Recipe for an Award-Winning Cheese Plate (with Wine Pairings!) that wins awards and hearts.
The Wines & Their Stories
Albariño – Born from Washington’s bright, high-desert sunshine and cool nights, this crisp Spanish varietal thrives in our Ancient Lakes vineyards. With lemon zest, green apple, and tropical fruit, it’s a white wine beloved even by red drinkers. This crisp Spanish varietal has become a consistent medalist—most recently receiving medals from the Washington Wine Awards, SavorNW 2025, and the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards. Critics echo the acclaim, including 91 pts from Owen Bargreen. Proof that Washington was never “supposed” to be wine country—yet here it is, rewriting the rules.
Syrah – Smooth, fruit-forward, and layered with time. In the cellar, Syrah became the wine that tested patience and taught adaptation, rewarding watchful nights and careful blending. Today, it’s approachable and generous, decorated with medals at the SavorNW Wine Awards, Seattle Wine Awards, 94 pts at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards. A wine that shows how both vintages—and people—grow richer as they age.
Malbec – A true Elsom hallmark. Peppery, spicy, bold. Malbec taught us to trust Washington’s soils when the world still doubted. Each vintage has carried recognition—Double Gold at the 2018 Seattle Wine Awards, Gold at SavorNW 2023 and selected as one of the 100 Best Washington Wines by Seattle Met Magazines. It remains a varietal that commands respect, a wine of grit and persistence in a young region carving its place among the greats. Always award-winning, always a statement.
Mourvèdre – Complex, earthy, and spiced with dark fruit. This is winter fire in a glass, the kind of wine that rewards slow aging and long evenings. Elsom Mourvèdre has carried home Gold at the 2019 Seattle Wine Awards, 94 pts – Double Gold at the 2021 Seattle Wine Awards, and 91 pts – Gold at the 2022 Washington Wine Awards and Silver at the Sunset International Wine Awards. Even when the world hurries, we hold to our mantra: “no wine before its time.”
Vermouth – Crafted unlike any you’ve tried, ours is slightly sweet, herbal, and floral—an urban winery’s creative leap beyond convention. It’s already earning critical praise, including 91 pts from Owen Bargreen. A pour that surprises and delights those willing to taste outside tradition.
The Cheeses:
Cherry Valley Dairy Herbed Rose Butter: made from pasteurized Jersey cow’s milk in Duvall, WA. This cultured butter is golden yellow and it looks like cheese studded with rose petals and fine herbs, but it is the most-awarded flavored butter in the US, it wins in its category every year at the American Cheese Society (ACS) Judging & Competition. It is buttery, floral, herbal, and it will absolutely make you want to eat butter by itself.
Boxcarr Handmade Cheese Cottonbloom: made from pasteurized goat’s milk in North Carolina. This soft-ripened, bloomy-rind cheese is no ordinary brie. It won first place in its category this summer at the ACS competition, likely because of its gloriously unctuous texture and its flavor on the tongue: rich, oyster salinity, slight white button mushroom.
Queijo Tavares Ovelha Amanteigado: made from raw sheep’s milk in Portugal, this cheese is a style we rarely see in the Northwest—a torta. Tortas are thistle rennet-coagulated cheeses, which means that they ripen to have a firm exterior rind and a molten, gooey center that is spoonable. They also have a vegetal and meaty flavor profile that is totally unique. An Ovelha Amanteigado won best cheese in the world in 2024 at the Guild of Fine Food’s World Cheese Awards. This isn’t the same brand as the cheese that won, but it’s so good that it might as well be.
La Familia del Norte Smoked Oaxaca Quesillo: made from pasteurized cow’s milk in Ferndale, WA, this stretched-curd cheese is a fun take on a Mexican classic. Traditional Quesillo is made similar to Mozzarella, but the curds are stretched into long ropes that are then wound into a ball. This one is smoked, giving it a deep, savory flavor and smoky campfire aroma. It won gold in its category this summer at the ACS competition.
Jasper Hill Farm Withersbrook Blue: made from raw cow’s milk in Vermont, this special blue cheese is the newest cheese made by its producer. The base blue cheese is made in the shape of a big cube, then it is placed in a bag, covered in Eden Hill Ice Cider, and the bag is sealed. The cheese marinates in the bag for several months, becoming fruity, slightly boozy, and taking on an incredible crumbly-creamy texture. It won second place Best of Show at the ACS competition this summer, making it the second-best cheese in North America this year.
Tools
- A paring knife and a chef’s knife
- A cutting board
- A nice plate or serving tray
- Corkscrew
- Wine glasses
Ingredients
- Herbed Rose Butter (4 oz)
- Cottonbloom (1 wheel)
- Ovelha Amanteigado (¼ wheel)
- Smoked Oaxaca Quesillo (½ wheel)
- Withersbrook Blue (4 oz)
- Optional: candied pecans, local wildflower honey, Marcona almonds, dark chocolate
- A selection of wine bottles from Elsom Cellars
Steps
- Remove your cheeses from the fridge 30–60 minutes before serving. At the same time, open your wines so they can stretch and breathe.
- Shape with intention. Slice and present the cheeses so their character shows:
- Leave the Herbed Rose Butter whole, its petals and herbs gleaming like spring in a dish. Pair first with Albariño—its bright citrus cuts the butter’s floral richness.
- Slice Cottonbloom into triangles and place beside the Syrah. The oyster-salty, mushroom notes of the cheese amplify Syrah’s savory depth.
- Keep the Ovelha Amanteigado whole and spoonable. Set it near Malbec, whose spice and boldness balance the cheese’s molten, meaty heart.
- Tear the Smoked Oaxaca Quesillo into rustic strips—like campfire string cheese. Match with Mourvèdre, a pairing that feels like autumn nights around the fire.
- Crumble the Withersbrook Blue last, its cider-soaked tang saving the boldest for the finale. Pour Vermouth alongside—it’s an unexpected dance of sweet, boozy, and blue.
- Place cheeses on your board one at a time, cleaning your knife between each. Arrange them with space, so each tells its story without crowding the others.
- Add companions. Tuck candied pecans near Albariño, honey by Malbec, Marcona almonds beside Syrah, and dark chocolate with the Vermouth and Blue. Always serve accompaniments with their own utensils—let each flavor’s voice come through clearly.
- Taste with curiosity. Sip the wine first, then taste the cheese, then bring them together. Notice how Albariño sharpens butter, how Syrah softens bloom, how Malbec tames molten sheep’s milk, how Mourvèdre steadies smoke, how Vermouth sings with blue. End with the boldest flavors so your palate remembers the crescendo.
Tips for Success
- Work in odd numbers as you add cheeses to the plate: 3, 5, or 7 cheeses create harmony and are good numbers for gatherings of many sizes.
- Include a variety of cheese styles and milk types—Start with a soft cheese, a hard cheese, a blue cheese, cow, goat, and sheep or water buffalo milk cheese
Check out our wine and cheese pairing classes to explore deeper, or surprise someone with a gift certificate—a pairing that always fits. Learn more at elsomcellars.com.
Elsom Cellars has a deep commitment to community. Our woman-led team specializes in small-lot, artisanal wines, thoughtfully sourced through relationships with a collection of Washington’s most distinctive vineyards and hand-tended and bottled in Seattle’s SODO.
Vineyard to bottle, from creamery to cave, from humble beginnings to celebrated triumphs. Here’s how to build a cheese plate that wins awards and hearts.
Taste with curiosity. Sip the wine first, then taste the cheese, then bring them together. End with the boldest flavors so your palate remembers the crescendo.