Running Cheese and Wine Tasting Nights

Perfect Cheese and Wine Combinations

There could not be a more perfect combination then that of cheese and wine. There are hundreds of types of wines and cheeses. Running a successful wine and cheese tasting night hinges on making sure that you are offering the appropriate cheeses to go with your wine selection. To help make it easier here is a simple guide on what you need to know to through a wine and cheese tasting party.

Wine and Cheese Pairings
First you need to know that the possible pairings of wine and cheese is truly only limited by your imagination. There is an art to it though, there aren’t any hard rules that you need to follow, just a few guidelines to keep in mind that will help ensure you and your guest have a pleasant mouth mix going on with each and every sampling. The first thing to keep in mind is that you want to try to pair the like with like.

Pairing Cheese and Wine intensity
Like with like means that you want to try to put cheeses with wines that have very similar flavor and intensity. What this means is that you don’t want to put a big stinky cheese with a very subtle and sweet wine. The lighter the wine the more refined the cheese should be.

Balancing Flavors of Wine and Cheese
Try to create a balance of acidity and intensity. We are talking about mouth mixing here, where you have two or three wonderful flavors that you blend together in your mouth for sheer magic. If you are going to offer sparkling wines, which tend to be incredibly bright, acidic and tangy make sure that you are offering cheeses that are creamy and buttery. Offering sharp cheeses that are acidic along with the sparkling wines is usually too much intensity for the mouth.

Local Wines and Cheeses
You can also consider local wines and cheeses. Generally speaking, wines that are produced locally tend to go really well with cheeses that are made in the same regions. No this is not a guarantee, but it does tend to lead to more delectable pairing that is sure to please even the most seasoned wine connoisseur.

Balance Sweet and Salty in Your Pairings
We have already mentioned keeping a balance of acid and intensity, you should also think about sweet and salty. There is a certain ying and yang going on here. Think about when you have something that is sweet and then something that is salty, say chocolate covered peanuts. There is a beautiful balance that goes on between the two that pleases the palate. Blue cheeses go remarkably well with Port wines. Port wines tend to be sweet and heavy. They are heavenly really, so try to offer the more pungent salty cheeses with Port wines.

Palate Cleansing Crackers

It’s important that people have a way to cleanse the palate in between wines. This is best done with crackers, if you visit a local winery they offer palate cleansing crackers that are very similar to oyster crackers. You also need to pay attention to the way the cheese is displayed. You really want to make sure that your cheese is being served at the proper temperature. Believe it or not, with the exception of the hard cheese, you don’t want to serve cheese right out of the refrigerator. It doesn’t allow the person tasting it to enjoy the flavors of the cheese. Remove the cheese from the frig about 30 to 60 minutes prior to your wine tasting event and let the cheese slowly come to room temperature.

Tips for Success
Follow these few simple guidelines and you will have a successful wine and cheese tasting night.