Learn how to Host a Wine and Cheese Party for a fun and festive way to get together with all your friends and family. Plus, find the best tips and tricks to create an effortless wine and cheese board with tasty gluten-free and dairy-free snacks everyone will love.
Let’s Wine About It!
If you know me, you know I’m a big fan of wine. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good old-fashioned cocktail such as a Yuletide Moon cocktail or even a Hot Toddy every now and then. However, given a choice, wine is always my go-to drink. So, when the holiday season rolled around, it seemed like a no-brainer for me to host a wine and cheese party!
If you don’t drink wine yourself or aren’t a planner, you can still throw a fantastic wine and cheese party that will leave your friends talking for weeks to come! I’ve got you covered with everything from which wines to choose, easy appetizer recipes, hosting tips, and more! Whether you’re planning weeks in advance or throwing together a party today, it’s going to be a blast!
How to Host a Wine and Cheese Party
When it comes to hosting a wine and cheese party or virtual wine tasting party, there are no set rules you have to follow. However, there are a few guidelines to follow to help make the party planning process easier. You’ll need to know what you’ll need to gather, what time to expect guests, how to prepare ahead of time, and what to serve.
What You’ll Need
Of course, you’ll need wine and cheese, but there are also a few other items that help create the perfect party including:
- A corkscrew
- A cheese slicer
- A cheeseboard or serving platter
- Wine glasses
- Small plates
What Time It Should Start
Given that wine and cheese parties are not meant to have complete meals, it’s best to host them either before dinner such as at 4 o’clock p.m., or later in the evening around 9 o’clock p.m. after your guests have eaten dinner.
Pro-Tip: If you can’t meet with your loved ones in person, try hosting a virtual wine tasting party! To do so, set a time to meet online, and agree to have your favorite wine and snacks on hand so everyone can partake in the fun.
Perfect Pairings
For the best results, you’ll want to pick wine and cheeses that can be paired together and serve a variety of both for options that will satisfy all your guests. Typically, you would want to modify your choices to match the season.
The Best Wine to Choose
In my opinion, the best wine to use for your party is the one you like best. However, I also recommend providing several options for your guests to choose from. You could even serve a flight for a fun wine-tasting!
- Pinot Noir
- Aged Port
- Champagne
- Moscato
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Provence Rosé
- Riesling
- Malbec
Note: In my opinion, light-tasting Rosé and Sparkling White wine are good with just about ALL THE THINGS and are a must at wine and cheese parties. Soft in flavor, they’re a great “intro” wine to those who may not be frequent wine connoisseurs.
What Kind of Cheese to Buy
Salty, hard cheeses pair well with wine, but so do soft cheeses. I recommend choosing at least 3-4 different types of cheese and using the tips below to include a wide variety of choices for your board.
- Choose from different textures including hard, medium, and soft.
- Include cheese from different sources including cows, goats, sheep, or vegan sources.
- Use a variety of flavors by including cheeses coated in herbs, drizzled with truffle oil, or smoked.
Pro-Tip: For an aesthetic wine and cheese board, cut your cheese into different sizes and shapes including circles, cubes, wedges, slices, and more!
The Best Wine & Cheese Pairings
- Gouda – The perfect pairing with Cabernet
- Aged Cheddar – Lovely with Malbec
- Manchego – This option is a sheep milk-based cheese, great for those who are sensitive to cow’s milk cheese and perfect when paired with a sparkly wine such as red Rioja.
- Ricotta – Goes well with Riesling
- Parmesan – Delicious with a bubbly Prosecco
- Gruyere – A love fest with Chardonnay
- Brie – Goes well with many wines, but my favorite pairing is Merlot
- Bleu Cheese – Pairs well with a Pinot Noir or a sweet Port
- Feta – Slightly sweet wine is perfect with salty feta! I like it best with a bright red or dry Rosé.
Vegan and Dairy-Free Cheese Options
These are my favorite real-food-based vegan cheese options to include on your board.
- Kite Hill cream cheese or ricotta
- Cashew Based Block Cheese
- Or, if you’re looking for a cheese dip that tastes more like a cheddar option, try my vegan queso! You can definitely fancy it up with simple swaps such as replacing the salsa with red pepper jelly to make it wine and cheese party-worthy.
Wine Tasting Snacks
Instead of spending hours in the kitchen, think of simple foods that don’t require any cooking or baking. For the easiest option, I like to build a cheese board to serve everything on.
You can even build different cheese boards to go with different types of red wines, sparkling wines, and white wines! To keep things simple, I include snacks that go well with both a light red wine like Pinot Noir and white wines such as Chardonnay.
