Cheesy, crunchy, gooey, and delicious Wine Grilled Cheese – the perfect sourdough grilled cheese with a red wine reduction good enough to drink!

Picture of grilled cheese sandwich with wine sauce

This post is sponsored by Visit California. All opinions are my own.

Delicious crispy crunchy sourdough bread with a blend of delicious melted California cheeses, all topped with a crave-able red wine glaze… this Wine Grilled Cheese recipe is the ultimate night in recipe!

If you love grilled cheese, and you love wine – it’s time to bring the two together.

This recipe brings together some of my favorite California ingredients – to help the good times last when I’m home from vacationing in the golden state.

We’re making this ultimate grilled cheese with San Fransisco style sourdough bread, California cheeses (California is one of the US’s major dairy producers), and California Pinot Noir for the ultimate grilled cheese – and share some of my favorite California vacation ideas.

Picture of wine glass with hill shaped like heart in background — *Niner Wines, Paso Robles CA*

What Type of Cheese For Grilled Cheese

This grilled cheese mixes different types of cheeses for a delicious explosion of creamy cheesy flavor.

I’m listing my favorite options for this sandwich below – I personally like to add 2 hard cheeses and 1 soft cheese, but you can come up with your own perfect blend!

I personally prefer using shredded cheeses in a grilled cheese sandwich – I find it helps the cheese melt faster and more easily – but that is up to you.

If adding feta or blue cheese, using shredded cheese and mixing in with feta or blue cheese helps the cheeses incorporate into the melted cheeses much better than using sliced cheese.

Soft Cheeses For Grilled Cheese

Brie

Mozzarella

Feta (must be blended with another cheese)

Blue Cheese (must be blended with another cheese)

Semi-Hard Cheeses For Grilled Cheese

Gruyere

White Cheddar

Havarti

Swiss

Muenster

Provolone

What Cheeses to Avoid

Finally, while we LOVE pepper jack and American cheese in grilled cheese, we don’t love the flavors when paired with a savory wine sauce.

While you can find a lot of wiggle room in the cheeses above, try to stay away from flavored cheeses like smoked, dill, or fruit cheeses unless you know the flavor will pair well with your wine.

What Bread For Grilled Cheese

For grilled cheese, I really like thicker slices of bread that have a nice, toothy bite.

I also prefer bread that adds flavor instead of overpowering cheese – and I find the tangy sour notes in a sourdough pairs perfectly with rich, melted salty creamy cheese.

Sourdough also always makes me think of visiting one of our favorite cities – San Fransisco!

I try to pick sourdough that is slightly thicker cut, since I try to press down my grilled cheese in the pan, compressing the bread as it cooks.

You can pick whatever slice thickness you love, this recipe tastes great with anything!

*Sourdough Mural in Fisherman’s Warf, San Fransisco CA*

My family and I love San Fransisco – my husband and I try to go often for couples trips (where we like to focus on all things wine, seafood, art, and finding new coffee shops) – and my kids love the city for the nearby hikes, baseball, Fisherman’s Wharf – and tons of sourdough!

San Fransisco is also the gateway to Napa and Sonoma Counties for many visitors, making sourdough a perfect local pair for great California red wines!

How To Make Red Wine Sauce

First off, to make a red wine sauce, you’ll want a wine you actually like the taste of so you’ll like the taste of the sauce for your grilled cheese (so you can sip alongside, too!), but not your most expensive bottle of wine.

Many people think that a red wine sauce is hard to make – but its actually incredibly easy!

This sauce is great in part because it’s incredibly versatile.

You can strain out the shallots for a smooth sauce, stir in a cornstarch slurry for a velvety sauce, or make a sauce with bits of shallots and thyme for a rustic au jus style dipping sauce.

How To Thicken Red Wine Sauce

To make your sauce extra thick (I like mine more like a glaze than a sauce), you can add a cornstarch slurry.

If you don’t add the slurry, it will look thinner than the pictures here, but will taste the same.

Add 1 tbsp cornstarch to a bowl and combine with 2 parts warm water. Whisk well to combine until a sslurry forms.

Add slurry into sauce by whisking vigorously.

Let sauce boil to thicken, remove from heat, serve.

Sweet C’s + Visit California

Im outlining some of my favorite California vacations below – California is full of amazing adventures just waiting for you to explore!

California Vacation Ideas