A cheese platter matches perfectly with a bottle of fine wine – especially when you don’t feel like cooking today. Cheeses and deli are the ultimate wine partners, as long as we know how to combine everything in the right way. In such case, cheeses and deli can complement the taste of wine, or even ‘save’ the taste of some wines by absorbing tannins and acidity and, thus, deliver different results on your palate.
However, you cannot match every cheese with every bottle of wine. You should always take in account the acidity, tannins, aromas and flavours of each wine bottle. Usually, red wines are better coupled with fatty red meats or aged cheeses, while whites, corresponding to aromas and flavour, are combined with less fatty cheeses and more delicate – smoked in particular – deli.
The ideal companion for white wines
When you open a bottle of white wine, fruity and creamy, choose a gently creamy white cheese variety, such as the Greek anthotyro or the Italian mozzarella. If you open a white dry wine, with sharp acidity, it pairs wonderfully with more salty, white cheeses, such as the Greek graviera and kefalotyri.
If you are a deli lover, salami, aged ham, Iberian prosciutto, Cypriot lountza and smoked pastrami are some seriously flavourful choices for you to add on your platter.
For your platter to reach perfection, don’t forget the fresh and dried fruit, crackers, bread, jam and olives. Pour yourself a glass of “Oenou Yi – Ktima Vassiliades” – “Xinisteri” and enjoy life!
