New Year's Eve Cheeseboards & Bubbly
by Thea Miller
Bring on All the Cheese & Bubbly for New Year's
You can certainly make a meal of the cheeseboard below or create an impressive appetizer spread. If it's melty cheese you crave, whip up one of our two gooey fondue recipes below. Last but not least, discover Brock's bubbly NYE picks. There's something for everyone.
This Ulimate NYE Cheeseboard is a showstopper and let's your creativity shine!
Ingredients
- 1 soft cheese (Brie, Blue, Gorgonzola, Goat)
- 2 semi-soft cheese (Gouda, Sweet Swiss, Havarti, Brick, Jack, Abergele, Farmer Basil)
- 1 hard cheese (Aged Cheddar, Parmesan, Aged Swiss)
- 2 cured meats - Salami, summer sausage, Finnochiona, Soppressata, Loukanika, Saucisson Sec, Chorizo, Prosciutto
- baguette slices
- assorted crackers and breadsticks
- nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, walnuts)
- or Cinnamon Roasted Nuts or Nutkrack
- fruit (grapes, figs, apple slices, pear slices, dried apricots, dried cranberries)
- other (marinated olives, fig preserves, roasted red peppers, mustard, sun dried tomatoes, pesto, tapenade)
Assemble ingredients all over the board until the cheese board is completely full and you can't see the board.
New Year's Fondue, Anyone? Let's get dipping!
Brennan's Classic Fondue A rich blend of Emmenthaler and Gruyere, perfect for dipping bread, veggies & sausage
Champagne Fondue A twist on classic fondue
Sparking Wine
We've covered the cheese... now onto the sparkles... here are Brock's New Year's Eve Bubbly picks.
Los Monteros Cava Brut
$10.99 / 750ml
Hard to believe it's possible to make such refreshing, vibrant, clean Cava from the vineyards near Valencia - but that's just what we have here! 100% Macabeo with a year or so on the lees, this opens with tiny bubbles and aromas of yeasty stone fruit and yellow citrus. The aromas carry through on the palate where the orchard fruit strengthens and lingers nicely on the citrusy, dry, lightly nutty finish. A delicious value in high-quality fizz at a very everyday price.
Antech Blanquette de Limoux Reserve
Reg: $22.99 SALE: $15.99 / 750ml
‘This is rather gorgeous,. It curves, light as a feather, round the tongue and purrs like a cat. Crisp green apples, candied lemon peel and a dab of sherbet sparkle bright as crystal over a base of sugared almonds. Don't even begin to compare this with champagne or any traditional sparkling wine – it's in a different category altogether and needs to be judged as such. This is quite a special Blanquette.’ - Jancis Robinson
A delightful wine to sip before, during, or after dinner. Fine, effervescent bubbles pair with everything!
Sweet Sparkling Wine
Rinaldi ReDream Malvasia Dolce Frizzante (bubbly sweet red)
Reg: $29.99 SALE: $21.99 / 750ml
"Gorgeously fresh and frothy, with loads of cherry, honeysuckle, spice box and spring flowers, this is an exciting party wine that is brilliantly packaged, and I doubt a person can be found who would dislike it - Wine Advocate
Natural Sparkling Wine
Anima Mundi Cami dels Xops Pet-Nat
$25.99 / 750ml
Though this is the entry-level sparkling Cuvee from Anima Mundi, it stands its ground amongst their higher-end offerings, echoing some elements of a grower champagne (Penedés style). This is a lively, salty, clean, and mineral-driven pet-nat, full of precision and tension. Ideal for serving cold alongside fish or oysters. Wild yeast fermented, no added sulfites.
Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Wine
Selbach Funkelwürtz
$19.99 / 750ml
Funkelwürtz translates to “Spicy Sparkler” which is how Johannes said that the wine tasted the first time he tried it. This is a slightly effervescent and aromatic wine from grapes grown in the Mosel. Johannes ferments the wine to around 30g/L of residual sugar. Johannes then sends the finished wine to a facility that uses membrane technology to remove the alcohol. This NA wine is refreshing, crisp, and very easy to drink while maintaining the complexity that the wines from Selbach are known for.
From all of us at Brennan's, we wish you healthy and happy New Year!