Anyone else look forward to cozy nights with good food and good company? Today we are sharing a recipe for a classic fondue with wine pairings as we’ve partnered with one of our favourite award-winning BC VQA wineries, Gray Monk Estate Winery.  

We have revisited this traditional shared meal and taken our own spin on it.The essential cheese sauce has not strayed far from its original recipe, yet it’s accompaniments are more defined. This is such a lovely meal to have your friends and family over, and really makes for a special evening. Wine pairings to go alongside the food served are always a good idea in my books. It really adds a special touch to the evening and shows your guests how much you care, we love attention to detail when hosting!

The recipe for the cheese sauce is as follows, now is the time to splurge on some good quality cheese. If you are at a cheese shop you can always ask them for help in this department! Don’t forget that the quality of the wine for this sauce is important as well, the Gray Monk Riesling is the perfect fit for this cheese sauce. It’s off-dry and citrus-y with enough acidity to give the cheese a smooth texture and taste.

Ingredients
1 clove of garlic,
250g emmental cheese grated (around 2 cups)
125g gruyere cheese grated (around 1 cup)
125g comte cheese, grated (around 1 cup)
1 Tablespoons (15 mL) cornstarch
1 ½ cups (375 mL) Gray Monk Riesling
½ tsp (2 mL) dry mustard
Freshly ground pepper
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

1.Mix all of the cheeses together in a large bowl.

2.Take ¼ cup of the wine and whisk in the cornstarch set aside (this is called a slurry)

3.Break open the clove of garlic and rub around the bottom and sides of the fondue pot, this is essential step to impart a gentle hint of garlic to the sauce should not be missed! Discard the clove after.

4.Add the wine into a medium pot (we are using this one), bring to a simmer, add the cheese in small amounts at a time and whisking constantly. This will help to form a velvety smooth sauce, continue until all the cheese is added.

5.Add in the “slurry” cornstarch mixture whisking, and bring to a simmer (not a boil this could cause it to separate), continue to simmer, stirring for around 5-6 minutes until thick. 3. Season with the dry mustard, pepper and nutmeg.

6.Transfer into fondue pot and set over a flame.

Serve warm in a Fondue pot with accompaniments, see below.

Accompaniments (Have these all prepped and ready to go before guests arrive!)
Crusty french bread, cubed (soft pretzels work as well)
Blanched Broccoli florets
Blanched Brussel sprouts
Cauliflower florets
Roasted nugget potatoes
Cured salami, sliced
Apples, sliced
Pears, sliced

Set out everything into the center of your table, and serve a glass of wine to each of your guests to pair with the meal. We love the Gray Monk Pinot Gris, it has notes of fresh orchard fruit like apples, pear, lime and a touch of spice on the finish, making it the perfect accompaniment to cut through the rich cheese sauce.

I also love to have a really simple salad on the side, in case someone is looking for some extra greens. Either Kale or Arugula mixed with a tangy lemon or white balsamic vinaigrette would be the perfect little side to have out!

This is such a classic meal that we thought why not end the night with some dark chocolate and port, we made a super simple chocolate bark and served it with Gray Monk Odyssey III Port, with its lovely light flavors of cherry kirsch, coffee and pepper peeking through it’s perfect with the chocolate bark studded with nuts and raspberries.

How to make the bark,
Simply melt down some good quality dark chocolate over a double boiler. We had some fun silicone molds to use so we scattered lightly toasted chopped nuts and crushed freeze dried raspberries on the bottom of the mold and poured over the melted chocolate. If you don’t have a mold do not worry. Simply line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the melted chocolate and sprinkle with the fruit and nuts!

If your guests are too full at the end of the night, you can package up the bark to go for them in a nice clear bag with a ribbon on top. And why not send them home with a bottle of the Gray Monk Odyssey III Port too!

This post was sponsored by Gray Monk Wines, all opinions are my own.