Best of Wines and Cheeses in Costa Rica

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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. Read More…

Toro de Piedra Carmenere wine and Morabia cheese

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Today’s entry is being written poolside in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica. We did this pairing in Quebradas, Costa Rica, just outside of San Isidro de General, our “home” for the past 8 months. For a change of scenery we decided to come out to Puerto Jimenez for at least a month. I’ll take the opportunity to sit outside, listen to the waves and birds and get some work done! Read More…

Emiliana Adobe Rosé and Goat’s Milk Brie

Neil and I were really craving some rosé so we headed to the grocery store to see what we could find. There were a few different rosés in the wine aisle but we spotted this Chilean rosé by Emiliana Winery, something new for us, and picked up a bottle. We’ve been enjoying the local cheese brand Quesos QM lately so we figured we could find something by them to pair with our rosé. It feels like it’s been forever since we just sat down and paired wine and cheese. Join us today as we taste Emiliana Adobe Rosé (Reserva) and Goat’s Milk Brie! Read More…

Wine and Cheese During the Quarantine

I think we can all agree that things have been different during Coronavirus. Maybe not for everyone but for those of us staying home to stay safe. What does that mean for wine and cheese pairing? Well, we’re not running out to pick up a cheese we just heard about since we have to carefully plan our trips to the grocery store. Also we’re rationing our wine so that we can still have some next week before we go back out to the store.

And regarding social media? In the beginning, I couldn’t find many people talking wine, mainly just the newly brewing pandemic. Now that we’re three months in, I figured I’d create an entry with how our wine and cheese pairings have changed. Read More…

Finally Got Our Hands on a Bottle of Ocio Wine by Cono Sur Winery!

We’ve been drinking Cono Sur wines, since we first found them in Ecuador in 2016. After trying a few bottles then, we became fans. Then I found out about the #conosurwinetalk chat on Twitter, . It was there that I first heard about Ocio. People from around the world would come together for that chat so many of the different labels by the brand would be mentioned. I remember hearing about the upper level wine during one of those first chats and thinking, “Wow, that sounds like some nice Pinot Noir! How can I get my hands on a bottle?” Read More…

“The Rest of our Wine in Costa Rica”

Towards the end of our Costa Rica trip, we found ourselves with a whole bunch of wine remaining from that case we had ordered from San Jose! There were a couple that had been earmarked for wine and cheese pairing research and another one that we just wanted to taste. And even two that we didn’t get to but ended up leaving as a Thank You gift for our caretakers. This pairing will kind be a catch all with wine, cheese, multiple dinners and even a little popcorn. We present to you “The Rest of our Wine in Costa Rica.” Read More…

Wine and Chocolate Pairing, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Did you know there’s a region in Costa Rica that grows chocolate? We just found out about it on a recent trip to Puerto Viejo. We were pleasantly surprised to find a chocolate and wine pairing at Cho.co. The store was set up with all different chocolates and bars decorating the walls. I think there might have been ten different chocolate producers sold in the store. We visited on a Friday night and boy was it packed. People were excited to try their chocolate tastings, beer, coffee and wine pairings. Luckily, there was still some space at the bar so we found a spot there and began our tasting! Read More…

Chilean Sparkling Wines

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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. Read More…

Frontera Specialties Auténtico Blanco and Chirripo Blanco cheese

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Yes, it’s true, we purchased this wine because of the label. It looked like such a fun wine, I couldn’t resist. I had no idea what grapes would be in this white blend but I did know that there was Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and I think a Moscato on the shelf next to it by the same brand. I was holding off on purchasing this wine but this is our last Costa Rican wine and cheese entry, so it was time. The cheese, I had also been watching longingly and missed my chance. The collection of MonteAzul cheeses all looked so good but one in particular caught my eye. It looked like it was one of those pyramids of goat cheese with ash around it but sadly it was out of stock when I finally got around to making my purchase. The one we did get is still by MonteAzul but we could only guess what it would be. From the shape and packaging, it looked like it was going to be a goats milk Brie. Now without further ado the pairing and tasting notes for Frontera Specialties Auténtico Blanco and Chirripo Blanco cheese. Read More…

Tocornal Carmenere and Swiss cheese

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When I saw this wine in the store I was a little confused. It said the name of the wine but then “by Cono Sur” at the bottom of the label. I decided not to get it the first time around because we had a few wines already queued up for future WineAndCheeseFriday pairings. I contacted Cono Sur on Twitter to ask about this mysterious line of wines since I couldn’t find it on their website. As always they were very helpful and said was it called “Tocornal?” Yes, that’s one of ours, but its only distributed in Canada, Latin America and Russia. Well this created a buzz on Twitter and for me so I figured I should go back and find it. A week later in another grocery store, there it was and, lucky us, they had a Carmenere! What a fun chance to compare the Bicicleta Carmenere from a few years ago, https://wineandcheesefriday.com/carmenere-and-camembert/, to the Tocornal Carmenere now. The cheese is from our giant farmer’s market, La Feria. We found this cheese in Colibri’s Corner, the booth on the end. This booth always has all sorts of tasty treats like spices, baked goods and chocolate. Neil picked up this wedge of cheese and said it smelled kind of smoky and that we should get it. Always on a quest for new cheese, I happily agreed. Read More…