Food Wine? Cheese? Please lend a helping hand!

[eatcookie]

I'm throwing a small get together at my place where a few friends are coming over just for a chat..and I'm lost when it comes to what wine and cheese I should serve.

So please share with me your favourite:
- Red Wine
- White Wine
- Cheese

Thanks for the help

 

[Necromancer]

I'm from Australia, so I always buy Aussie red wines and Aussie cheeses, especially ones from Tasmania or King Island. They go beautifully with reds. I don't drink white wine, so I wouldn't have a clue what cheeses go with it.
Here's a site that may be a helpful guide as to what types of cheeses go with certain wine styles:
http://www.artisanalcheese.com/departments.asp?dept=1059

 

[lisalovesshoes]

King Island Dairy..

For me... the stronger the cheese, the more full bodied the wines should be.

Here's a good pairing guide... http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Wine-and-Alcohol-644/wine-cheese-pairing-guide.aspx

Rioja & Havarti.. yum!!

 

[bornprettystore]

it is depends on your friends are male or female, for male you can serve white wine, for female you can serve red wine, it all depends on youself.

 

[courtneyh]

Men tend to drink Red Wine and Women tend to drink White Wine. But that doesn't always stand true for everyone.

Your best bet would be offer a Dry Red, A Dry White, a Semi-Sweet White, and maybe a Champagne...

As for cheese, I would serve an array of cheese. I would do an aged cheddar, a bleu, a brie, a parmesan.... I would also do a sweet sopressata, pepperoni, or any other type of meat.
I would also serve french bread, and olive oil for dipping, and a few other types of crackers. You could also throw some grapes on the platter as well.

This way you have something for everyone!

 

[pmburk]

I would try to pick a variety of cheese - some cheddar or havarti for the "meat & potatoes" types, and then some fun/different things like brie, maybe a blue or stilton, perhaps a goat cheese with cranberries. Also I like the idea of offering other items such as summer sausage or pepperoni, a small relish tray (olives, mini gherkins, etc.) and some crackers & baguette slices.

Believe it or not, I've recently found some excellent cheese selections at Aldi, of all places. Just last week I picked up several different cheeses from there to take to a friend's cocktail party.

As far as wines, you really cannot go wrong. I'd go for maybe 2 types each of red & white. You could also throw in a sweet dessert type wine, as non wine drinkers will typically go for this. Something like a muscat or a sweet riesling.

 

[jordanjordan]

I think a good cheddar is a nice start, because it's something almost everyone likes, and then mix in some more exotic cheeses for the adventurous! I like Gloucester Cheddar (or double gloucester? something like that).

 

[hlfinn]

are you near a trader joe's? they have an amazing double cream gouda and a tdf goat cheese with honey. i like to buy thier multigrain crackers to go with it. most of my friends love the smoking loon brand of wine.

 

[hellokatiegirl]

My suggestion is to get a sampling of a few different wines ( sweet to dry wines and reds and whites) and let guests mix and match them with cheese to see which pairings they like best.

Do you have a local specialty cheese store near by? The reason I ask is that they usually have a lot of diversity in cheeses and they will let you buy small amounts so you can get a lot of variety for your guests to try. They also can advise you as to which wines compliment different cheeses. Although I think it would be fun to let people discover their own preferences.