Wine friendly cheese board
Everyone seems like they have gone cheese crazy, with those massive charcuterie boards, and it has turned into a new art form in itself. We all have seen meat roses, overly fussy jams favors, and just a few moments looking for ideas online can be overwhelming. When I think about cheese boards, the likelihood of me having wine with them is 100%. Those fancy Pinterest inspiration cheese boards you have saved in your queue are not all equal, and not all of these board items at wine-friendly. Let’s go over a few rules for an easy wine-friendly cheese board.
First off, food will have a more significant influence on wine than wine will on food. Note the food is the driver. For these following guidelines, we are talking about a dry wine. ( a wine that has all sugars fermented to complete dryness)
All food can be broken down into a few categories. Sugar, salt, fat, acid, and heat.
Salt and acid typically will make the wine more fruity (not sweet)
Sugar will typically make the wine more bitter
Fat will help round out tannins and help soften the wine
Heat (spicy) will bring out the Alcohol taste and burn and cover up the fruit.
So what is cheese made up of? Fat and salt, what do fat and salt do to wine? Soften and brings out the fruitiness of the wine.
Those cute little pickles on the board… acid! Acid and wine? Makes the wine fruitier.
Nuts… Fat and salt… are we seeing the pattern developing?
Now let’s talk Sugar. If we stick to the guidelines, sugar will make the wine bitter. No one should be enjoying bitter wine. Let's keep a few things off the cheese board; remember, we are discussing dry wines. FIRST THING Fucking grapes!!! Take them off your boards, Like Edna Mods from The Incredibles. “NO GRAPES!” I get it; it looks pretty, and table grapes are cheap. But wine is made from grapes. Yes, because they are packed full of sugar. Sugar is converted into alcohol. But that is a different topic for a different day.
Ok, now I take myself off the soap box. It does not mean you can not add fruits. Try adding raspberries. Raspberries are not high in sugar and have an excellent level of activity. Here is a tip add olive oil and sea salt to the raspberries. Adding what elements that wine likes. Salt and fat! Now we have fruit, with acidity, salt, and fat…. WHAT! Fruit with fat and salt have endless combinations.
Now that you have the primary guidelines of your cheese board, here is the fun part trying to use them to make a wine-friendly cheese board. The best part is the eating and drinking part. Happy pairing and cheers.
Below is everything that was shown on this board.
Freshly sliced baguette (you can use any basic crackers as well. I love the almond or rice crackers)
Raspberries with olive oil and sea salt
Port Salut
Smoked Gouda
Brie
Rosemary Manchego
smoked Almonds
Cornichons (little pickels)
Green pitted olives with herbs of the province
Parmigiano Reggiano
Goat cheese in truffle oil
Cured dry meats, I say pick your favs.
In the end, I use the strawberries as a palate refresher.
I find cutting the cheeses in different styles helps me remember what cheese is what.
I used a wood-cutting board as my vessel; the trick to a good-looking board is to make it look complete, let things touch, make cheese pathways, and always add fresh herbs, like rosemary sprigs, and thyme, or if you have some basil for greenery.
