Entertaining in Winter

Hands up if you love entertaining in winter? There’s just something about a toasty warm house filled with laughter, full-bodied wine and comfort food that is good for the soul. If you’ve been dreaming of the ultimate winter evening with your favourite people, read on because we’ve got you covered with our winter entertaining guide.

Mulled Wine

One of my favourite things about entertaining in winter is hands-down the re-introduction of mulled wine. When done well, there is truly nothing better. There’s an art to making the perfect mulled wine and I think, after many years and too many sips, I’ve finally perfected it.

All you need is:

• 1 bottle of merlot (choose a nice drop!)
• 1 orange
• 6 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• ¼ cup of caster sugar
• 1 small nutmeg (whole)
• A splash (or two!) of Brandy
• 1 cup of water

It’s super easy to make too! 

Simply, add the water to a medium sized pot on high. Add the cloves, cinnamon stick and caster sugar. Let it come to a boil and grate the nutmeg into the mix. 

Zest the orange and add the zest to the pot. Slice the orange and add those in too. 

Let that simmer for 5 minutes. 

Reduce the heat and add the whole bottle of Merlot and the Brandy. 

Serve your delicious mulled wine in our hammered mugs.

Cheese + Red Wine Pairings

If you switch to red wine over winter, you’ll also need to rejig your cheese choices. Red wines pair better with stronger, aged cheeses. They work to bring out the robust undertones in the wine while doubling as a palate cleanser.

Add any of these cheeses to your usual platter for a level-up this winter:

• Cheddar
• Parmigiano reggiano
• Gruyere
• Feel free to add a soft cheese like camembert but consider roasting it with some walnuts, rosemary and drizzle of honey to elevate it

📸@thatcheeseplate

Entertaining Wares

You can’t go to all that trouble without the right entertaining wares. Our favourite for the season are:

Copper Cheese Markers

Pimp up your cheese board with these fabulous copper cheese markers. Hand-made and in matt copper, a boxed set of 5 markers to let your guests know what they’re nibbling on.

Timber Marble Cheese Knife Set

Wonderful gooey, smelly cheese… how we love thee. And what’s not to love about this timeless cheese knife set? Acacia and marble handles with brushed steel blades designed to slide through all sorts of cheese.

Timber Marble Cheese Board

If we don’t say so ourselves, we haven’t seen a more beautiful cheese board yet. The hand-carved mango wood end piece makes this board the centre-piece on any table.

Large Cheese Board

Cheese, crackers, nuts, berries, salami… whatever you choose to adorn our large cheese board with, there will be room aplenty! With aged steel carry handles, your share platter has never looked so good.

I hope you enjoy your winter soirees. Don’t forget to tag me in your entertaining pics @clinq_barware

Lucy x