Few evenings are as easy to host, or as easy to enjoy, as a wine and cheese night. You do not cook. You shop. You arrange. Then you open a bottle and let the conversation do the rest. This square invitation sets the mood with a deep burgundy background and a little cheese board scene that makes everyone hungry before they have finished reading.
Burgundy, Gold and a Wooden Board
The card is square, 5 x 5 inches. The top half holds the words You are invited to a sits in small gold capitals, followed by Wine & Cheese in large cream Playfair Display italic and NIGHT in widely spaced gold letters. The details follow in cream: Friday, October 9, 7 PM, and the venue, The Laurent Loft, 300 River Road, Unit 5. A gold italic line in Cormorant Garamond invites guests to bring a bottle you love and tell us its story, and an RSVP line closes the text.
The lower half is the scene. A wine bottle with a little grape label stands on the left beside a glass of red. A long wooden cheese board with a handle stretches across the card, carrying a wheel of brie, two golden wedges of cheese with holes, three round crackers, and a bunch of red grapes at the far end. The OTO logo sits in cream under the board.
A Simple Pairing Guide for Your Guests
If the evening is bring-a-bottle, it helps to give a little guidance, or to print a pairing card for the table. These classic pairings are a safe start.
| Cheese | Style | Wine that works |
|---|---|---|
| Brie or Camembert | Soft, creamy | Champagne, Chardonnay, light Pinot Noir |
| Aged Cheddar | Hard, sharp | Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec |
| Goat’s cheese | Fresh, tangy | Sauvignon Blanc, dry Rosé |
| Gouda | Nutty, caramel | Merlot, Riesling |
| Blue cheese | Strong, salty | Port, Sauternes, other sweet wines |
| Parmesan | Hard, savoury | Chianti, Sangiovese |
A good rule of thumb: pair wines and cheeses from the same region, and match intensity, so delicate cheeses go with lighter wines and bold cheeses with fuller wines.
Building the Board for Real
Plan on about 100 to 120 grams of cheese per person if the board is the main food, or around 50 grams if you are serving other snacks too. Choose three to five cheeses with different textures and milks: something soft, something hard, something blue or goat. Then add:
- Crackers and a sliced baguette.
- Fresh fruit such as grapes, figs, apple slices, and pears.
- Dried fruit and nuts: apricots, dates, walnuts, almonds.
- Something sweet: honey, fig jam or quince paste.
- Something salty: olives, cornichons, cured meats.
Take the cheese out of the fridge about an hour before guests arrive so it reaches room temperature; the flavours are much better.
Editing the Card and the Board
Every text line is editable with a double-click. Change the venue, the date and the RSVP contact, and rewrite the gold italic line if your evening has a different twist: A tasting of Spanish wines, Bring a cheese from your travels or A celebration of Emma’s new job.
The wine bottle and grape bunch are editable vector artwork; select them to recolour from their swatches or ungroup them to change single parts. The board, cheeses, brie and crackers form one group, so you can move the whole spread, recolour the wood or ungroup it to add another wedge. The burgundy background can become forest green, navy or charcoal in one click, and the gold accents will still glow against any dark colour.
Hosting a Bring-a-Bottle Tasting
The tell us its story line turns a simple evening into a conversation. Ask each guest to introduce their bottle: where it is from, why they chose it, or a memory attached to it. Number the bottles and give everyone a small card to jot notes and rate each wine. For a blind tasting, wrap bottles in paper bags and reveal them at the end. A tasting usually needs one bottle for every three or four guests, plus water and a dump bucket for anyone who wants to taste without finishing every glass.
Candlelight, Music and the Wine and Cheese Mood
The burgundy and gold of the card hint at the atmosphere to aim for: warm, low, and unhurried. Dim the overhead lights and use candles in clusters on the table and windowsills, keeping them away from the cheese so it does not sweat. Choose music that sits in the background, such as jazz, bossa nova or acoustic guitar, at a volume that lets people talk across the board. Set out real glasses rather than plastic if you can; borrowing a box of glasses from a wine shop is often free when you buy the wine there. Put the board in the centre of the room rather than in a corner, so guests gather around it naturally. Finally, leave a stack of small plates and cheese knives at each end of the board so nobody has to wait for the one knife that everyone is hunting for.
Square Cards Need the Right Envelope
A square card stands out in the post. Download the invitation as a PDF and print it on thick matte card, then trim it to 5 x 5 inches. Look for square envelopes in cream, gold, or kraft brown. Note that square envelopes may need extra postage in some countries, so check before you mail them. For a digital invite, the square PNG or JPG is perfect for messaging apps and social media.
Wine and Cheese Night Questions
How many cheeses should I serve?
Three to five varieties is plenty for most groups. More than that becomes hard to taste properly.
Should I provide all the wine?
For a dinner-style evening, yes. For a casual tasting, bring-a-bottle keeps costs fair and adds variety.
Can I host this at a wine bar?
Many wine bars offer private tastings. Replace the venue line and mention any cost per person.
What about guests who do not drink?
Offer sparkling grape juice, alcohol-free wine, or a pretty jug of elderflower soda so they can still join the toasts.
Add your date, choose your cheeses, and send the invitation. The board is the easy part; the stories behind each bottle are what people remember.
