Cheese plates are a fun way to entertain during the holidays. The Houston Dairymaids give their best tips on entertaining with cheese and some great pairings for your holiday parties and dinners. Cheese and wine and cheese and cider included.

1. Cheese Plate 101
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2. Tip #1: Be interesting. Mix milks, flavors, textures & colors.
Pick cheeses that will be memorable or have a broad
appeal. Ask your cheesemonger for her picks.
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3. Tip #2: Give us some space. Make sure to have a platter or
board large enough to hold the cheeses. Or do butcher paper.
Or do multiple plates. Do not overcrowd the cheese plate or
overwhelm your guests. Have separate knives.
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4. Tip #3 Dress it up! Add crackers, meats, breads, honey,
fruit, olives, nuts and figs. Be creative!
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5. Party Timeline
Unwrap cheese and arrange at least an hour before party
o’clock. Labeling your cheeses is a good idea. You may want
to make a handy pairing guide.
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6. Party Timeline
Chilling Wine Time Chart
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7. Cheese Board Ideas
Regional – Celebrate a state (Texas), a region (the South,
Britain), or perhaps honor where a special guest is from.
Anti-Regional – The same cheese across regions
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8. Milk the Theme
• Housewarming (local cheeses)
• Sports (cheese from one region vs. another)
• Favorite cheeses of the honoree
• Seasonal
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10. Creative Pairings
Not just cheese & wine or beer!
• Cheese & Coffee
• Cheese & Chocolate
• Cheese & Scotch
• Cheese & Honey
• Cheese & Breads
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11. The Traditional Cheese Plate
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12. The DIY Cheese Board
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13. The DIY Cheese Board
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14. The DIY Cheese Board
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15. Other Ways to Entertain with Cheese
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16. Other Ways to Entertain with Cheese
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17. Other Ways to Entertain with Cheese
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18. Other Ways to Entertain with Cheese
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19. Recipes with Cheese
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20. Holiday Cheese Pairings
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21. Classic Pairing:
Creamy Cheeses and Sparkling Wines
Kinderhook Creek Bellavista Franciacorta Brut NV
• Franciacorta vs. Champagne vs. Prosecco
• DOCG
• Bellavista “House Style”
• Bloomy Rind, Pasteurized
Sheep
• Hudson Valley/Amish
• Savory, mushroomy
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22. Paired by theme: All-American
Landaff Wickson from Wandering
Aengus
• Cider was once America’s
beverage of choice
• Heirloom varieties: bringing
back the crab apple
• Artisan Cider Revival
• Natural Rind, Raw Cow Milk
• New Hampshire
• Based off a Caerphilly recipe
• Complex – bright buttermilk
& brown butter
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23. Pairs that balance: the wine lets the
cheese shine
Harbison Moncontour Vouvray Sec
• 100% Chenin Blanc
• Vouvray region of Loire
Valley
• Historic friend of cheese
• Bark-wrapped, Pasteurized
Cow’s Milk
• Vacherin-Style cheese
• Vermont
• Woodsy, Mustard, Bacon
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24. Making a Regional Connection- Ciao!
Pantaleo Terre al Sole Lambrusco
• This isn’t Ruinite!
• 100% Grasparossa di
Castelvetro
• Aged Pasteurized, Goat
Milk
• Sardinia!
• Black Pepper & Flowers
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25. Complementary Pairings
Hopelessly Bleu Precipice Perry
• Perry is not Cider
• Tieton Cider Works:
following tradition
• Yakima Valley, Washington
• Pasteurized Goat Milk
Blue
• Dripping Springs, Texas
• Subtle, Creamy
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26. The Decadent Finale
Melkbus Black Truffle Gouda
Cristia “Les Garrigues” Villes
Vignes
• 100% Grenache
• Cotes du Rhone
• 50-year-old vines
• Raw Cow Milk
• Netherlands
• Earthy, Nutty, TRUFFLE
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