Frugal Wine and Cheese Plates

[Iggy aka IG]

DH and I are staying at a condo in the near future, and I'm compiling a cheese plate list.  What are some of your favorite inexpensive wine snack combos?  We'll probably stay with reds, such as Pinot and Cabernet.

(And yes, I'm avoiding work, LOL.)

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

I am not understanding the "frugal" part of your thread title.  If you want to be frugal...head to Walmart and pick up a Great Value bottle of wine and complimentary Great Value blocks of cheese. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Frugal meaning, fancier than saltines, less than This

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

You might be able to do cheap caviar if you fish for it! Talk about frugal! 

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

I probably can't help though. The only red I can tolerate is merlot, but there are several labels that I do like of that type. My go-to white is pinot grigio.

For cheese, drunken goat is pretty good. I also like Sartori BellaVitano Reserve Cheese. They do come in a few different infusions and my favorite is the merlot infusion. I love the texture of this cheese.

[chapeau]

If you have an aldi near you, they have some really interesting cheeses. At Christmas I had an excellent white cheddar with cranberries in it and another cheddar with pesto. They also have goat cheese with a variety of additions.
Their cracker collection is pretty good (and not ridiculously expensive).

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you, Cheesy FL-Vol and chapeau .  I'll poke around the cheese section and report back.  If our little town's grocer isn't sufficient (ETA, alas, we don't have an Aldi.), I'll check out the big city's next time I'm there.

[Iggy aka IG]

All I can say is going to the store in between my planned monthly trips sure does make a difference.  I only saved 12% last night vs my average of 25%+.

Some of what I bought:

Cranberry orange cinnamon goat cheese (not on sale).  I didn't see a drunken blend.

Smoked Gouda (also not on sale)

Kraft sharp cheddar (I love this stuff and it was on sale)

Laughing Cow wedges were on sale, so I bought the garlic and herb version.  We'll see if DH likes them.

Blue cheese stuffed olives ($1 e-coupon)

Two types of crackers not on sale, though one is store brand water crackers

Store brand salami

Raspberries and blueberries (on sale)

We have a lot on hand which I'll bring:

Pecans and pistachios

Pepperoni

Dark chocolate

Dried fruit

One of the bottles I'm bringing is a Cuvée.  Everything should be tasty.

[ken a.k.a OMK]

DH and I are staying at a condo in the near future

With 30 other people?   One big list of cheeses there. Some I've never heard of and wouldn't try. I'm with you on good old Kraft sharp cheddar.

[swamp]

Mad Dog 20/20 and spray cheeze on generic saltines. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Jan 25, 2019 12:13:00 GMT -5 swamp said:

Mad Dog 20/20 and spray cheeze on generic saltines. 

[cktc]

I love Kerrygold Dubliner. Costco usually has big blocks for cheap, but most stores carry smaller packs or pre-sliced.
Trader Joes has a blueberry goat that is pretty good and a Spanish cheese trio that is amazing. It has Iberico, Manchego and Cabra al Vino.
I've yet to meet a Brie I don't enjoy. Cold, warm, spread on crackers or toast with berries, apples, figs.

I'm out of the loop on good cheap wine lately. Freixenet is my go to for cheap sparkling.

[Iggy aka IG]

cktc, all of those sound delicious!  I love blueberry anything.     And I agree with you about the brie.  We've got a bit left from the holidays which I'm bringing with us. 

[chiver78]

any non-discount grocery store should have the brand Bel Gioioso in their specialty cheese department. you can get wedges of (in order from driest down) grana padana, parmigiano reggiano, sharp provolone, ricotta salata for around $5 or so. BG is an American brand. 

as far as wines, I love dry Italian reds. montepulciano d'Abruzzi, nero d'avola, tuscans. I'm finding screw caps well under $10/bottle that are decent, too.  

[wvugurl26]

I have gotten some interesting things at Aldi but that is very hit and miss. The cheese section at Wegmans is hardly frugal but so good.

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you, Chive and WVU!  chiver78, I was hoping you'd weigh in with your sommelier expertise!    Thanks for taking the time.

[chiver78]

ha! and not that I'm avoiding work, I don't really have any yet. lol...   weekend will start within the hour. 

