Wine & Cheese Tasting
Hosting a wine and cheese tasting is a fun and casual way to get a bunch of friends together without having to incur a lot of expense or spend countless hours of planning and preparation. A wine and cheese tasting can be thrown together in a few hours or be carefully planned... It is whatever your heart desires in terms of decor, the focus of the event is quite simple, it's just a get together to taste different wines and cheese.
While a formal wine tasting is all about the wine, a wine and cheese tasting is more about experimenting with different wines and cheeses to see what flavors compliment each other. It can be fun to provide the cheeses, but ask people to bring a bottle of their favorite white or red wine, this will also allow your guests to feel included in the event - people love to bring something to the party!
To ensure that you have a few excellent wine choices on hand, stop by your local wine store and ask them to help you select a few bottles of wine that go well with a variety of cheese choices. To take part of the guesswork out of the equation, we've put together a list of our favorite wine and cheese pairings but realize that this list is just a good place to start and you should try a variety of cheese and wine combinations to develop your own preferences.
Preparation is as simple as dropping by your local cheese shop to taste a variety of cheeses and selecting those that you like. Try to select cheeses from different regions and countries and mix up the types of cheese so that you provide your guests with an adequate variety of flavors and textures which they might not otherwise experience.
Shortly before your wine and cheese party commences, take the cheese out of the refrigerator to allow it to mellow. Set the cheese on a variety of cutting boards and serving dishes being careful to keep them apart from each other so that the flavors of one cheese does not rub off on another. Scatter the cheese dishes and bowls of fresh grapes and crackers about the room so that your guests don't end up clumped together in one place.
Set out glasses for both red and white wines. Red wine should be served at room temperature while white wine is best served chilled by an ice bucket or refrigerator.
Be ready to replenish empty cheese and appetizer trays and open new bottles of wine as needed... Most of all, have fun!
While a formal wine tasting is all about the wine, a wine and cheese tasting is more about experimenting with different wines and cheeses to see what flavors compliment each other. It can be fun to provide the cheeses, but ask people to bring a bottle of their favorite white or red wine, this will also allow your guests to feel included in the event - people love to bring something to the party!
To ensure that you have a few excellent wine choices on hand, stop by your local wine store and ask them to help you select a few bottles of wine that go well with a variety of cheese choices. To take part of the guesswork out of the equation, we've put together a list of our favorite wine and cheese pairings but realize that this list is just a good place to start and you should try a variety of cheese and wine combinations to develop your own preferences.
Preparation is as simple as dropping by your local cheese shop to taste a variety of cheeses and selecting those that you like. Try to select cheeses from different regions and countries and mix up the types of cheese so that you provide your guests with an adequate variety of flavors and textures which they might not otherwise experience.
Shortly before your wine and cheese party commences, take the cheese out of the refrigerator to allow it to mellow. Set the cheese on a variety of cutting boards and serving dishes being careful to keep them apart from each other so that the flavors of one cheese does not rub off on another. Scatter the cheese dishes and bowls of fresh grapes and crackers about the room so that your guests don't end up clumped together in one place.
Set out glasses for both red and white wines. Red wine should be served at room temperature while white wine is best served chilled by an ice bucket or refrigerator.
Be ready to replenish empty cheese and appetizer trays and open new bottles of wine as needed... Most of all, have fun!