Our wine and cheese pairing this week is a sparkling wine from Trader Joe’s with another soft cheese called St. Andre. Since our last cheese was named after a nearby mountain, I figured I should do a little research on this cheese. I did a quick Google search and found out St. Andre cheese is a specific type of triple cream cheese that has a soft buttery texture, tangy edible rind, and tastes like an intense version of Brie. Thanks Wikipedia, now onto the wine.
We received this cheese from some friends because they knew we loved to pair Wine and Cheese! Thanks Sabrina and Geoff! We had heard about Mt. Tam cheese on a recent trip to Cowgirl Creamery. (http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/) So we consulted our wine and cheese pairing list and looked for a wine that would pair with a soft cheese similar to Brie.
This weeks pairing was suggested at Trader Joes. (http://traderjoes.com/) The wine, Tempranillo, was from the Ribera del duero region of Spain. We tried another wine from this region when we visited The Wine Club. (http://mferraro73.tumblr.com/post/55191187751/trip-to-the-wine-club-7-5-we-decided-to-go-to) According to www.cheese.com, “Usually, Tommes are cheeses produced from skimmed milk after the cream has been removed to make butter and full cream cheeses. Consequently, they are low in fat.” We had never heard of this type of cheese.
Neil and I attended a friends birthday party with a wine theme. I could barely contain my excitement about tasting wines from all over the world! The theme for the party was wine from the Southern Hemisphere. It was suggested that everyone bring wine from South America, South Africa, Australia, or New Zealand.
We continued on our search for new wineries by going to Kenwood, CA over the weekend. Driving down route 121 was beautiful! This country road had many vineyards, sparkling with glitter strips to keep the birds away. We even saw a sign that said “Welcome to Real wine country.”
This week we decided to go out for Wine and Cheese Friday. Eno (http://www.enowinerooms.com/) is just a few blocks away from our apartment and serves multiple wine flights, cheese flights, charcuterie and assorted chocolates. We had stopped here another time for a drink but couldn’t wait to try one of their recommended wine and cheese pairings.