pinot Noir, See Ya Later Ranch Pinot Noir or Nk’Mip Cellars Qwam Qwmt Pinot Noir