Wine With Friends: How to Have a Charcuterie Night

As students, spending time with friends and socializing is at the heart of our university experiences. Whether this is watching a movie with housemates, going to the bars with friends, or grabbing lunch with a friend from class, student life revolves around socializing and having fun. Here at Wine University, we believe that many social activities can be elevated with a nice glass of wine.

In the first post of this series, Wine With Friends, we’re going to teach you how to have a charcuterie night with friends, one of the many activities that is best served with wine. For beginners, we’ll guide you through the components of a charcuterie board, how to assemble your board, and how to enjoy it. So if you’re looking for a new way to socialize with your friends this semester, keep reading!

What is a Charcuterie?

A charcuterie board is a type of appetizer, usually served on a large wooden board and shared with friends. Items on a board can range from cheeses to chocolates to fruit and are meant to be enjoyed directly from the board. Charcuteries can add a classy touch to a more extensive dinner party or be offered individually as a group snack. They can be enjoyed in formal dining settings, but in a student context, we prefer our charcuteries in front of a movie or around the living room more casually. More on how to enjoy them later, though. Overall, charcuterie boards are a great way to sample new cheeses and meats. Additionally, board assembly is a large part of the process, so a charcuterie night will get your creative side thinking. Now that you have an understanding of what a charcuterie board is, how can you make one at home?

Step 1: Components of a Charcuterie Board

As I mentioned previously, charcuterie boards are highly customizable and can feature a wide array of foods. As a base, I recommend a few kinds of cheese, meats and carbs. Depending on your group size, you can have 1-4 varieties of each. Once you’ve placed these essentials on the board, you can experiment with complementary foods such as fruits, vegetables, sweets, spreads, or nuts. Below is a breakdown of suggestions for each category:

Cheeses: I recommend using a variety of cheeses (hard, blue, soft, etc.). some of my personal favourites include brie, cambozola, camembert, and manchego. However, if you are dairy free you can opt for substitutes like goat cheese or cashew and almond based cheeses.

Meats: If you’re beginning your charcuterie journey, I recommend purchasing an assorted meat package at the grocery, which will add variety to your board with minimal effort, you can find a great option at Loblaws here. Some charcuterie staples are prosciutto, mortadella, and Spanish chorizo. For vegans and vegetarians, however, you can choose not to include meat and still make a lovely board.

Carbs: Carbs on a charcuterie board can include a variety of crackers, baguette, or even chips. I recommend including at least 1-2 cracker varieties and some baguette slices. Some of my go-to crackers are Breton, Mary’s, and Triscuits. For baguettes, you can go to your local bakery, but I find that Loblaws, Metro, or Cobs all have sufficient options if you’re on a budget.

Fruits: Fruit choice really depends on preference, but I recommend something minimally messy and bite size. For instance, I would opt for apple slices over watermelon. Some examples of easy charcuterie fruits include grapes, berries, or dried fruits like mango and apricots.

Vegetables: Similar to fruit, choose vegetables that can be neatly cut and eaten in one bite. Mini cucumbers are one of my favourites, but you can also use vegetables like bell peppers or tomatoes. If you really want to mix it up, you can also add pickled products such as olives, pickles, or jalapeños.

Sweets: When it comes to sweet items on a charcuterie, I recommend limiting these to only 1 or 2. This should be the smallest part of your charcuterie and add a touch of sweetness. A great way to integrate these is by using chocolate coated products, such as chocolate covered raisins or nuts.

Spreads: When selecting the spreads, make sure to consider what items you already have on your charcuterie. For example, if you have a baguette on your board, consider adding a jam to compliment this. Similarly, honey can be used to compliment brie cheese. Be intentional about your spreads and make sure they pair nicely with your chosen items.

Nuts: Similar to sweets, nuts can be used to fill space and add a small touch to your board. For this category, most nuts fix nicely so follow your preferences. However, I recommend only adding 1-2 types of nuts to not overwhelm the board. My personal favourites are almonds and walnuts.

Step 2: Assembly of your charcuterie board

This is your chance to get creative! When it comes to assembly, patience is key. To make the night more fun, I recommend opening your bottle of wine at this step of the process. Have a glass while you assemble and finish it while you enjoy it. One thing to note is that as the steps go down, the food becomes more scattered on the board. For instance, while cheese may take up a large portion of the board, fruits and nuts will simply be used to fill in gaps.

Ultimately, there is no wrong way to assemble your charcuterie, but I have included the recommended order for optimal charcuterie aesthetics.

Step 1: The board. There are boards specifically designed for charcuterie, but for students I recommend a large wooden cutting board. Size can vary depending on the amount you’re serving, but I find the bigger boards are more fun to decorate.

Step 2: Cheese. As the biggest components of your board, I recommend placing the cheeses evenly across the board with ample space between each. Here you can see how the cheese is placed evenly on the board.

Step 3: Carbs. I recommend spreading carbs across the board to break up the cheese. Below is an example of nicely placed carbs on a board.

Step 4: Meats. After cheeses are carbs, you can add your meats in gaps on the board. Sort your meats by kind so people eating can easily choose them.

Step 5: Fruits and vegetables. These items can be sorted in smaller piles on the board to add colour and texture. I recommend placing items in 1-3 piles to distribute them evenly. Below is an example where the fruit is nicely distributed.

Step 6: Compliments. After adding the primary components, your board should come together and only have a few gaps, which you can fill with sweets, nuts, and spreads. If you have a larger gap, I recommend using a small dish to add dimension to your board. Finally, your board should be ready to enjoy!

How to Enjoy

Now that you’ve mastered the art of charcuterie boards, it’s time to reward yourself and eat away! Grab your housemates or friends and enjoy this board at your very own charcuterie night. Play games while causally snacking, watch a movie with a treat, or even decorate the dinner table and get dressed up. However, if you decide to enjoy your charcuterie, do it with a glass of wine. If you need recommendations for your next bottle, you can visit our last article, Top 10 Cheap Wines, at the LCBO (link). Here at Wine University, we love bringing our friends together to socialize and have a good bottle of wine, and we want to see how you enjoy Wine With Friends. If you give a charcuterie board a try, tag us on Instagram @Wineuniversity!