Tips on serving wine and cheese

Tips on serving wine and cheese

Although the sales of alcoholic drinks are still strictly
regulated here, finding a good place to buy a a good wine is not
something that you have to worry about. Many kinds of wines are
now available in supermarkets, particularly in big cities such as
Jakarta.

So if you intend to have a party with your friends, you can
just go to the nearest major supermarket and purchase your
favorite wine.

Before you purchase any wine, make sure you know how many
people you will be serving. Basically, there are between four and
five glasses in every bottle. Once you have purchased your wine,
keep the bottles in a box until the day of your mixer. on the day
of your dinner party, be sure to place the white wines in the
refrigerator approximately two hours before dinner. If you happen
to forget, or are running late, chill the white wine in a bucket
of ice and water for 20 minutes.

Below are some additional tips on preparing wine and serving
cheese, sourced from Winebrats.org and IloveCheese.com. We
recommend you to visit their web sites directly for full
information.

Ordering Your Wine

We suggest that you order six bottles of wine for every four
to eight people. Make sure, however, that you order enough wine
to allow everyone to experiment. Note that you do not have to
finish every opened bottle of wine or polish off every glass.
Below, we'll supply tips on dump buckets, responsible hospitality
and how to store opened, unfinished wine.

Storing Your Wine

Once you've purchased your wine, keep it in the box until the
day you plan to serve it (unless you're blessed with a wine
cellar) and store the box in a cool closet. On the day of your
dinner party, be sure to place the white wines in the
refrigerator approximately 2 hours before dinner. If you happen
to forget, or are running late, chill white wines in a bucket of
ice and water for 20 minutes.

Preparing the Wine
Open all wines at once and gently replace their corks into the
neck. Replacing the corks will guard against spills, while
allowing you to re-cork any leftover wine at the end of the
evening (more on this later). If you order more than two bottles
of each wine, keep the extras in reserve and open appropriately
or when requested by thirsty guests. One wine glass should be
available for each guest plus 20 percent for back up.

When pouring wine during your mixer, make sure guests understand
that they are "tasting" not "drinking" and should pace themselves
as they move through the wines. We also recommend that you place
a dump bucket and pitcher of water at each wine station. Dump
buckets can be as classy as Champagne buckets or as wacky as
empty coffee cans. This way your guests can taste, dump any wines
and rinse their wineglasses as they move through the line-up.
Again, keep the samples small until guests find what they like.
When they find what they like, pour full glasses for them to
enjoy. Encourage comments.

If you have 20 friends coming over, that means you have to
provide 30 glasses!. No, we don't suggest you go out and buy a
case of wineglasses. Ask guests to bring two glasses of their
own, especially glasses that might a have a story attached to
them, such as a first date, travel or wedding experience.

Re-corking the leftovers
As we mentioned above, do not throw away your corks. If you have
leftover wines at the end of the evening, re-cork the bottles and
stick them in the fridge. They will last three to five days. You
might also divvy up the wines at the end of the evening and send
them home with friends.

Serving cheese
- Allow for two ounces of cheese per guest if you will be serving
dinner. If cheese is the main event, allow four ounces per guest.

- Offer accompaniments to the cheeses such as breads, fruits and
nuts.

- Serve the cheese at room temperature, removing it from the
refrigerator up to two hours prior to guest arrival.

- Present each cheese in a large wedge to display its natural
beauty on a large plate, wooden board or piece of marble.

- Place a knife near each of the eight cheeses to allow guests to
cut their own portions.

- Make flag markers with toothpicks to label each cheese.

--JP