Mistela Tasting at Colgado Restaurant, Cuenca, Ecuador

wineandcheesefriday March 4, 2016 No Comments

What is a Mistela? It depends where you look online* for the definition. We had heard that it was a cocktail made with wine. I’ve found a few websites that agree it’s a blend of unfermented grape juice and distilled alcohol but others do not mention wine being used. There are different wine grapes that are used including syrah, moscatel, grenache, and mollar. We tried it while we were in Ecuador but people have found it in Spain as well. Although we weren’t positive of the alcohol used in our cocktails we do know the fruits that were added.
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Categories: Other Wine and Cheese Experience Tags: Tags: aperitif, babaco, cuenca ecuador, El Colgado restaurant, MariaFerraroBeardsley, mistela, wine cocktails, wineandcheesefriday

Wine & Cheese Friday Turned 2 Today!

wineandcheesefriday March 11, 2015 No Comments

Categories: Wine and Cheese Holiday Tags: Tags: 2yearsofPosts, cheese, MariaFerraroBeardsley, tumblr birthday, tumblr milestone, wine, wineandcheesefriday

Vino de Coyol and Para Derretir Cheese

wineandcheesefriday February 20, 2015 No Comments

The wine this week is a complete wild card. We were driving down the road, near Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and saw a roadside stand with a sign for wine. Well we had to stop here but really didn’t know what we’d find. There was a little kid that ran over to the car and said we could get 1000 for 3000. We eventually figured out that the 3000 was the price, converts to about $6 US. We gladly paid and were handed a previously used soda bottle with a white cloudy liquid. When I asked which fruit is used for this wine, the boy pointed over at a palm tree in the distance.

Categories: Wine and Cheese Pairing Tags: Tags: cheese, Costa Rica, MariaFerraroBeardsley, para derretir cheese, perm solution, sugar cookies, vino de coyol, wine, wineandcheesefriday

Top Wines of 2014

wineandcheesefriday January 3, 2015 No Comments

In order to wrap up 2014, we both took a look through the blog entries to find our favorites. I chose my wines by those that I either tried to buy again or continued to talk about long after tasting it. Neil found wines that he either really enjoyed on its own or due to the transformation of the wine with the cheese. Click on the wines below to see the original pairing and the wine tasting notes.

Categories: Other Wine and Cheese Experience Tags: Tags: california wines, frenchwines, Italian Wines, MariaFerraroBeardsley, topwinesof2014, washingtonwine, wine, wineandcheesefriday

Top Cheeses of 2014

wineandcheesefriday December 27, 2014 No Comments

In order to celebrate Christmas we came up with our top cheeses of 2014. See the list below:

Categories: Other Wine and Cheese Experience Tags: Tags: aged Comte, cheese, Christmas, goat milk Brie, italian truffle cheese, le delice de bourgogne, MariaFerraroBeardsley, top cheeses of 2014, wineandcheesefriday

Making Goat Cheese

wineandcheesefriday October 3, 2014 No Comments

Over the weekend we tried our hands at being cheese makers. Armed with our kit from Belle Chèvre, http://www.bellechevre.com, we closely read the directions and took on the challenge. Something funny was that it advised cleaning your kitchen so you have all utensils and plenty of space, they must know the size of our kitchen. We knew it might take a whole day even though the directions said it was only 2 steps. Keeping all of this in mind we got started at 1pm.

Categories: Other Wine and Cheese Experience Tags: Tags: belle chèvre, cheese, chevre, handmade, MariaFerraroBeardsley, wineandcheesefriday

Washington Wines

wineandcheesefriday September 13, 2014 No Comments

Over the weekend we traveled out to Seattle, WA to get acquainted with the Pacific Northwest. Not only did we find beautiful weather and scenery but there was also wine there! On our first day we took the ferry out to Bainbridge Island and were delighted to happen upon a couple wine shops.

Categories: Wine Tasting Tags: Tags: bainbridgeIsland, HarborSquareWineBarandShop, islandVintners, MariaFerraroBeardsley, PatriotRed, seattle, supertuscan, washingtonwine, wineandcheesefriday

Zinfandel and Aged Gruyere

wineandcheesefriday August 29, 2014 No Comments

We purchased this Lodi Zinfandel during the BevMo 5cent sale. (http://www.bevmo.com) I have heard that Lodi is the Zin capital of CA so I had to check it out! According to the Lodi website, http://www.lodiwine.com/vineyards/old-vine-zinfandel, the wines are known for their “intense red and black fruit flavors of cherries, raspberries, and blackberries.” The BevMo description of this wine recommends pairing a strong cheese so I figured the Gruyere would fit the bill. We’ve used this cheese once before at the very beginning of WineAndCheeseFriday and I remember it being a little too intense for me. (http://mferraro73.tumblr.com/post/46997403195/pinot-noir-and-gruyere-sunday-march-24-things) Let’s see if my palate has changed?

Categories: Wine and Cheese Pairing Tags: Tags: aged Gruyere, bevmo, cheese, jammy, lodi, MariaFerraroBeardsley, SpinachAroma, SwirlTheWine, wine, wineandcheesefriday, zinfandel

Our 5 Favorite Wine and Cheese Pairings so Far This Year

wineandcheesefriday August 26, 2014 No Comments

For this week’s entry, we’ll comment on some of our favorite entries this year. I’ve been enjoying the “new flavors” and noticeable reactions that have happened in a couple of our past entries; these are the ones I chose for my selections. Neil has had a couple where he exclaimed about the pairings, so I chose these entries for his favorites. They are listed in order of Maria’s Favorites, entries 1-3 and Neil’s Favorites, 3-5, with the overlap being Entry 3.

Categories: Other Wine and Cheese Experience Tags: Tags: BlogHighlights, cheese, FavoritePairings, MariaFerraroBeardsley, wine, wineandcheesefriday

Wine and Bocce, Truckee River Winery

wineandcheesefriday July 26, 2014 No Comments

Since we are the Wine and cheese couple, we are always on the look out for new wine experiences. Over the weekend we visited Lake Tahoe for some much needed R & R. While we were there, we found a winery with bocce ball, definitely a place worth checking out.

Categories: Other Wine and Cheese Experience Tags: Tags: bocce, Lake Tahoe, MariaFerraroBeardsley, Morgans lobster shack and fish market, red barn red, Truckee River winery, vie winery, wine, wineandcheesefriday