A cheese and wine pairing party can be an impressive feast and an easy way to feed a crowd. Match\u00a0cheeses with curated\u00a0food and drink pairings and let your guests go on\u00a0their own tasting adventure.<\/p>\n

Here are some helpful tips\u00a0on how to plan the ultimate cheese and wine\u00a0party,\u00a0including how to\u00a0make\u00a0your own beautiful chalk table runner.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

CHOOSING YOUR CHEESES<\/p>\n

Choose anywhere from 2-5 cheeses. You want variety while being able to enjoy each one. Aim for a selection\u00a0of:<\/p>\n

\n
• Soft (Ch\u00e8vre, Brie)<\/li>\n
• Semi-soft (Havarti, Blue)<\/li>\n
• Semi-hard (Cheddar, Jarlsberg, Gouda)<\/li>\n
• Hard (Parmesan, Gruyere)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  Consider\u00a0the type of\u00a0milk the cheese is made from and opt for a selection from cow, goat, and sheep’s milk.\u00a0For vegan cheese lovers, a soft nut cheese will pair similarly to\u00a0Ch\u00e8vre, and is a great conversation starter!<\/p>\n

  As an appetizer, plan on 2 ounces of cheese per\u00a0person. As a\u00a0main course, plan\u00a0closer to 4 ounces per person. One\u00a0ounce of cheese is\u00a0the size of two dice, and there are 16 ounces in a pound.<\/p>\n

  <\/p>\n

  FOOD PAIRINGS<\/p>\n

  Serve the\u00a0cheese with\u00a0some fresh bread like a sliced crusty baguette and\u00a0your favorite crackers. There are many great gluten-free crackers these days, and are great to include.<\/p>\n

  Include accompaniments of\u00a0fresh or dried fruit, nuts and pickles, as well as a spread (like a fruit preserve or honey) to add\u00a0interest to your pairings:<\/p>\n

  \n
  • Brie<\/strong><\/b> |\u00a0fresh\u00a0fruit (berries, sliced stone\u00a0fruit), sweet chili sauce, fruit\u00a0preserve<\/li>\n
  • Ch\u00e8vre<\/b>\u00a0| fresh\u00a0fruit (berries, cherries, sliced stone\u00a0fruit), honey, fruit preserve<\/li>\n
  • Gouda\u00a0|\u00a0<\/strong>fresh fruit (pears, apples, melons), mustard or apple jelly<\/li>\n
  • Blue<\/strong>\u00a0|\u00a0dried\u00a0fruit (dates, cranberries),\u00a0honey, fruit preserves<\/li>\n
  • Cheddar<\/strong>\u00a0|\u00a0mustard, fruit or savory preserves, pickles, buttery nuts<\/li>\n
  • Manchego\u00a0<\/strong>|\u00a0<\/strong>fresh fruit (figs, grapes), quince paste or onion jam, chocolate<\/li>\n
  • Gruyere<\/strong>\u00a0| crisp fresh\u00a0fruit (apples, pears), toasted nuts (walnuts), savory preserve (onion jam)<\/li>\n
  • Parmesan<\/strong>\u00a0|\u00a0mustard, fruit or savory preserves, pickles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n

    SETTING THE TABLE<\/p>\n

    Plates, wooden boards, and slate boards are all great ways to serve your cheese. Arrange\u00a0your cheeses from mild to strong, and give each cheese it\u2019s own knife. You don’t want a nice mild Brie mingling with the strong blue cheese.<\/p>\n

    To create a\u00a0‘chalk board’\u00a0table runner\u00a0you’ll need\u00a0black construction paper and liquid chalk or gold pens. Write\u00a0large headings for\u00a0the wines and cheeses, and\u00a0use\u00a0arrows and notes to describe the flavor profiles and\u00a0point\u00a0to the best\u00a0pairings. It can be helpful to map everything out first if you are planning multiple pairings, and will ease your day of party setup.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    DRINK PAIRINGS<\/p>\n

    Cheeses pair really well with all sorts of beverages from wines, beers, and spirits. \u00a0Feel free to choose your\u00a0favorites! \u00a0As\u00a0inspiration,\u00a0here are some of the classic\u00a0pairings to try:<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    It’s always helpful to have an idea of how much you’ll need… these\u00a0formulas provide a rough\u00a0guide to help you decide. Of course, this will\u00a0depend a lot on how much\u00a0your guests like to drink! If you are buying from the liquor store you can often return un-opened bottles.<\/p>\n

    \n
    • 1\/3 bottle of wine per person, per hour<\/li>\n
    • Twice as much red as white wine<\/li>\n
    • 1\/6 750 ml bottle of Champaign for toasting, per person<\/li>\n
    • 2 bottles of beer per person, per hour<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Remember to include some flavored water to hydrate, your guests will thank you for it in the morning!<\/p>\n

      <\/p>\n

      Our wine & cheese party was a smashing success, and the best part is the principles can be scaled-down for a casual Friday get-together, or scaled-up for a full reception for 100+.<\/p>\n

      My favorite cheese pairing is brie with strawberries\u00a0and spicy honey, with a\u00a0glass of champagne. What are yours?<\/p>\n

      Share your tips on the perfect wine & cheese pairings or party planning essentials with us below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      A cheese and wine pairing party can be an impressive feast and an easy way to feed a crowd. Match\u00a0cheeses with curated\u00a0food and drink pairings and let your guests go on\u00a0their own tasting adventure. Here are some helpful tips\u00a0on how to plan the ultimate cheese and wine\u00a0party,\u00a0including how to\u00a0make\u00a0your own beautiful chalk table runner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[41,126,39,33],"tags":[127,35,128,97,37],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Cheese-and-Wine-Pairing-Party-5.jpg?fit=1020%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7DJI0-bg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698"}],"version-history":[{"count":64,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1532,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698\/revisions\/1532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}