This holiday season bring friends and family together for a relaxing evening with the best couple out there; wine and cheese. When paired properly, wine and cheese can elevate each other’s flavors and even bring out some hidden intricacies in them. The perfect pairing, however, is a lot harder to reach than anticipated as there are many categories for wine as well as cheese. Don’t let this discourage you, because we can help you on the right track to finding the perfect match whether you just want to relax with a snack or host the ultimate wine and cheese event of the season.
To start, it’s important to understand the different components of wine. Wine characteristics include the level of sweetness (which relates to the level of dryness), the level of acidity, the tannin levels, the fruitiness, and the body (alcohol levels). To make it easier to pair a wine with cheese, find a wine that is lower in tannin so it will not dry out your mouth and won’t be as bitter, fruitier, less acidic, lower in alcohol therefore a lighter wine (these are typically more white wine characteristics).
You can match the wine with cheese based on similar characteristics, so pair a higher acidic wine with a higher acidic cheese (usually a fresh cheese and younger wine). You can also match them by pairing them with the opposite flavors, for example, a stronger cheese with a sweet dessert wine, because we all know that opposites attract! Another easy tip to go by is that if it’s from the same region they will most likely work well together.
If you want to keep it simple, serve one or two wines that have a broad range of pairings and set out an assortment of cheese. One wine like this is Riesling wine; it’s a dry white wine with a low alcohol level from the region of Germany. It has many factors, including its acidity, sweetness, tropical fruits, and mineral backbone, that allow it to pair quite nicely with a wide range of cheeses.
To ensure a good night, it’s not only about the selection of wine and cheese but also the tools you have to serve your assortments. First, a good wine opener is essential as it’ll allow for easy corking, and prevent any mishaps while trying to open a bottle. Our Truelve Corkscrew and Cutter has never made this task easier.
Next, make it easy for your guests know what their choices are and which wine goes with which cheese with our cheese party maker. You are able to write what everything is making this task a no brainer. You also need the right utensils for displaying and cutting your cheese. Our Tradition Cheese Board as it comes equipped with the right knifes for your cheese. Don’t forget glass markers so your guests know which glass is theirs if they want to set it down for a bit.