White blend, Sparkling Rosé and Two Monte Azul cheeses with Carol

Carol, Maria and Neil preparing tasting notes for the rosé

We found a fellow WineAndCheese lover here in Quebradas, Costa Rica! Her name is Carol and she lives right down the road from us. Since she’s an expat, we can speak English, which makes it a little easier! We had already gotten together for wine and cheese before so I wanted to do it again as part of WineAndCheeseFriday. Also having some in-person time provided a nice break from all our Christmas video chatting.

Best of Wines and Cheeses in Costa Rica

Best of Wines and Cheeses in Costa Rica

During our time in Costa Rica (much longer than we expected) we’ve been finding some really nice wines and cheeses. This trip we’ve had more purchasing options since we’ve been traveling around the country more. This has allowed us to find brands and shops that we never visited before. We’re also aware that it isn’t crucial to refrigerate cheese immediately so we’ve been fine taking the chance of driving home with it for a couple hours without thinking twice.

Chilean Sparkling Wines

Undurraga Demi Sec and Concha y Toro Brut

Our final sparkling wine entry for February will showcase sparkling wines from Chile. During our time in Costa Rica and Panama, we have tasted many Chilean brands. When I discuss whats in my glass (#WIMG) on social media, it surprised people that Chilean wineries produced sparkling wines, since they aren't readily available in the US.

Sparkling Wines and Cheeses, as we begin our California Wine Adventure

Sparkling Wines and Cheeses, as we begin our California Wine Adventure

We continue through the month of February with more sparkling wine! We did this tasting with Always Five Star (Pam) and her husband, John, during our trip out to California. Their home on Seal Beach was our first stop in the state. And really who else would you expect us to drink sparkling wine with? They already had a cheese shop picked out for us to visit, Cheese Addiction. Sounds right up my alley! We didn't need an occasion to eat cheese and drink sparkling wine but it just so happened that Pam hit 10k Instagram followers while we were there! Let the celebrating begin.

Co-hosting #WiningHourChat with Chris from Wine101 Hamden

Wining Hour Chat with Wine101Hamden Oct 2018

We had such a good time the first time I was the guest on WiningHourChat, that Li, Maggie and Cara asked if I’d like to do it again. We had the idea to do it sometime in the Fall and I already new I’d be in New England then. This got me thinking that Chris from Wine 101 Hamden is also in New England and that we could cohost the chat. And so it began!

Celebrate Valentine's Day with Sparkling Wine and Cheese!

Our cheeseboard- La Tur, Beehive Hatch Chile Cheese, Wensleydale and Cranberries, and Vermont Creamery St. Albans with Charlito’s Cocina Chorizo seco

Can you believe we’ve only had a handful of Wine and Cheese Friday sparkling wine entries? We really like this type of wine so we figured we could take this chance to learn some more, and who can resist the bubbly? Sparkling wine is always festive, but what better reason to drink some bubbles than Valentine’s Day. It’s only a few days away, you know. Learn more alongside us and then give a new bottle of bubbles a try on Feb. 14. Of course, we’ve got some cheeses in here too for you to pick up.