🧀 Wine and cheese night checklist

The order matters more than the labels. Mild before strong, with something plain between each pairing, so the tenth mouthful isn't fighting the first.

19 items

1. Four or five cheeses, ordered from mild to strong×4
2. A soft cheese to start — brie or a goat's cheese
3. A hard cheese in the middle — cheddar or a gruyère-style
4. A blue to finishServe it last. A strong blue at the start flattens everything that follows it.
5. Wine: a crisp white and a light red at minimum×2
6. A dessert wine or port, if serving the blue properly
7. Water, plenty of it, and not only for the non-drinkersWater clears the palate between cheeses as much as the bread does.
8. Crackers, a couple of plain kinds×2
9. A good, plain bread, not too strongly flavouredFlavoured bread competes with the cheese instead of resetting the palate for the next one.
10. Something to cut through the richness — apple, grapes, celery
11. A chutney or honey for the harder cheeses
12. Nuts, particularly alongside the blue
13. A cheese knife per cheese, or at least per textureOne knife dragged from a soft cheese into a hard one carries the flavour along with it.
14. A board or plate per cheese, or clear gaps between them
15. Labels for each cheeseGuests are more willing to try something unfamiliar once they know what it is.
16. Small plates for tasting, rather than one big plate passed round
17. A running order written down or talked through as you goMild to strong isn't obvious once four cheeses are all out on the table at once.
18. Something non-alcoholic that isn't just a jug of water
19. Leftover cheese wrapped in wax paper rather than cling filmCling film traps moisture against the rind and speeds up how quickly it turns; wax or baking paper lets it breathe.