[zibazinski]

Do you have a Trader Joe’s? Wine there is cheap and decent.

[Tiny]

Aldi has a box of Savoritz 6 cracker Assortment is pretty awesome. They also have "entertainment" crackers: Whole Wheat, or garden, or plain. I recommend the Garden ones. I like the Whole Wheat ones but I'm kinda weird.

I think Trader Joe's has the same things - just under a different name.    TJ's also has a wide selection of fancy cheeses.  Love their triple cream brie.   


I'd add Dalmatia fig orange spread to your shopping list - buy it (or something like it ) if you can find it. Having a jelly/jam with cheese/crackers/wine is wonderful.

What about having a "Chocolate" wine? I brought a bottle to "cheese and cracker" potluck luck night and it was a big hit. IT went great with the other offerings (cheeses, fruits, crackers, various pate/dips with crudites).

[Iggy aka IG]

Jan 25, 2019 15:03:21 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Aldi has a box of Savoritz 6 cracker Assortment is pretty awesome. They also have "entertainment" crackers: Whole Wheat, or garden, or plain. I recommend the Garden ones. I like the Whole Wheat ones but I'm kinda weird.

I think Trader Joe's has the same things - just under a different name.    TJ's also has a wide selection of fancy cheeses.  Love their triple cream brie.   


I'd add Dalmatia fig orange spread to your shopping list - buy it (or something like it ) if you can find it. Having a jelly/jam with cheese/crackers/wine is wonderful.

What about having a "Chocolate" wine? I brought a bottle to "cheese and cracker" potluck luck night and it was a big hit. IT went great with the other offerings (cheeses, fruits, crackers, various pate/dips with crudites).

I will look for these!

[Cookies Galore]

Trader Joe's has a decent cheese selection for a really good price. Their 1000 day aged gouda is so delicious. Wegmans is also a good cheese heaven.

For affordable reds, I'll buy Fat Bastard pinot noir, Campo Viejo tempranillo or garnacha, and I'm trying to think what else. I'm a fan of beaujolais, Cote du rhone, and montepulciano.

[buystoys]

I like Apothic Red and Apothic Dark.  They're a little on the dry side but very good.  You can get them at Walmart for under $10.

[Malarky]

I don't drink wine so I'm no help there.  One of my favorites to serve is brie with fig preserves on sliced french bread.  I usually garnish with grapes.  Which I also don't eat, but everyone else does.

[weltschmerz]

Jan 25, 2019 12:11:27 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

DH and I are staying at a condo in the near future

With 30 other people?   One big list of cheeses there. Some I've never heard of and wouldn't try. I'm with you on good old Kraft sharp cheddar.

Why on earth not? It's cheese, not fugu.

[Iggy aka IG]

Jan 25, 2019 12:05:00 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

All I can say is going to the store in between my planned monthly trips sure does make a difference.  I only saved 12% last night vs my average of 25%+.

Some of what I bought:

Cranberry orange cinnamon goat cheese (not on sale).  I didn't see a drunken blend.

Smoked Gouda (also not on sale)

Kraft sharp cheddar (I love this stuff and it was on sale)

Laughing Cow wedges were on sale, so I bought the garlic and herb version.  We'll see if DH likes them.*

Blue cheese stuffed olives ($1 e-coupon)

Two types of crackers not on sale, though one is store brand water crackers

Store brand salami

Raspberries and blueberries (on sale)

We have a lot on hand which I'll bring:

Pecans and pistachios

Pepperoni

Dark chocolate

Dried fruit

One of the bottles I'm bringing is a Cuvée.  Everything should be tasty.

*He did not, LOL!

He also didn't care for the goat cheese, and said all he could taste was the cranberries.  I was surprised at how dry it was as I thought goat cheese is supposed to be creamy?

And I never did get to the store for any type of fig or other spreads.  I definitely missed the sweet it would have contributed.

I remembered we had leftover brie from Christmas, brought it with us and warmed it up the second night.

I'm going to remember to take the suggestions here to the liquor store the next time I'm stocking up.  Thanks everyone!

Night #1, which was our "supper" (one type of cracker, and some leftover crackers from Christmas not pictured):