Enjoy a romantic evening by putting together a wine and cheese party for two with your significant other for this upcoming Valentine's Day. While a wine and cheese night sounds awesome, you may be at a lost for what flavors of the combination you should get. Should you purchase sweet wine with hard cheese or a dry white wine with aged swiss? The possibilities are endless but don't despair because with a little bit of know how, you can prepare for your evening fantasizing about the outcome instead of stressing.

First, a bit about cheese such as did you know there are types labeled as bloomy, hard, blue or fresh? I didn't either until I consulted the “Wine Enthusiast Magazine” published by the Wine Enthusiast Companies which publish a wide range of guides that give a multitude of information about wine. Back to bloomy, hard, blue and fresh. Any type of cheese you like will fall under one of these categories. Bloomy stands for creamy cheese that contain a soft rind; hard cheese are stiff, sometimes aged, and can be sharp or salty; blue cheeses have a touch of blue coloring and have a salty taste the majority of the time; fresh cheeses are easy to spread and you typically won't find these aged in any way.

Brie and Taleggio, both bloomy cheeses, work well with a glass of dry, white wine such as Pinot Blanc. Gouda and Parmesan, hard cheese types, go smoothly with a dry, red wine like Chianti. Blue and Ricotta, both blue cheeses, come alive when paired with Riesling and Pinot Grigio, which are both fall under the wine category of sweet and dry. Experiment with your own parings by first tasting the cheese and getting an idea of the flavor. Pop another bite into your mouth and add a taste of wine to see how you like the combination.