Red Wine & Cheese: Grape by Grape Party Tips on Pairing & Sharing

By Mindy Kobrin
Ready for the HarvestReady for the Harvest

Without leaving the confines of your abode, great wine and cheese combinations can take you all the way around the world. Wintertime is the perfect time to get friends together for a red wine tasting.  

Whether on a stroll through Spain nibbling Valdeón blue cheese or frolicking through France tasting a delectable and creamy Camembert, the right red wine pairing will have you singing “fromage” well before the camera snaps.

Making Your Selections

Every town has its favorite cheese shop. My favorite NYC “homage to fromage” is Terrance Brennan’s Artisanal Cheese Shop or Greenwich Village’s Murray’s Cheese Shop. At these great spots, you can learn everything about cheese and then have your top selections delivered right to your doorstep. Your taste buds will feel they have made a match in epicurean heaven.

To get my fix on fine grapes, I head to Sherry-Lehman's new flagship wine shop on New York City’s Park Avenue.

Fun and Fuss-Free Party Advice

Invite 6 to 12 guests with diverse backgrounds. Stimulating conversation and introductions will keep guests engaged and happy. Keep in mind a casual wine-tasting can be hard to pull off with more than a dozen sippers.

Shop for cheeses and wines. Your party will need at least 5 different cheeses at 1/2 pound each and 3- 5 different bottles of wine. Buy cheeses no more than a day in advance to ensure freshness. Remember to unwrap your cheeses an hour in advance to allow them to come to room temperature. With such amazing choices available, don’t be shy to ask for help.

5 Favorite Must-Have Cheeses And Complimenting Wines

  • A Sheep or Goat Cheese (like Ossau-Auraty or Spanish Manchego) pairs with a light to full-bodied red. Rioja or Argentinean Malbec is great.
  • Coated-rind cow’s cheese (like Brie or Camembert) with a light to medium red wine like Pinot Noir.
  • Cow’s milk hard cheese (like Gouda or Swiss) with an Italian Amarone
  • Blue cheese (like Roquefort or Gorgonzola) with Cotes du Rhone, Bordeaux, Port and Madeira.
  • The world’s most famous hard cheese--Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is always a winner with various reds.

Presentation

Once you have selected a few cheeses and wines to serve, decorate them with a set of porcelain cheese labels from KitchenKapers. The labels are a lovely and creative way to identify cheese varieties and their accompanying wines on your cheese board or table. Each oval shaped marker features a slightly different detail and comes with a gold pen.

After writing in the cheese and wine name, the ink will dry, won't smear, and easily washes up with soap and water. Display your labeled items, noshes and nibbles with a fashionable bamboo and marble cheese tray with pockets from Red Envelope.

Noshes, Nibbles & Palate Cleansers

To best compliment your cheese selection, serve a variety of fruits, breads and crackers.
• Fruits. Some of my fall favorites are fresh figs, sliced pears, grape bundles and dried cranberries.
• Breads. Make your selection interesting with 3 or 4 different loaves of bread sliced into ¼-inch thick slices. French baguette, Olive-n-Rosemary Loaf and Walnut-Raisin Loaf.
• Crackers. Have fun with 2 or 3 boxes of specialty crackers. Carr’s, The Fine Cheese Co., and Australian Water Wheels.

Now that’s a full-proof formula for socializing, snacking and making new friends!

Smile and say cheese.

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