We tried this wine when we attended the French Wine Tasting at BevMo (http://mferraro73.tumblr.com/post/114788359563/french-wine-tasting-at-bevmo-in-order-to) and knew that we both wanted to try it again with cheese. Although we knew we liked it, we weren’t quite sure what type of cheese to pair with it. Then I was at Real Food Company, http://www.realfoodco.com, looking at their cheeses and was intrigued by this cheese. It sounded like something we’ve come across before and was shaped a little differently than most cheeses we’ve tasted. (http://www.vermontcreamery.com/bijou-1) In the sense of adventure, I grabbed the cheese with intent to pair it with our Pinot Blanc.
When we visited Sottomarino back in March, http://mferraro73.tumblr.com/post/115417517063/treasure-island-and-wine-tasting-at-sottomarino, we had the chance to try the wines at the Howell Mountain tasting room as well. Howell Mountain is a famed grape growing region in Napa Valley but this brand makes their wine on Treasure Island, as part of Winemaker’s Studio. (http://www.howellmountainvineyards.com/wine-shop.html)
During our trip to Massachusetts, I celebrated my birthday. The Wine And Cheese pairing for this week was a gift from my brother Vinny’s family. The wine was a familiar California brand but the cheese was something out of the ordinary, packaged in a container, filled with olive oil. Since both products were liquid, and we only had carry-on suitcases for the airplane, we continued the celebrating with Vinny and his bride, Koren. I will say, I was pretty impressed with my brother’s choice for the pairing, having a feeling that the Chardonnay would go well with a soft goat cheese.
This WineAndCheeseFriday will focus on cheeses safe for pregnant ladies. Knowing that we were attending a celebration for my brother and sister in law, who is 6 months pregnant, I was excited to research cheeses safe to eat while you are pregnant. I searched online and found a couple different resources, http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm079516.htm, and http://www.babycentre.co.uk/x3175/is-it-safe-to-eat-cheese-during-pregnancy#ixzz3WHkDUxt0 with some pretty straightforward cheese safety guidelines. There were a few things to avoid including raw milk cheeses and soft or blue cheeses. Luckily hard cheeses and soft processed cheeses like cottage cheese or cream cheese are still allowed. The main concern for pregnant ladies is the risk of Listeria from unpasteurized cheese, in case you were wondering. So we headed to the store with our guidelines in hand.
When we purchased this Zinfandel back in the summer at Cline Cellars (http://mferraro73.tumblr.com/post/95170593813/cline-cellars-red-blend-and-toscano-cheese-with) we were told to hold onto it for about 6 months before opening it. Having patiently put our time in, we decided to use it this week for WineAndCheeseFriday. Zinfandel is a wine Neil and I both enjoy but not knowing if it will have pepper spice flavors or jammy fruit flavors, it is always one that’s hard to pair with cheese. We have never tried a Basque cheese so we figured we’d see how it worked with our mystery wine.
We received this wine as a gift around the holidays. Knowing the usual flavor profile of Viognier, flowers or peaches, I chose a cheese that would probably have some sweetness to it. This cheese, Rogue River Blue, is one that I’ve tried a handful of times and due to it’s seasonal nature, I figured we should seize the day for the pairing. (https://wineandcheesefriday.com/cheese-plus-intimate-and-exclusive-tasting-friday/)