When it comes to throwing a fabulous wine and cheese party, the right ingredients make all of the difference. I host these gatherings weekly {especially now that it is easier to have people over due to the babies} so I have come up with a stellar list of essentials. Here are my four recommendations to throwing a successful evening:

1. Choose good quality {and fancy looking} crackers. I am a huge fan of Carr’s Crackers. They are light in flavor and texture which is exactly what is recommended to be paired back to a Pinot Grigio. {You don’t want a cheese or cracker that overpowers the wine.} Carr’s also has an assorted box, that I featured here, which I love because your guests can pick and choose their cracker depending on what they are craving.

2. Pick great wine. I am a lover of white wine especially in the summer time. My go-to is a mid-range priced bottle {about $25.00} and amazing quality, Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. It is fresh, clean and crisp. Aside from pairing well with light pastas, seafood and chicken dishes, it’s incredible paired back to cheese.

3. As your cheese counter about unique cheeses. I love to get fresh exotic well-aged cheeses from the professionals, so I make sure to head to the Cheese stands at the Union Square Farmers Market to do my choosing. For this spread I chose “Shepard’s Basket” a raw sheeps milk cheese, cave aged for 5+ months, similar to a Spain Manchego from an Organic Cheese Vendor.

4. Add a personalized touch. For this occasion I ordered Gold Foil Drink Tags that said “Cheers” and attached them to my wine glasses – Aren’t they so fun?! Then I love to have my monogram wine stopper {similar} on display, fun cocktail napkins, and a few pretty candles. Picking a few special accents each night you entertain can really make an evening sparkle; see another idea using custom straws in this FH post.