Assembling a charcuterie board for the first time can be a little daunting, though having Parmigiano Reggiano (also known as Parmesan) as your centrepiece is an excellent start. Follow advice from the experts on the best pairings and you’ll be enchanted by the results.

“To build the perfect charcuterie board, you need variety,” says chef Vittoria Veltri, who runs Panzone, a London mobile street food business, with winemaker Settimio Balena.

“We grew up in Italy surrounded by the flavours of our beautiful land, making homemade food with our grandmas and eating produce from our parents’ vegetable gardens,” says Veltri. “We focus on high-quality homemade Italian food and would suggest Parmigiano Reggiano in three different maturities – 12, 24 and 36 months – and I would chunk it in flakes so it’s easy to eat.”

As Vittoria points out, Parmigiano Regganio pairs as perfectly with sweet flavours as with savoury ones, as well as with breads such as grissini or tigelle.

“For meat, I’d suggest Modena pesto – a condiment typical of the province of Modena, made with lard, rosemary and young Parmigiano Regganio grated on top,” she says.

“Try bresaola or culatello with a 24-month-old Parmigiano Regganio, while mortadella goes well with very mature Parmigiano Regganio and balsamic vinegar. For condiments I’d add mostarda from Cremona – mostarda is prepared with whole crystallised fruits preserved in a clear syrup and flavoured with mustard seed oil, and the sweet yet ‘piccante’ mustard taste is perfect with salami, roast pork meat, hams, and a hard cheese like Parmigiano Regganio. Acacia honey is perfect with a young Parmigiano Regganio, millefiori honey for 24-month-old Parmigiano Regganio and eucalyptus honey for a mature Parmigiano Regganio.

“Alternatively, instead of honey, you can use balsamic vinegar from Modena of different ageing periods.”

Settimio’s advice as a winemaker proves invaluable in wine pairings for the charcuterie boards, which tend to reflect the maturity of the cheese at each stage. For a fresh Parmesan aged between 12 and 18 months, he suggests that the ideal wine is a classic bubble, such as a franciacorta or an alta langa, with the delicate flavour of young Parmigiano Regganio going very well with the sweetness of sparkling wine.

Up to 24 months of ageing, the advice is to combine Parmigiano Reggiano with the red wines of Emilia-Romagna, such as lambrusco or sangiovese di Romagna. From 36 months of age upwards, Settimio’s suggestion is to go with a more structured wine, such as a taurasi, a barolo, a brunello di montalcino, or a barbera d’asti with a few years behind them. These are important wines that will enhance the unmistakable flavour of the cheese, and are structured and soft, which goes perfectly well with the sharpness of a well-aged Parmigiano Regganio. 

John Callow, founder and lead wine educator at the Northern Wine School in Manchester, is equally expert in pairing wines for Parmigiano Reggiano-inspired charcuterie boards, and teaches courses in wines, spirits and sake, both to the hospitality and retail industries and other interested individuals. He also holds ‘official educator’ status for a number of wine bodies including bordeaux, rioja and sherry.

“Parmigiano Regganio, with its complex, savoury layers of flavours and charcuterie with its rich, oily and fatty nature are surprisingly easy to pair with wines at home,” he says.

“A flavourful wine high in tannin and acidity, which fortunately many Italian reds have in abundance, matches beautifully. The acidity of the wine cuts through the fats by making your mouth water, and the firm proteins in the cheese soften the tannins, making the cheese melt and mellow with each sip.

“For an enhanced experience, splash out on a matured wine with extra umami, such as a chianti classico riserva, brunello di montalcino or well-aged barolo, and savour with the 24- or 36-month matured cheese. If you are not a fan of reds try a peachy and crisp soave classico or a rich, nutty sweet vin santo.”

Discover more at parmigianoreggiano.com