Formaggio’s Guide to the Perfect Winter Pairings

The holidays are naturally a time for hosting—for gathering around festive boards and seasonal treats you wait for all year. Whether you are a seasoned thrower of soirees or simply this year’s reluctant family host, when it comes to planning your spread, there is no better place to turn to than Formaggio. Nestled in the heart of the South End—just one of its three Boston-area locations—Formaggio Kitchen has been a staple in the neighborhood since it first opened its doors in 1999, and it’s not hard to understand why. With shelves overflowing with European delicacies and glass cases packed to bursting with cheeses of every variety imaginable, Formaggio is a gourmand’s paradise, particularly in December. 

Seasonal Specialties 

While any shopper with a culinary soul will find Formaggio’s carefully curated offerings tantalizing year-round, the holidays are a particularly special time for the store. “We’re getting one of our biggest holiday orders tomorrow morning,” General Manager Julia Hallman announced with great excitement when she spoke to MyBoston in mid-October. “We have seasonal cheeses that are only available in the wintertime,” she explains, because they are made from the richer and fattier “winter’s milk”—the result of a cow’s winter diet of hay and grain rather than fresh grass. “For us, tomorrow is when the holidays start. When this cheese arrives, it’s so special…even if we wanted to carry it year-round, we couldn’t.” 

In addition to these rich “winter’s milk” cheeses, which include a Vacherin Mont d’Or about which Hallman is particularly excited, she says the store carries over 300 different varieties of cheese during the holidays. There are more options available at this time of year, she explains, not only because of the “winter’s milk” distinction, but also because her vendors, both foreign and domestic, produce a wider assortment in anticipation of holiday consumption. 

Choosing your Cheese 

If choosing from a selection of over 300 cheeses sounds, understandably, like a daunting task, Hallman’s team is here to help. “Our whole mentality is that you have one customer, and that’s the person in front of you, so it doesn’t matter how busy the store is. If you want to dig in and taste a bunch of cheeses and decide what’s right for you, that’s OK any time of year. We want people to go home with exactly what they want.” Hallman explains how they walk each customer—from the connoisseur to the novice—through the selection process, inquiring about the type of gathering, the size of the event, and the other dishes being served to ensure maximum satisfaction. “We will work through every little detail to make sure you get exactly what you want,” she says. 

The Perfect Pairing 

Hallman’s more specific recommendations lead with, unsurprisingly, cheese. “I’m always a fan of cheese being the event,” she laughs. While her favorite is the aforementioned seasonal treat, Vacherin Mont d’Or, she also suggests the notoriously decadent Raclette, paired with all the trimmings of cornichons, pickled onions, and pickled asparagus. Formaggio will even lend out a Raclette machine for free to any purchasers of the high-maintenance cheese. 

Of course, there’s more to the perfect holiday charcuterie spread than just cheese, even if Hallman advises customers to let it “be the star of the show.” When it comes to accoutrements, Hallman suggests the perfect condiment can really make your meal, elevating the entire dining experience. Some store specialties include their house-made pâté, preserved Italian cherry conserve, and a sweet chestnut spread made by the mother of one of their winemakers. “You can really have a lot of fun,” Hallman emphasizes, particularly when it comes to those warm winter flavors. 

For wine pairings, Hallman has two suggestions. “I lean heavily into champagne because champagne and cheese pair so beautifully together,” she admits. However, she also suggests dessert wines, which she believes are dismissed by many people because of their sweetness, but which, she argues, pair perfectly with cheese, offering a richness of flavor that feels appropriately decadent for a holiday celebration. On the less expensive end of the spectrum, she suggests a Moscatel sherry, scaling upwards to a Sauternes or a Vin Santo. “Any of those are just so warming and so nice with cheeses,” she says. 

Cheese for All 

Hallman’s biggest piece of advice for the season? “Don’t overthink it.” For anyone feeling the pressures of holiday hosting, it’s not about the perfect spread, the statement cheese, or the expensive wine. “What I have found is that if you are excited about what you’re serving, your guests are going to be excited about it,” Hallman says. 

And, for anyone still dreading the shopping process, Formaggio is a welcoming place to start. Hallman stresses that she wants the store to feel accessible and inviting to everyone, from loyal customers to those who only venture in once a year for a holiday shop. “I impress upon the staff to take their time with every customer who comes in, because maybe this is just a once-a-year special treat, and everyone should have an epic experience,” she says. For Hallman and her staff, it’s clear that from display case to dining room, seasonal foods aren’t about sophistication or expenditure. “Food should always bring people together,” Hallman says.