A Holiday How-To:
Host a
Wine & Cheese Party
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If you host a well-considered holiday party, you might find you’ve established a new tradition as guests clamor to make such an affair an annual tradition. But the holidays are busy enough as it is, without the meal planning, cleaning, cooking, prep work, invitations — all the effort that goes into hosting a fête. This year, may we suggest that you reconsider the traditional holiday party, the crock pots, the potluck, the buffet table, in favor of hosting a simpler, more intimate gathering. You can’t go wrong with a wine and cheese pairing party.
Written By Kaity Teer with Chef Dona Applegate Photographed by Dean Davidson Special Thanks to the Bellingham Community Food Co-Op
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H
osting a memorable holiday fête needn’t mean hours of prep time. A well-considered wine and cheese party is an elegant entertaining solution that requires little to no cooking. It’s perfect for the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. “The holidays are for celebrating. You want to do something decadent but without a lot of work,” said Chef Dona Applegate of the Winery Kitchen in Woodinville. “The goal should be to make the party as enjoyable as possible for both you and your guests. You want to create an occasion for making memories together.” Chef Applegate knows more than just a thing or two about producing memorable wine and cheese experiences. Guests visit the Winery Kitchen at her farm in the heart of Woodinville’s Wine Country for culinary experiences that range from farm dinners and private cooking lessons to cheese-making classes — all centered on fresh local ingredients, most of which are sourced in her farm and garden, and all of which are meant to pair well with wine. Her vision for the Winery Kitchen is to “make food that likes wine” and to teach her guests delicious techniques they can easily replicate and adapt in their own homes. Drawing upon her decades of experience working in wine country as a master cheese maker, master food preserver, and educator, Chef Applegate shares five key considerations for hosting a wine and cheese party and offers a sample five-course pairing menu that showcases the bounty of Washington State.
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Helpful Suggestions
1 Approach and Attitude The worlds of wine and cheese are delightfully complex, rich in tradition and innovation, and offering seemingly endless varieties of textures and flavors. When it comes to selecting wine and cheese pairings from the surfeit of choices, you may well find yourself overwhelmed at the possibilities.
Do invite 10–12 friends and family members. A dozen guests make for a lively, interactive party, while still retaining a cozy, intimate vibe.
The best approach is to keep it simple by selecting a theme. For example, Chef Applegate chose a regional focus by limiting her options to wines and cheeses sourced in Washington state. “We are so fortunate in Washington,” she said, “that we have so many creative people and so many great natural resources for producing wine and cheese.”
Do stock appropriate glassware. Chef Applegate’s courses would be well-served by three glasses: a flute for sparkling wine, multipurpose big-bowled stemware for rosé, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon (better to err on the smaller side, though, because you don’t want 2-ounce or 4-ounce pours to look too skimpy), and a port glass.
Rather than feeling pressure to be an expert on all things wine and cheese, just aim to be familiar with the products you’ve selected for your guests. There’s no need to know it all! You and your guests will feel more at ease as you model playfulness and curiosity and embrace the opportunity to explore new tastes together. This is about having fun and enjoying an elegant culinary experience.
Do feel free to skip the fussy, outdated advice for wine tasting parties. Palate cleansers are unnecessary and kill the party in your mouth. So, too, is including off-putting instructions on the event invite, like asking your guests to avoid wearing fragrances to the party.
One of the joys of hosting such a party is the opportunity to introduce your friends and family to wines and cheeses and combinations they haven’t encountered before. Encourage your guests to sample from the pairings you’ve suggested, as well as to experiment with their own combinations. You can share with them about the farms and wineries from which you’ve sourced your pairings. In this way, the wine and cheese become a topic of conversation.
Do enhance the atmosphere with music playing softly in the background. Choose an upbeat playlist that suits the cuisines. Music takes the pressure off for everyone.
2 Visual Presentation
Do host your wine and cheese party during dinnertime. Between 6 and 8 p.m. is an excellent time for hosting a wine and cheese tasting party. Guests can eat a little something before if they’re concerned about not having enough to eat, or after if they’re still hungry and want to keep celebrating.
Because so much time and energy was devoted to producing the wine and cheese you’ll serve, it’s only fitting to take care to craft an inviting, visually interesting tablescape for presenting them. Attending to these details will make your party feel like a truly special occasion and entice guests’ appetites. “Think Christmas morning when you see a stack of beautifully wrapped boxes and can’t wait to open them — that's the idea,” Chef Applegate said.
