Farmstead Cheeses and Wines: Jeff’s Blog

At the shop, we’re often asked how much wine and or cheese  to purchase for a party or special  event.

Here’s a few tips:

Wine

• Assume that everyone attending is going to be drinking (in other workds include children and teetotalers in your count)
• Assume that everyone will consume three glasses over the course of the evening.
• You’ll get five pours per 750 ml bottle
• Multiply the number of attendees by three to get the number if drinks that will be consumed, then divide that number by five to get the number of bottles needed.
• Divide that number by twelve to get the number of cases needed
• For most occasions, assume that slightly over 1/2 of your wine will be red and the remainder will be white.  Increase whites if the weather is warm, increase reds if it’s cold.
• Allow two three ounce pours of sparkling wine per person and one three ounce pour of dessert wine per person, if applicable to your event

Cheese

• A proper cheese plate consists of 3-7 cheeses
• The cheeses should vary  in texture, milk source and flavor strength
• If cheese is the focus of the event, allow 1-1.5 oz of each cheese per person
• If cheese is part of an event with lots of other food, allow 1/2 oz of cheese per person
• In general, white wines go better with cheese