Wine & Cheese Gift Baskets Key Terms

Celebrate the occasion with these best wine and cheese gift basket key terms

Whether you want to create a wine and cheese basket or buy one for an employee or client, knowing what to ask for and what to buy will make your business's wine and cheese basket stand out.

If you can learn the proper terminology surrounding wine and cheese, you'll be able to build or buy a superior wine and cheese basket.

Pairing

When talking about wine and cheese, pairing refers to the matching up of the right cheese to the right wine. You can find websites that can help you determine traditional pairs to include in your gift baskets.

100-point wine

A 100-point wine meets all the criteria of noted wine onephile Robert Parker. By his definition, it's a perfect wine. Including this type of wine in your gift baskets can allow you to price them higher.

Chardonnay, merlot, port

While some people see wine as either white or red, wines come in hundreds of varieties from the light-flavored white zinfandel to the heavy sweetness of a port wine. Before selecting a bottle or two for a wine and cheese gift basket, learn the basic differences in the varieties. You may want to use more than one type of wine, especially if they compliment each other.

Artisanal cheese

Artisanal cheese is cheese made by hand in small batches. You can find artisanal cheese made using traditional methods.

Aged and affineur

Aged cheeses are older cheeses; typically an affineur cures the cheese for longer than six months.

Brie, Roquefort

Just as with wine, hundreds of cheese varieties exist. The labels on a piece of cheese often don't give you any clue how the cheese will taste, so learn the difference between Roquefort and Brie, which are salty and sharp as opposed to soft and creamy, respectively. This can help you pair the best cheese with the right wine.

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