Valentine's Day Party Food: Wine Glass Charcuterie
- Jess Iwen
- Feb 11
- 3 min read
Whether you're single, in a relationship, or planning a Galentine's Day get-together, a cute lil charcuterie setup is a hit for any holiday. And something about cheese, crackers, and chocolate seems especially fitting on Valentine's Day — perhaps because it pairs so well with wine.
Lately, I've seen caterers and home chefs creating single-serve charcuterie in cones and cups and, punniest of all, jars dubbed "jarcuterie." I love, love, love this idea but thought for V-Day, why not class it up a notch and opt for wine glasses and highball glasses? "Winecuterie" certainly doesn't have the same ring to it... but I think the visual appeal makes up for it!
Single-serving charcuterie ingredients
There's no "correct" way to make a charcuterie board (or jar or wine glass). In fact, what we've come to call charcuterie in the U.S. is not the definition of the word at all. Charcuterie is French for prepared meat products (bacon, salami, pates, etc.). But most Americans tend to think of it as an array of meats, cheeses, nuts, and fruits. Extras like crackers, bread, dips, mustard, honey, or chocolate sometimes make an appearance, too. Other versions go completely rogue — I've seen brunch boards, butter boards, dessert boards, the list goes on.
The point is, you do you. Consider your audience. Come up with a budget (the classic ingredients add up fast). Choose an appropriate-sized serving vessel. I've definitely made entire boards for just my husband and me and died a little on the inside when throwing out the embarrassingly expensive leftovers.
Speaking of my husband, my Valentine's Day wine glass charcuterie was semi-inspired by a bounty of cheese curds we acquired when visiting his home state of Wisconsin. Here's what else I threw in the mix:
Again, I used cheese curds but cubed or sliced cheese works
Pistachios and almonds
Cherry tomatoes
Blue cheese-stuffed olives
Red and green grapes
Dried apricots
Blueberries
Sliced meats (i.e., Genoa salami and Coppa Italiana)
Krave beef sticks
Truffle cheese (Snowdonia Truffle Trove from Costco)
Crispy breadsticks
Valentine's Day macarons (sourced from a local spot called Bella Macaron)
Chocolate truffles
Hu dark chocolate bars (new fav chocolate by far!)
Siete Fresas con Crema cookies
Red licorice
Heart toothpicks to tie it all together
Assembling the charcuterie
Now, let's talk about how to assemble your charcuterie in the glasses.
Make kabobs: Spear your meats, cheeses, tomatoes, and olives on toothpicks or cocktail spears. Making a batch of these "kabobs" ahead of time will make assembling the glasses faster.
Create the base: Begin filling your glasses, adding nuts, grapes, blueberries, and dried apricots as the base layer. This will create a sturdy foundation for the other ingredients.
Add beef sticks and breadsticks: Insert a beef stick and/or breadstick toward the back of the glass. Anchor them in by shoving them down into the base layer ingredients. Trim if they are too tall.
Add meat and cheese kabobs: One or two spears per glass looked nice to me! I also dropped in some sliced truffle cheese (not speared).
Throw in something sweet: Toss in a truffle, piece of dark chocolate, or small cookie to fill any voids in your glasses. I topped mine with macarons, too.
Finish with decorative touches: To add a little artistry, consider using thyme, rosemary, dill, or dried flowers to fill in any remaining gaps.
Tips & tricks
Wash any produce you're using well in advance, and let it dry thoroughly before assembling your glasses.
Avoid super juicy foods (like green olives straight from the jar — I strained mine), or pat them dry and don't spear them.
Let your cheese warm up before inserting a toothpick or cocktail spear. It's more pliable and less likely to break that way.
If you make these, let me know what ingredients you used in the comments below. Happy snacking, and may your Valentine's Day be filled with love, laughter, and tasty bites! xoxo
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