Have you ever tried cheese that has been soaked in wine? You don’t have to be a wine drinker to try it. There’s just something about the flavor and it gives it that extra kick. Most of it is pretty pricey, but that’s what makes it special. It’s not cheese you’re just going to go out and get on a whim. This type of cheese is what you would get when you have special guests over and you want to pair it with delicious, robust wines (if you’re a wine drinker). A few weeks ago I had a gathering and served this board to go along with appetizers brought by the guests. I usually have some of the board leftover that I graze on the following day, but this one was gone by the end of the night.
Some of my favorite wine soaked cheeses:
What I picked for this board:
- drunken goat
- merlot bellavitano
- sharp cheddar
- prosciutto
- genoa salami
- Kalamon olives
- crispy french crackers with sea salt
- table water crackers
- Rosemary flatbread crackers
- black grape jam
- fresh purple grapes
- dark chocolate squares
Basically, I kept the color scheme purple and white.
How I assembled it:
- I started with the olives and the cheeses. The olives went into a bowl and in a corner.
- The drunken goat I cut off the ends and stuck with the natural shape of the cheese which was a triangle. After those were all cut I layered them back and forth into a really neat stack.
- The merlot cheese I cut into sticks and stood them up around the olive bowl so you could still see the purple rind.
- The sharp cheddar I cut into little cubes and stacked them in a pile.
- To hold the sticks of merlot cheese up, I used a couple bunches of purple grapes. Then I started working on the meats. Instead of laying everything flat, I like to bunch up my meats to give a little more detail. The prosciutto and salami I stacked on opposite ends of the board, much like I did with the cheese.
- Then I started filling in all the empty spaces with the crackers and I added some dark chocolate for added purple.
- Top it off with black grape jam.
Keeping it color coordinated with purples and whites gives it a nice flow and then I added a few white pumpkins here and there to make it extra festive.
For the board I used, click HERE.
So there you have it. This is perfect for the upcoming holidays now that more people are gathering. I’m not a charcuterie connoisseur so if I can do it, anyone can!
~Ashley