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