Here’s what I’ve noticed after guiding more than 3,000 guests through French wines and cheeses: almost everyone arrives with the same mental image. A formal room. A sommelier in a suit speaking softly about tannins. Red wine. Always red wine with cheese.

I get it — that’s what most wine tastings look like. But it’s also exactly what we don’t do.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through what actually happens during a wine tasting in Paris — the wines, the cheeses, the conversations, and a few things that tend to catch people off guard (in a good way).

And if you’re already sold, book your wine and cheese tasting in Paris →

What Most Wine Tastings in Paris Look Like — And Why We Do It Differently

Paris has no shortage of wine experiences. Cave tours, cellar visits, standing tastings, seated workshops. Most of them follow the same script: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, a cheese board at the end, merci et bonsoir.

Nothing wrong with that. But it always felt like a missed opportunity to me.

I spent years running a cheese shop in Montmartre before I started hosting tastings. What drove me mad about most Paris wine experiences was that cheese was always an afterthought — a pretty board with no story, no connection to the wines, no reason why these cheeses and those wines ended up together.

So I built something different. At EatCheeseWithMax, the wine and the cheese explain each other. Every pairing has a reason. And by the end of the session, you’ll actually understand what that reason is.

Not sure if it’s worth it? I answered that question honestly here →

The Wines: We Skip the Famous Ones on Purpose

Yes, on purpose.

No Bordeaux. No Champagne. Not because they’re not great — they absolutely are — but because you’ve heard of them. You’ve probably already tried them. And you can find them everywhere.

What I serve instead are wines from France’s underrated regions: native grape varieties that rarely leave the département where they’re grown, appellations that don’t show up on international wine lists, bottles that even regular wine drinkers haven’t come across. A Savagnin from the Jura. A Chenin Blanc from a tiny Loire producer. A pét-nat from a natural wine maker in the Ardèche.

The reaction is almost always the same: “I had no idea France made wines like this.”

That surprise is the point. France has hundreds of grape varieties and wine regions. The famous ones are the tip of the iceberg. The Paris wine tasting experience I’ve built exists to show you what’s underneath.

The selection changes with each session — depending on the season, what I’ve found, what pairs well with the cheeses that week. That’s a feature, not a bug.

The Cheeses: Raw Milk Changes Everything (Seriously)

This is usually where people’s minds get blown — and I mean that literally.

Most guests arrive thinking they know what cheese tastes like. Brie, manchego, a bit of cheddar. Then I hand them a raw milk Camembert next to a pasteurized one and ask them to compare. The room goes quiet. Then someone says: “Wait — those are supposed to be the same cheese?”

Raw milk isn’t just a label. The microorganisms living in unpasteurized milk shape the flavour of the cheese during aging — its sharpness, its complexity, its character. Pasteurization makes the product safer and more consistent, but strips out a lot of what makes it interesting.

During the session I explain how each cheese is made: which bacteria are involved, which mould forms the rind, how long it’s been aged and under what conditions. Not in a textbook way — in a “now taste it and see if you can feel the difference” kind of way.

A few questions I hear every single week:

“What are those white crystals in the Comté?” — Tyrosine. An amino acid that crystallises as proteins break down during extended aging. Comté with well-developed crystals has been aged at least 18 months. They taste slightly nutty and have a satisfying little crunch. Not a defect — a sign of quality.

“Why does that goat cheese have a wrinkled rind?” — That’s Geotrichum candidum, a naturally occurring mould that creates both the ridged texture and the tangy edge in the flavour. It’s one of the reasons goat cheeses taste like goat cheeses.

“Why is it covered in ash?” — Originally a practical solution: ash protected the fresh cheese from insects and helped regulate surface humidity. Today it’s kept for tradition and for the way it accelerates rind formation. Also, it looks great on a board.

The Atmosphere: No Suits, No Pretension

I want to be direct about this, because it matters.

Wine culture has a snob problem. I’ve been in that world long enough to know it, and I actively chose to build something different. Sessions at EatCheeseWithMax are small — 12 guests maximum — and the format is a conversation, not a lecture. There are no correct answers, no stupid questions, and absolutely no expectation that you arrive knowing anything.

