Hey, drinking from the comfort of your own home is the safest way to go right now. And also, what better way to spend that extra time indoors than mastering the perfect cheese platter? With no pressure to rock jeans anytime soon, wine and cheese have certainly gotten us through the last few months.
Grab your bottle opener and enjoy all of our best wine and cheese content:
How to Build the Perfect Cheese Board
Nationally renowned cheese expert Nat Caputo of Caputo Cheese Market has been in the family business for 35 years. This year, his 150 employees will sell nearly 30 million pounds of cheese retail and wholesale. The man knows his fromage — and so do his well-trained cheesemongers, who wrangle more than 1,000 different cheeses from around the world. Here, Nat shares exactly what he puts on his perfect cheese board.
How to Match Wine and Food with John Terlato
The North Shore isn’t known for its wine, but maybe it should be, because the company behind familiar wines such as Rutherford Hill, Chimney Rock and Terlato Family Vineyards is headquartered in Bannockburn.
Cheese Platters That Are Anything But Boring
Cheese platters don’t have to be boring. With just the tiniest bit of effort (meaning think outside the pre-cut Costco cheese box), you can bring some wow to this entertaining standard. It’s time to up your cheese game.
Insalata’s Serrano Ham, Pears and Haricot Vert Salad with Valdeón Cheese
In the spring, Insalata’s restaurant in San Anselmo serves this composed salad with ripe Bosc pears, while in the fall it might use figs or persimmons. Organic arugula or escarole is a great substitute for the frisée and a gorgonzola may be substituted for the Valdeón.
5 California Wine Country Recipes — Plus Wine Pairings
A kitchen stocked with ingredients, a house full of kids and the new reality that you don’t really have anywhere to be — what do you do? Cook, of course. With this in mind, we tapped into the chefs at some of our favorite wine country eateries and they provided some great recipe ideas for cooking with kids, delicious comfort foods and even some irresistible sweet treats. Here’s what we’ll be whipping up in the days and weeks to come.
Marin and Sonoma County Dairies
The cheese makers of Marin and Sonoma counties have, the best of both cheese and wine. Their products, from the melt-in-your-mouth mounds of Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam to the earthy flavors of Redwood Hill Farm’s California Crottin, have gained national renown as well as an enthusiastic local following that enables these ranchers and artisans to survive in what quite literally is a their-hand-to-your-mouth business.
Following the Cheese Trail: The Ultimate ‘Cheesecation’ Through Wisconsin
If we ask you to think of Wisconsin, we bet one word comes to mind: cheese. One of the only states in the U.S. to offer a Master Cheesemaker Program, Wisconsin has a rich history in cheesemaking. In fact, they have been making cheese since before they were even declared a state. If you are looking for a short weekend away, head up on the cheese trail this summer and discover these award-winning and uniquely-Wisconsin spots along the way.
Women Winemakers Share Their Favorite Pairings
While we’re still sheltering-in-place, many of our thoughts have turned to the things in life we can still enjoy, like wine and food. We’ve rounded up three of Napa and Sonoma’s expert winemakers to share their top wine pairings to enjoy while we’re holed up at home, and hopefully soon in person too.
Food Friendly Wines
A lot of the fun in eating good food is coming up with a wine that makes both food and wine sing! If you make it a personal goal to try as many different types of wine as you possibly can you’ll increase your chances of finding new and unusual — aka fun — pairings.
How to Find the Wine you Like
There’s a great big ocean of good wine out there and stylistically, it’s all over the map — literally. By sharpening your ability to figure out what you like and why you like it, you can have an easier time buying your perfect wine. Here’s a breakdown of the four most important things to know.
Here are some wine & cheese essentials we love:
If you buy something through our links, Make It Better Media Group may earn an affiliate commission.
More from Better:
