Throw the perfect wine and cheese party

Have fun with your cheese presentation

Cheese on its own can look at a little bit bland, but pair it with a few walnuts, grapes and crackers on a tray, and you've got yourself a chic food presentation that's befitting of an upscale restaurant. A few things to remember when laying out your delicious goods include:

• Purchase large blocks and cheese and cut them into smaller triangles; this will create a sleek presentation, but will also give guests small, handy blocks to slice from.
• Cheese is best served when at room temperature, so be sure to pull your goods out of the fridge about 30 minutes before your guests arrive.
• Serve everything on a bamboo or wooden platter; the whiteish-colored cheese will look chic and effortless against the organic grains of the wood.
• Remember to label the cheeses you purchase; if you want to go the extra mile, give a brief blurb about where each cheese comes from, what it tastes good with and how to eat it.
• Give each type of cheese its own knife.
• Buy cheeses no more than 24 hours before the party so they'll be fresh and flavorful.

The way to prepare your wine

Purchasing – and serving – wine can be an arduous task, but keep it simple with a few of these tips and tricks and you'll have your guests swishing and swirling with pleasure in no time.

• Chill sparkling and white wines overnight to keep them crisp. Pull white wines out of the fridge an hour or so before guests arrive so they can warm up to the perfect tasting temperature. Red wines taste best when served at room temperature or ever so slightly chilled.
• Serve each variety of wine in its own type of glass. Sparkling wine is best served in tall slender champagne glasses; this will ensure the drink stays bubbly. Regular wine glasses with stems work for white wines (to keep the wine chilled). Red wine needs to be aerated (this boosts the flavor of the tannins in the wine), so serve them in round, ball-shaped wider-brimmed glasses.
• To avoid wine glass mix-ups, have guests write their name on tags then stick them to their wine glass, or buy charms so each guest can keep tabs on their glass.
• Be sure to keep non-alcoholic beverages on hand for guests who can't have (or don't want) alcohol.

How to pair wine and cheese

The thought of pairing various wines with cheeses can be a daunting task, even for professional sommeliers. Follow a few of these basic wine and cheese truths to help you along your way:

• White wines pair best with soft or strong-flavored cheese: The acidity of the white wine will cut through the fat in the soft cheese and will complement its strong flavors.
• Red wines pair best with hard or light-flavored cheese: The tannins in the wine will smooth out the hard texture of the cheese and will enhance its mild flavors.
• Sweet, dessert or bubbly wines pair best with strong cheeses: The bubbles and sweetness will balance out its strong flavor.
• Great non-alcoholic beverages to serve include dry cider, sparkling water and mineral water (just don't add lemon or lime wedges which will kill the flavor of cheese).