Learn everything you need to know about hosting a great wine and cheese dinner party. Have fun with your guests in the superb art of dairy producers pairing with wine. Wine is cheese’s best friend. The cheese will make any wine taste better. For a varied cheese plate, almost any dry white or red wine is appropriate.
Choose a range of Canadian cheeses and wines on your favorite matches. Lay a table with 8 to 12 cheeses, at least 3 different wines, bread, crackers, and fruit accompaniments, and perhaps a bowl of olives or some nuts in the shell for guests to crack.
For a more formal tasting with real cheese lovers, make individual tasting plates. Serve 2 or 3 courses of cheese with selected wines. You could start with a selection of cow’s and goat’s milk soft and semisoft cheeses, strawberries or peach slices and a baguette with a dry white or light-bodied red wine.
Collection of an aged firm and hard cheeses, dried figs and apricots, and hearty rye bread, accompanied by a full-bodied red wine will make a perfect combination.
Most of the red wines are perfect with cheese. For a cheese plate of mild and medium cheeses, choose a lighter wine, such as Pinot Noir or Gamay; for richer, creamier and full-flavored cheeses, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Meritage blends are strong choices.
“Spicy” white wines, such as Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris, and fruity wines, such as Muscat and Riesling, are consistently cheese-friendly. Choose a lighter, not heavily oaked style of Chardonnay.
Serve full-bodied or sweeter wines with after-dinner cheese plates. Port, medium-sweet sherry, Madeira and Marsala pair well, especially with blue cheeses.
Read our article about Best Summer Wines to Dine With your Favorite Meal and Try these tips to host a cheese and wine party.
