Wine and cheese make a wonderful combination. A wine and cheese party is a great way to bring friends and relatives together, or makes a special birthday or wedding party. They are relatively simple to host and prepare for, requiring little work for even those who don’t know much about wine.
There are a few easy ways to set up your room for the party. If you have the space available, a long buffet table against a wall divided into sections is an easy way to set out the food. Another method is to position several small tables throughout the room, set up as stations for each wine and their paired cheeses. Another station with other foods is sure to keep your guests happy.
The key to decorating for a wine and cheese party is to keep it simple yet elegant. White table cloths and candles make for a nice atmosphere that is very easy to set up. Placing grapes or grape leaves on the table, or other seasonal decorations such as tree leaves in the fall or flowers in the spring, make a nice addition. Fruit goes well with cheese, especially grapes, so you could make a large centerpiece filled with various fruits. A large ornate bowl filled with ice and wine bottles makes a nice focal point for the table.
Guests will appreciate it if you label each cheese with its name and perhaps more information, such as what region it is from, the general taste and maybe a short history. Each cheese could have its own cutting board and knife at their respective stations, perhaps even using novelty boards made from flattened wine bottles.
At each station, be sure to provide the correct glass for each type of wine. Red wines are served in round, ball-shaped glasses while white wine is poured in narrower, taller glasses, but not quite as narrow as a champagne flute. Make sure to provide plenty of each type of glass so that your guests will always be able to use the correct glass. Put out lots of small plates for the cheese, too. These could be purchased with a certain theme in mind, but old eclectic dishes work nicely as well.
Pairing the right cheeses with your wines is very important. There are some general rules to follow to match cheese with wine, but conducting your own experiments can be very rewarding as well. Wines from the same country or region as the cheese usually match well. Acidic wines taste good with acidic cheeses. Some specific examples of good pairings are Port with Roquefort, Camembert with Cabernet, Brie with Champagne, Provolone with Chardonnay, but don’t be afraid to be a little creative with your own.
In addition to wine and cheese, a good wine and cheese tasting party has lots of tasty breads and crackers, perhaps even something fancy like caviar to make the party even more special. Cheesecake makes a great dessert that stays with the theme, but any dessert will work for your party. Coffee is a good way to wrap things up. And remember, don’t let anyone drive too soon afterwards. best wine tours in Willamette Valley