The quarantine showed us how we can be very creative in our meals with no choice but being at home. We began with reinventing our favorite restaurant dishes and before we knew it, we saw ourselves making our very own cheese platter and became instant cheese and wine connoisseurs.

Wine and cheese is the mother of all food relationships, that bond which can never be broken. With today’s ever-increasing options for both wines and cheeses, the pairing decisions can be daunting and overwhelming. If you’re planning to make your own cheese platter at home, don’t worry because we’re here to share our homegrown secrets and what we’ve learned from one of our partners: The Malagos Farmhouse. Malagos Garden Resort’s cheese platter was one of the dishes we really enjoyed serving to our guests back in the resort. We saw how Davaoenos easily fell in love with our artisanal take on this French tradition.

So, we figured why not celebrate independence day 2020 with a twist and get on with our wine and cheese session at home. Here’s a handy guide for starters:

Pairing wines and cheeses from the same region is a good, “safe” place to start wine and cheese combinations. For example, you can pair Malagos Chevre Cheese with a wine locally produced in the city. We used to pair this one with our locally-produced and aged Bignay Wine.

Remember that the harder types of cheese (i.e. Cheddar or Parmesan) can handle more “tannic” or drying wines (leaves a “drying” aftertaste). While creamy cheeses, such as Camembert, typically pair better with wines that have more acidity, like a Chardonnay. Malagos Garden Resort Home Made Cheese that are harder in texture are usually served with a chilled bottle of sweet wine. The tip is if the hard cheese is salty, pair it with a sweeter wine.

We know you want to know more so here’s a further breakdown on your wine and cheese pairings: 

 Let’s divide the pairings into four categories

·  Fresh Cheese made from cow or goat’s milk are cheese tha are not aged and have a mild, slightly tangy flavor. This includes fresh goat cheese, ricotta, and chevre. They’re best paired with “fresh” or young wine with lively acidity and fruity tones.

· Bloomy Cheese are distinguished for the bloom of white mold on the outside. They tend to be the richest and creamiest type of cheese, with a soft, spreadable texture. Malagos Cheese’s La Regina is a bloomy cheese that will definitely go with Champagne.

·   Hard Cheese is quite firm and it breaks into crumbles or shards. They tend to have nutty and complex savory notes. A traditional dry sparkling wine will be its best friend.

· Blue Cheese can be soft or hard but are distinguished for its blue mold that grows inside the product. The mold gives it a good deal of sharpness and tang. This is usually paired with a sweet wine.

Philippine Tatler once noted Malagos Cheese’s Feta Tricolour – classic feta made from fresh goats milk with homegrown rosemary and chilies. During their wine and cheese tasting with Olive Puentespina, the cheesemaker, in 2013 the cheese was paired with a 2007 St. Francis Claret and 2009 St. Francis Cabernet Sauvignon which was deemed as a “quality pairing”.

Local Cheese in Davao City is not so hard to find these days. You can easily buy local cheese products which are all artisan like the Malagos Farmhouse Cheeses available at the Malagos Homegrown Produce.