Impress your valentine with the ultimate cheese board

WINDSOR, Calif. -- Wine and cheese make the perfect pair. The saltiness combined with sweet, rich flavors delight the taste buds. For some, the perfect wine and cheese pairings can become a magical experience.

Tracey Shepos Cenami gets to help create those moments for a living.

She's the chef and cheese specialist at Jackson Family Wines and knows what it takes to leave a lasting impression. "My job is to find the perfect pairings, find that right cheese to go with the right wine, so you have the best experience and you're going to remember that cheese and wine," says Tracey.

What better time to make the ultimate cheese board than Valentine's Day? Tracey encourages people to have fun and try different cheeses when making their board. "Don't be intimidated by making a cheese board. It's really important to pick cheeses that you know you like. If you have multiple cheeses, then try something new, you know, be adventurous."

Try including sheep's milk, cow's milk and goat's milk. Then, use textures of cheeses ranging from fresh chev to a triple cream to something firm. The diversity of cheeses will help improve the flavors when pairing with wine. Firmer cheeses pair well with pinot noir, creamy cheeses pair well with chardonnay and goat cheese pairs well with rose.

And, don't forget to add color to your board with dried fruits, nuts and spreads. To top it off, add chocolate! You won't disappoint.

To help get you started, here are some ideas:

Wine Ideas:

La Crema is very well known for their Sonoma Coast chardonnay and pinot noir, but what you might not know is they also make a wide array of single vineyard wines from the Russian River Valley and beyond.

2019 La Crema Saralee's Vineyard Rose

2018 La Crema Russian River Valley Chardonnay

2016 La Crema Saralee's Vineyard Pinto Noir

Cheese Ideas:

Chevoo Goat Cheese

Cypress Grove Midnight Moon

Nicasio Reserve

Pt Reyes Blue

Mt Tam Triple Cream

San Andreas

Bohemian Creamery Boho Belle

Chocolate:

Fleur Sauvage chocolate

Vine to Bar chocolate

Volo chocolate

Additional Items:

Fogliani crackers

Dried cherries

Bacon almonds

Hoshigaki persimmons

For more tips and recipes, visit here.