Red Wine, Cheese, and Grapes:

Pairing Tips For Your Party

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Without leaving the confines of your abode, great wine and cheese combinations can take you all the way around the world. Try out some new cheeses and pair them with delicious wine to get an out-of-country experience!

Smile and say cheese!

Making Your Selections for the Wine Party

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

Little things that will guarantee a successful party.

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.

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.

Wine and Cheese Presentation

Here's how to make your wine and cheese look like a fluid piece of artwork together.

• 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.

Wine Tasting Party Gifts

Stuck on what to get the hostess of the next wine tasting party you're attending? If you're looking for something more personal and a gift your hostess can enjoy long after the festivities are over, try presenting her with a month club membership.

Amazing Clubs offers a wide range of memberships that are both affordable and memorable. Keep in mind your hostess' preferred indulgences and choose the club that fits her best!

• Enroll a chocoholic hostess into a Chocolate of the Month Club
• A membership in the Cheese of the Month Club will have any hostess smiling
• Coffee lovers will rejoice to savor a new gourmet flavor each month
• Fresh flowers each month will brighten up any hostess' home

5 Favorite Must-Have Cheeses And Complementing Wines

Here was five quick ideas for wine and cheese pairings to serve at your next wine and cheese party.

1. 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.
2. Coated-rind cow's cheese (like Brie or Camembert) with a light to medium red wine like Pinot Noir.
3. Cow's milk hard cheese (like Gouda or Swiss) with an Italian Amarone
4. Blue cheese (like Roquefort or Gorgonzola) with Cotes du Rhone, Bordeaux, Port and Madeira.
5. The world's most famous hard cheese--Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is always a winner with various reds.