When we arrived in Sion, we were surrounded by vineyards! What a pleasant surprise. Although we wouldn’t be renting a car there, we were determined to find a way to make our way over to the grapes. They are ripening now and it’s the perfect time to go see them.
I searched on Trip Advisor and found an excursion that included a walk through the vineyard and lunch. Just what we were looking for! Les Celliers de Sion (The Cellars of Sion) were only about a 20 minute walk from our AirBnB and although it was warm, we agreed it was close enough to make it happen.
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.
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?”
When we chose to come out to Longmont, CO, we had no idea that there would be a cheese school 15 minutes from our rental. What an amazing bonus for our stay here! Neil and I have “dipped our toes” into cheesemaking but just handful of times so when we found out we could attend Cheesemaking classes, we figured it was our duty as cheeselovers. Our friend Jinnee was in town when the class occurred, so we all attended together. Jinnee said, “I love hanging out with you guys, we always eat so well!”
We purchased this wine and cheese in North Carolina about six weeks back but it just so happens to be a Pinot Noir pairing just after Pinot Noir Day! We found the wine from JAQK Cellars at World Market, a great place to buy wine! This is actually a brand that I first heard about in San Francisco over six years ago while job hunting. The cheese comes from Looking Glass Creamery, which we previously visited with our friend Doris. We figured the intensity of the cheese would pair nicely with a Pinot Noir, let’s see how we did!
We came up with the idea for the Savor the Flavor entry at the end of 2017, https://wineandcheesefriday.com/savor-the-flavor/, to showcase some noteworthy wines from the year. We’ve decided to continue the tradition for 2018. One of the ways we were able to really Savor the Flavor this year was by using our Vacu Vin. Have you ever tried these? They are wine vacuums/pumps that suck the air out of the bottle in order to preserve them longer. We were able to keep one of the bottles for two weeks! Can’t say I was ever able to do that in the past.
Maria and Neil started wineandcheesefriday.com to learn more about wine in 2014. We’ve visited wineries, and creameries across the world to learn as much as we can about these two wonderful delacacies. We❤️🍷&🧀