- Sweet pickles such as cornichon
- Gluten-free crackers
- Gluten-free snack mix
- Walnuts, almonds, and candied nuts
- Fresh fruit such as grapes, pomegranate, and apple slices
- Dried figs, apricots, and oranges
- Marinated olives
- Dark chocolate and berries (all kinds)
- Honey-sweetened jams and pepper jelly
- Hummus and other dipping sauces like mustards or red pepper
- Artisan meats (uncured meats)
- Simple sweets such as no-bake chocolate covered cookie truffles, lemon macadamia nut cookies or any gluten free (allergy-friendly) store bought cookies/biscuits
- Herbs and pretty flowers, for extra decoration!
Allergy-Friendly Options
To keep things as simple and allergy-friendly as possible, I like to set aside and label two (or more) different boards. For example, the first board could be labeled with vegetarian and nut-free options and the second could be labeled with vegan and gluten-free options. To get you started, a few of my favorite inclusions are roasted pumpkin seeds, olives, smoked salmon, dairy-free dips like salsa con queso and edamame pesto, and vegan cheese!
How to Assemble a Wine and Cheese Board
Making a picture-worthy wine and cheese board may seem intimidating, but it’s actually super simple! Just follow the steps below to get started.
- Create structure. Before you begin arranging the food, add any large items such as bowls or decorations to the board to create a sense of structure and prevent chaos.
- Add the largest items. Once some structure has been put in place, add the largest food items that can stand on their own to the board first.
- Fill in the gaps. Using the remaining ingredients, fill in any empty gaps in the board with the smaller, more decorative snacks.
Note: For the most visually appealing board, focus on colors and combinations! For example, pair orange and red items such as fruit and meat together. Next, group green and yellow hues together such as pickles, olives, nuts, and dips. Then, add it all to the board, and garnish your board with fresh herbs and flowers!
How to Host an Impromptu Wine and Cheese Party
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 10-25 servings
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Mix and match your favorite wines, cheese, and gluten free snacks to create a wine and cheese party all your friends and loved ones will enjoy with ease!
Ingredients
Wine:
- Pinot Noir
- Aged Port
- Champagne
- Moscato
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Provence Rosé
- Riesling
- Malbec
Cheese:
- Gouda
- Aged Cheddar
- Manchego
- Ricotta
- Parmesan
- Gruyere
- Brie
- Bleu Cheese
- Feta
Vegan/Dairy-Free Cheese:
- Kite Hill cream cheese or ricotta
- Cashew Based Block Cheese
- Vegan queso
Extra Snacks:
- Sweet pickles such as cornichon
- Gluten free crackers
- Gluten free snack mix
- Walnuts, almonds, and candied nuts
- Fresh fruit such as grapes, pomegranate, and apple slices
- Dried figs, apricots, and oranges
- Marinated olives
- Dark chocolate and berries (all kinds)
- Honey-sweetened jams and pepper jelly
- Hummus and other dipping sauces like mustards or red pepper
- Artisan meats (uncured meats)
- Simple sweets
– no-bake chocolate covered cookie truffles, lemon macadamia nut cookies or any gluten free (allergy-friendly) store-bought cookies/biscuits - Herbs and pretty flowers, for extra decoration!
Instructions
- Prep the snacks ahead of time by making trail mix, dips, and dessert bites.
- Gather a large platter or cutting board and multiple small dishes. Add any dips, spreads, and seeds to the small bowls.
- Next, gather all of the ingredients, and add the largest items to the cutting board or platter first.
- Then, nestle in the dip bowls.
- Finally, fill in the remaining space with smaller foods and cover any holes or gaps with fruit, garnishes, or any extras.
- Serve wine on the side.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: n/a
- Category: appetizer
- Cuisine: American
This is exactly the website I was looking for since I’ve never done this alone before. I’m moving soon and thought to have my wine-drinking buddies over for a last (hopefully not) hurrah. I invited everyone last week and now it’s going to happen in four days. I’m now relaxed and confident. I have my grocery list ready and am looking forward to a great get together. Thank you so much!
Wonderful sue! Keep me posted on how things turn out!
This is such great info! I always struggle with pairings and amounts and second guess myself constantly. It is so helpful to have a guide to refer to!
You’e inspiring me to hot a girls night! Such great ideas!
So fun! And so glad
Just so stunning. And what a fun post!
This post is near and dear to my heart because of the wine and the cheese. The pictures are incredible.
right? totally thought of you and that you neeeeed to be here!
That the awesome sharing and there write content is really fantastic.
This looks so amazing! I can’t wait to try it!
You definitely know how to throw a party!
Such great tips, Linsday! This is my favorite way to entertain, hands down!
Very helpful article, Thank you for sharing. I love you
Brother. You know this is riiiiiight up my alley. Let’s join forces and throw the most epic party ever!
You know it! Bring it on! We need some of your famous cocktails as well. 😉
Just so stunning. And what a fun post!
THanks Kris!
Cheese and wine are my two middle names! Seriously. My fave.
I think we have similar nicknames Lindsay! Such a great post for the upcoming holidays! Everything looks lovely!
I’m all about cheese, so I love this haha