Wine and Cheese Baskets
Do you have another birthday or holiday around the corner? Do you have no idea what to give as a special gift? Are you on a limited budget but want to impress? Tired of giving gift cards and meaningless presents? A popular gift during holidays, birthdays and special occasions is the wine and cheese basket. The gift is sophisticated, unique and a highlights a treasured pastime of many individuals. A wine and cheese gift basket allows the recipient to enjoy the luxuries life has to offer. This basket of goodness will provide a party for their taste buds!
Selecting the right wine and cheese is a matter of personal preference and can often be affected by your area. Call local wineries and ask for traditional local favorites or the winery’s signature bottle. Most of the time locals offer holiday specials and will suggest a great holiday wine. They will also have suggestions based on the individual receiving the basket, the season and the occasion. If you know previous to calling the winery your recipients’ preferences it will be a huge help in making the appropriate selection. Sometimes they will even deliver! This has made gift-giving as simple as making a phone call!
Made with as much care and artistry as wine, cheese is a product of careful craft and ingenuity. Prepared from cow, sheep, goat or yak’s milk, cheese can be fresh, poached, or hard; with a washed, flourished or natural rind, and melted or cured. Cheese can even be spiced up or enfolded in leaves for new aromas to sink in. Farm cheeses or industrial cheeses come in various flavors and blends that easily match the complexity and varieties of wine produced in the world. It is the painstakingly produced cheese from exclusive farms that are most popular (and expensive).
Red wine usually pairs up with most cheeses. Fresh cream cheeses are heady with most white wines and some delicate red wines. Red and white wine work well with goat cheese. Camembert, Brie and other such ripening soft cheeses flourish with fine white wines or fruity reds. Soft and semi-hard cheeses blend well with champagne or sweet sherry. Washed rind cheese integrates best with that region’s red wines or stronger whites, while lush semi-aged ones resonate with rosé or local wines. Cheeses like Parmesan, Cheddar or other hard, aged cheeses brilliantly highlight red wines, sweet dessert wines and port. Blue cheeses favor vintage port, as well as strong reds and some whites.
If you are on a budget create you own basket. Include a selection of wine and cheese complimentary of one another, a knife, cutting board, simple crackers, two glasses and maybe a few decorative napkins. If your budget allows for more simply include a tasteful book, magazine or journal. Imagine the afternoon or evening of enjoyment you are gifting your friend, co-worker or family member! Their enjoyment will include good drinks, great cheese and hopefully wonderful conversation. Gift baskets of wine and cheese will always remain a luxurious and pleasurable gift to give.