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Now that the weather is getting colder and we are back in our home state of Minnesota, weekends are spent crowded around patio tables soaking in the last few weeks of sunshine and warmer temperatures. We’ve been spending these moments catching up with friends and family members. Nothing brings people together more than wine and cheese.

We had plans with some friends this weekend, so we picked up two varieties of The Dreaming Tree wines (website here) and the items to make a cheese board. We spent the day snacking, sipping and watching football. It was a perfect little Sunday.

The Dreaming Tree wines were a big hit. We tried the Crush and the Sauvignon Blanc. Dreaming Tree Wines is the brainchild of Dave Matthews and Sean McKenzie. They focus on sustainability and give an incredible amount of money back to the environment. They have already donated over $1,000,000 to environmental organizations including the Wildness Society and Living Lands & Waters. They also used 100% recycled kraft paper as their labels and their bottles are a quarter pound lighter to make for easier transport. They use solar power at all their locations.

I am a fighter for the environment and do as much research as possible on the brands that I use often. I loved reading the back story on Dreaming Tree Wines and all about their commitment to sustainability.

Along with these two bottles of wine, we made a pretty amazing cheese plate. You really can’t go wrong with cheese and the items that get paired along with it. Here are my tips to keep this simple and tasty.




Tips for Making an Amazing Cheese Plate:


1. Have a variety of cheese. You want to include a good variety of cheese. Everyone likes something different. I usually go with a stinky cheese, a hard cheese and a soft cheese. I always add in something weird that no one has heard of. In the board above, I picked out the yellow cheese called Mimolette and it was a huge success. Another good rule is to have cheese from different sources – cow, goat, sheep.

2. Include something sweet. I like to cut up some in season fruit to include with the cheese. I use pear slices with the stinky cheese instead of crackers. It’s an amazing combination. I also like to put out a tropical fruit jam like passionfruit or guava and a small jar of honey. Most people have something already in their fridge that would work.

3. And something salty. Many people include meat on a cheese platter. Since we do not eat meat, I try and get a little creative. Crackers are easy and a great vessel for your cheese, but olives are usually my favorite. I also pick up cornichons if I can find them. Who can resist tiny pickles?

4. Put out the necessary utensils. Small cheese knives are important when serving a cheese platter, especially when you have a soft cheese. It doesn’t need to be too fancy, I’ve used spoons in the past as well. You will want at least one strong knife to cut anything that is hard. The board is also important. We have a nice cheese board that we love using, but we also use the cutting board often. It all depends on how many people you are feeding.


5. Pair it with some delicious and affordable wines. The Dreaming Tree wines are high quality, but very affordable. You can find them at many different drug stores, grocery stores and supercenter stores. Just use their store locator here to find the location closest to you that carries it.

I’ve seen some of the fanciest cheese trays in my time, but I truly think that simple is best.

What are you waiting for? Try it out and let me know what you think. Cheers!