Do encourage your guests to introduce themselves to one another. If you’re bringing together unfamiliar faces, nametags may be helpful.
She recommends placing several unscented votive candles. Battery-operated candles may be a wise choice because of how frequently your guests will be interacting with the table. Position the wine and cheese pairings together, so your guests will understand the tastings you’ve composed for them. Finally, add seasonal visuals like whole walnuts, pinecones, and clementines dotted with cloves to amplify the flavors in your festive pairings.
Do make a brief speech to welcome your guests and invite them to enjoy the courses you’ve arranged, and invite them to mix-and-match pairings.
Do let your guests mingle and enjoy themselves. Though you’ve planned the courses and the party, refrain from jumping in to tell your guests how to eat or drink.
“You could even consider using holiday gift tags to identify the wine varietal, type of cheese, and small bite you’ve paired.”
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Chef Applegate's
3 Texture and Flavor As you plan your pairings, particularly the cheeses and small bites, consider mixing textures in your recipes to awaken the taste buds. For example, try chewy and crispy together, or sweet and savory, or tart and tannic to make your guests really ooh and ahh. Chef Applegate recommends preparing finger-food portions. Aim for cheese and small bites that are onebite wonders. “Remember your guests only have two hands — one for wine, one for food,” she said. “Also seek to celebrate the flavors of the holidays, drawing upon ingredients like cranberries, pumpkins, baking spices and toasted nuts.”
4 Participation
Wine & Cheese Wisdom The best cheese is fresh cheese, purchased directly from the farm.
Your wine and cheese party should be interactive. As the host, it’s your job to get the party going by demonstrating both sensory and hands-on participation.
Cheese gets firmer and stronger as it ages.
Sensory: Invite your guests to pour a glass of wine. Suggest they swirl, sniff, then taste. Strike up a discussion by asking guests to notice which nuances they detect. What surprises them? Then, suggest a sampling of the complementary cheese bite. Allow guests to ponder how each cheese selection is featured in the appetizer. Now pair the wine with the cheese bite and discuss how the pairing offers complementary and contrasting tastes.
Fresh, soft cheese pairs best with soft, young wines.
Hands-On: The pairing experience will be more memorable for your guests if you encourage them to personally engage in slicing, cutting, and assembling their cheese bites. Make it easy and fun for them to participate by setting the table with a selection of unique vessels and tools. “We've used a Boska tool at our parties, so guests can curl and assemble their own snack,” Chef Applegate said. “Other ideas include a curling tool, a fondue pot, a mini crock pot, nut crackers, a small ice cream scoop to ball soft cheese, cookie cutters, or assorted vegetable peelers to create delicate shapes of cheese shards.”
5 Thoughtful Conclusion Chef Applegate believes that every good host should make their party a memorable one. One of her favorite entertaining gestures is to prepare thank-you notes to give to guests as they leave. Include in the note an index card with your favorite pairing recipe as a token of appreciation for your guests’ attendance. They will be touched by your thoughtfulness!
Firm, aged cheese pairs best with bolder, mature wines.
You can describe wine in terms of sweetness, acidity, tannin, fruit, and body. Eat and drink what you like!
PAIRINGS 1 Wine Cheese Bites
Sparkling Wine Treveri 100% Chardonnay Blanc de Blanc Mt. Townsend Truffle Stack (Cow) Thick shaving of truffle cheese on a deviled egg with cracked Saltworks truffle and sea salt and a Tim’s Cascade original potato chip
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2 Rosé Wine Cheese Bites
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Trust Rosé of Cabernet Franc Mystery Bay Chèvre (Goat) Slice chèvre log into three thick medallions and stack; drizzle in the manner of a waterfall cranberry, clementine, and sauce; serve with gingersnaps
3 Merlot Wine
Efeste
Cheese
Black Sheep Tin Willow Tomme
Bites
Pumpkin bread squares layered with tomme, local wild blackberry honey, pomegranate seed; cut tomme with “ruffle� or Boska for added visual appeal
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4 Wine Cheese Bites
Cabernet Sauvignon Obelisco Ferndale Scamorza Black pepper focaccia or flatbread with assorted sautĂŠed foraged local mushrooms sprinkled with toasted pine nuts
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5 Port Wine Cheese Bites
Brian Carter Portuguese grape blends Willapa Blue Cheese (Cow & Sheep) Crispy filo cups filled with blue cheese and topped with either maple glazed walnuts or toasted pumpkin seeds
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