Secrets to the best cheese and deli platters

MANILA, Philippines - Cheese and deli platters coupled with good wine make up a delicious, tried-and-tested menu for a casual but elegant evening of catching up with friends.

Rustan’s Supermarket offers tips for the wine, cheese, and deli newbies who are itching to impress.

The secret to a well-presented and balanced cheese and deli platter is variety. For cheeses, it could be a mixture of soft, semi-soft, semi-hard, hard, and blue. Ideally, a cheese platter should contain four or five different types of cheeses. For cold cuts, try mixing together ham, roast beef, turkey breast, and salami. This will give your guests a chance to have a little bit of everything and appreciate each unique taste.

When it comes to wine, the key is to be familiar with the different wine tones and flavors, and then choose those that complement (not overpower) the cheese and deli selection that you have.

For instance, young soft cheeses go well with light, fruity wines, while the mature versions are more suited to drier red and white wines. Semi-soft cheeses are very good with dry and light white, rose or red wines, while hard cheeses are best with very dry white wine. For cold cuts, you can go with either white wine or red wine.

Enjoy a wide variety of quality cheeses, wines, and deli assortments at special prices at the Rustan’s Supermarket “Wine and Culinary Festival” from March 13 to April 5. Plus, get a P100 discount voucher, valid for use on cheese products at Le Gourmet, for every P1,000 worth of wines and liquor made throughout the promo period.

Learn more about perfect pairings with the festival’s series of seminars. Enderun Colleges F&B manager Chad Davis discusses proper wine storage, the differences between red, white, and rose wines, and understanding wine labels in the “Basic Wine Appreciation Seminar” today from 4 to 6 p.m. at Rustan’s Makati.

Cathy Yao Santos of Happy Living will conduct the “Do-It-Yourself Deli and Cheese Platters and Wine Pairings Seminar” on March 21 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Rustan’s Rockwell.

The “Cooking with Wine Seminar” by chef Ed Quimson and restaurateur Katrina Ponce-Enrile teaches participants how to use wine to add flavor to a variety of scrumptious dishes. It will be held on March 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Rustan’s Shangri-La.

Wine and cheese aficionados can savor the best of these pairings at Le Gourmet Makati where a special menu will be available weekdays from 6 to 9 p.m. for the duration of the festival.

The participating Rustan’s Fresh Supermarkets are located in Ayala Center, Makati; Rockwell Powerplant Mall, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Greenbelt 1, San Antonio Plaza, Forbes Park; Magallanes, Katipunan, Corinthian Hills, Il Terrazzo Mall, Tomas Morato, QC; Ayala Center, Cebu; and Banawa, Cebu.