Being a solid GenXer, port wine cheese balls were a cornerstone of my parent’s holiday parties when I was growing up. Just in case there are any millennials or zoomers reading this post, a port wine cheese ball a spreadable cheese, usually with cheddar at the base, and infused with port wine which is then formed into either a ball or a log and covered in chopped nuts. Port wine cheese balls can stand alone or be incorporated into a charcuterie board and, for me, are a nostalgic - albeit rarely indulged in - treat.
Recently, I was grocery shopping with my wife and, while I wasn’t specifically looking to buy a port wine cheese ball, I did want to pick up a cheese spread for pretzels for a weekend snack. While browsing the options, I saw a couple of these delectable cheese concoctions on the shelf and was about to grab one when I thought to myself: these can’t be all that hard to make, can they?
Well, a quick couple of minutes online later I was reaching for some cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, and a bottle of port to try out some base recipes before expanding into making cheese balls from our Rochoso wines.
Recipes I read were quite varied, but all used a blend of shredded cheddar cheese and cream cheese as the base component., Some included other cheeses, butter, heavy cream, spices or Worcestershire sauce. In every case, some port wine was added at the end, giving the final product its distinctive coloration and taste. Naturally, although I read and complied about a dozen recipes, I didn’t read them all completely and tried my first batch using pre-shredded mild cheddar and cream cheese which failed miserably. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that pre-shredded cheese is covered with an anti-caking coating that keeps the cheese from clumping together in storage, and I should have known that this would cause problems for producing a cheese ball…or I could have just read the several recipes that told me this would be a problem! In either case, the first cheese balls turned out lumpy and, while they tasted OK, did not look appealing in the least.
Recovering from that mistake, I used freshly shredded cheddar and was able to make a decent looking and delicious tasting cheese ball. Since this experiment is mainly focused on revealing how our Rochoso wines work in making cheese balls, I decided to keep the recipe simple, using only mild cheddar, cream cheese, and wine to explore which ratios of those ingredients work best together to make a cheese ball with the right consistency and taste. After several trials, here is the recipe I ended up with:
• 3 oz sharp cheddar cheese, freshly and finely shredded
• 2 oz plain cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons Rochoso
• Thinly sliced toasted almonds
Combine the cheeses with the Rochoso in a bowl and mix together using a hand blender or a food processor until the ingredients are completely combined. The ideal result is evenly colored with a soft but firm consistency. Place the cheese blend on a piece of plastic food wrap, cover completely and form into a ball or a log. Refrigerate for an hour or so, then unwrap and roll in sliced almonds. You can use either yellow or white cheddar. White cheddar produces a a cheese ball with a coloration close to the true color of the wine used in the process. The cheeseballs were all quite tasty! When I make them next time, I’ll try blending in chopped pieces of dried fruit to help boost the flavor even more.