I’ve hosted sommeliers and people who’ve never opened a bottle in their life, and they’ve sat at the same table and had equally good times. What tends to happen is that strangers from five different countries end up in a genuine conversation about food, travel, and the small things that make life more interesting. And that conversation often continues after the glasses are empty.

The cheeses and wines are what bring people to the table. What happens around them is what makes it memorable.

Join our next session in Montmartre →

How to Get the Most Out of Your Wine Tasting in Paris

You genuinely don’t need to prepare. That said, a few small things make a real difference:

Eat something light beforehand — not a full meal, but don’t arrive starving. Tasting on an empty stomach makes everything taste more intense than it should, which isn’t helpful when you’re trying to pick up subtle differences.

Skip the coffee and mint for the hour before — both temporarily dull your palate in ways that are hard to reverse. A glass of water and a plain cracker is the ideal pre-tasting snack.

Ask questions, even if they feel obvious — the best sessions I’ve hosted were with people who said “I have no idea what I’m tasting, can you walk me through it?” That’s not embarrassing — that’s exactly the right starting point.

Don’t worry about knowing the “right” vocabulary — describing a wine as “tastes like a rainy morning” is fine. Sensory language is personal and there’s no wrong version of it.

For a sense of the wines we typically pour, this breakdown of the best wines for cheese tasting in Paris is a good starting point. And if you want to arrive with your palate in good shape, this guide on the most common wine mistakes is a quick and useful read.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a wine tasting in Paris typically last?

Most guided wine tastings in Paris run between 90 minutes and 2 hours. At EatCheeseWithMax, sessions run around 90 minutes — enough time to go through five pairings properly, ask questions, and actually absorb what you’re tasting, without it feeling like a commitment. The pace adapts to the group, so it never feels rushed.

How much does a wine tasting in Paris cost?

It varies a lot depending on format. Standing tastings at wine bars can start around €20–30. Seated, guided experiences with food typically range from €50 to €150 or more. At EatCheeseWithMax, sessions are €69 per person, which includes five curated wine and cheese pairings and all the explanations, stories, and questions you can fit into 90 minutes.

What’s the real difference between raw milk and pasteurized cheese — and why does it matter at a tasting?

Raw milk cheese is made with milk that hasn’t been heat-treated, which preserves the bacteria and enzymes that shape flavour during aging. The result is a cheese with more complexity, more variation between batches, and a stronger connection to the place it was made — what the French call terroir. Pasteurization produces a safer and more consistent product, but removes a lot of what makes a cheese surprising. Tasted side by side, the difference is immediately obvious — and it’s one of the most eye-opening moments of the session.

Why do most wine experiences still recommend red wine with cheese, even though it’s often the wrong pairing?

Mostly habit — and the cultural image of a red wine and cheese board, which has become shorthand for “sophisticated evening.” The problem is that tannins in red wine react with the fat and protein in most cheeses and create a metallic, bitter finish. White wines, with their acidity and lower tannin levels, complement cheese rather than fight it. If you want the full explanation, this article on why red wine and cheese don’t actually go together covers it properly.

What are the white crystals in aged Comté, and are they safe to eat?

Not only safe — they’re a good sign. Those crystals are tyrosine, an amino acid that forms when proteins break down during long aging. You’ll find them in Comté aged 18 months or more. They have a slight crunch and a subtly nutty flavour. First-time guests almost always think something’s gone wrong when they see them. It’s actually the opposite: a Comté with visible crystals is at peak maturity and flavour.

Come Curious, Leave Knowing More

A wine tasting in Paris can be a lot of things. A tourist activity. A way to spend an afternoon. A chance to try a few glasses you’d never find on a restaurant menu.

At EatCheeseWithMax, I try to make it something a bit more than that — a session where you walk out actually understanding what was in your glass, why it was poured next to that specific cheese, and why those two things together are more interesting than either one alone.

You don’t need to know anything going in. You just need to show up curious.

Reserve your wine tasting session in Montmartre today →