Blogger Template by Blogcrowds

Wine and Cheese

May 30, 2007
What could be better when your favorite food is cheese and your favorite drink is wine? Not much in my humble opinion. Especially when those cheese are local artisan cheeses and the wines are delicious and pair very well with the cheeses.

Prior to heading to CA, I found a link to Michel-Schlumberger on Fork and Bottle and decided to check it out. On poking around the website, I found that they offer tasting by appointment only and also have a special wine and cheese pairing by appointment. I was sold.

We were a few minutes earlier so we had a chance to wander around the beautiful courtyard of the winery and sit by the fountain as we waited for the other people to arrive. Our tasting mates turned out to be a very nice couple from North Carolina whom we ran into latter at Passalacqua.

Eventually we were moved to a large kitchen where our cheese plates and wine glasses were set at individual tasting stations around the kitchen island. The pairing event is $26 per person.

First up was the 2005 La Brume Chardonnay for $20 with an Aged Acapella cheese. The wine showed pear and lemon flavors with a slight hint of oak. It seemed slightly crisp, but drinking it with the cheese turned it into a nice light, creamy wine. Yum, this cheese was AMAZING!

Next was a 2002 Merlot, which cost $30 and our attendant said should age for 8-10 years. The wine was paired with Carmody Farmstead Cheese. The wine showed alochol, raspberries, spice and cherries. I could see that it needed time to age. Once I took a bite of the cheese however, the fruit came jumping out of the glass with gobs of black cherries and raspberries. Delicious wine with the cheese!

Third was a 2003 Pinot Noir for $32. It was paired with blue cheese. I described the wine before cheese as clean, with strawberries and quite earthy. After the cheese, I found mushrooms along with the other flavors. I loved this match.

Fourth was a 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon for $38 that our attendant said to age for 10 or more years. It was paired with St. George cheese. The wine showed black currants and was very reserved, but after the cheese the wine opened up in the mouth.

Next we had a Late Harvest Semillon Dessert wine called "Silk Purse." It was floral with apple, pear and honey notes. We tried it with the leftover blue cheese and the flavors jumped out of the glass. This was Matt's favorite pairing.

Finally we tried a 2006 Pinot Blanc for $21. It is aged for 6 months in stainless steel. No cheese match for this one, but the attendant suggested buttery cheeses. The wine had a sweet aromatic nose, with lemon and pineapple. It was very light and would make a great summer sipper. We took a bottle home.

Overall, a great experience and it was really fun to taste in such a small group over an extended hour. I would certainly recommend this to anyone heading out that way.

4 comments:

  1. winedeb said...

    Sounds Great ! And it looks like they had a pretty nice kitchen also! You guys had such a great trip ! Lots of wine stops! But hey, what are vacations for anyhow!!

    5/31/07, 9:31 AM  

  2. Dr. Debs said...

    Wow. This looks like a really nice setup and its amazing as always how the taste of wine changes with different foods. I'll put this on my list of summer stops, for sure.

    5/31/07, 2:11 PM  

  3. foodette said...

    Yum - wine and cheese, I couldn't agree more!

    5/31/07, 6:22 PM  

  4. Sonadora said...

    The kitchen was gorgeous winedeb...I covet other people's kitchens!!

    Dr.Debs, it was a great set-up and very intimate. We really enjoyed it and it was a great experience for the price of the pairing. You should certainly check it out!

    Welcome foodette, thanks for the comment! Wine and cheese are two of life's greatest pleasures in my opinion, so much the better if you can enjoy them together!

    6/1/07, 2:29 PM  

Post a Comment