The Drawer That Is Never Empty

 

“You know, there is always a little something leftover for cheese” one of the times my mother’s voice would sound fuller than normal. She even looked taller when she could, with all confidence, assure me that no matter how long the phone might be cut off or worse, ringing off the hook with people looking for payment, there was a little savory crumble or smear of utter indulgence and joy tucked away in the skinny flat drawer of our oft sparsely stocked refrigerator.

 

Those early years my mother struggled being a single mother, and she did the absolute best she could to try and help me find joy in the little things seeing as the “big ones” weren’t available to us at the time. I learned to blow my wishes into a wand saturated with sudsy bubble liquid. Dream big, deep chest filling breath, wish telepathically whispered into the bubble that formed before my wide eyes. I would then stand there watching as those hopes and dreams floated way above my head and down the street, hoping the whole time that they would go as far as they could before bursting spreading my desires to places out of my reach. Never knowing that one day bubbles would play an instrumental role in a career that took me places I could never have dreamed of standing there on the grass, barefooted, a little hungry, bubbles trailing down the street, my attention drifting to a tiny nibble from the special drawer of the refrigerator. 

 

 

 

My adoration and appreciation of great cheese followed me into my adult life and the cheese department at The Wine Country was the very first department I was fully in charge of twenty something years ago. I started by bringing in the standards, Brie, Camembert, New York Cheddar and a smattering of my beloved blue cheeses. The more confident I got watching people grab handfuls of various wrapped wedges, the more I began to explore, but for the most part sticking with the vast world of cheeses from Europe. That began changing, like a lot, about 6 years ago.

 

When I began as the cheese buyer for The Wine Country the term “American Cheese” held with it a very different connotation. Most of us were immediately picturing those thin, waxy slabs wrapped in, and frankly tasted a little like, plastic. Good for a comforting, old school, grilled cheese or melted over a burger patty at a backyard barbeque, but maybe not one wants to nibble on while enjoying a wine from your local wine merchant. I can assure you that American cheese has been folded into the foodie world. People are not only open to trying artisanal cheeses from The United States, they are devouring them and coming back for more. I for one now believe with all my cheese loving heart, the cheeses from The United States have surpassed, in terms of diversity, many cheeses from the Old World. There. I said it. 

 

 

 

I think, for us anyway, the real awakening came with the cheeses from right here in California. Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog, Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk and Mt. Tam, the mild offerings from Central Coast Creamery and the bold Blue from Point Reyes. We had access to these fine local gooey offerings and the quality, well like I said, pried our palates and minds right open. This led to local purveyors seeking more incredible cheeses from around the U.S. for us to discover and the things they have brought for us, game changing. Period. Now some of the cheeses I am reordering, suggesting, and taking home to feed my inner cheese monster are, you guessed it, “American Cheese”

 

Still stocking those beloved eye-opening, or palate prying, favorites like Humboldt Fog, Mt. Tam and Red Hawk but we are always bringing in cool new thinks from small U.S. creameries and below are some of my new all-time favorites. Happy snacking from the cheese drawer everyone!

Your Local Wine & Cheese Nerd,

Samantha Dugan

 

 

 

Sweet Grass Dairy Pimento Cheese 6oz, $7.99

Now this cheese has been featured a lot on our social media pages, blogs and my face. We are crazy in love with this spreadable, smokey, mild but immensely addictive cheese. The grated bits offer texture, the pimento gives us a gloriously smokey note and we have eaten it pastas, grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers, as a dip for fresh veggies and I have been known to smear it on a bagel or toast. Limited only by your imagination. 

 

 

 

Milton Creamery Prairie Breeze 6oz, $6.99

This is such a brilliantly intense cow’s milk, Cheddar styled cheese. Just a big blast of almost caramelized milk flavor. Like a cross between great Cheddar, Parmesan and aged Gouda with a rich mouth feel and a super long, almost sweet finish. A favorite for grating over salads, burgers, and simply nibbling on with fresh fruit. Gorgeous cheese.

 

 

 

Milton Creamery 4 Alarm Cheddar 6oz, $4.99

Not for the weak of palate! They aren’t kidding about 4 alarm here, this is wicked fiery cheese that is great grated into a more mild cheese for tacos, burritos, chili or if you are a fire eater, again, just to nibble. 

 

 

 

Jasper Hill Farm Harbison 9oz, $16.99

This is a super sexy, oozing, pungent, silky cheese that has a bloomy rind and is wrapped in a band of spruce bark which imparts a wicked cool herbal flavor. Not the most beautiful on the outside but this stinker is spilling out with sumptuous feral and olive oil flavors. Crusty bread, crackers and fresh fruit, heavenly. 

 

 

 

Boxcarr Rocket’s Robiola No size indicated but it is a thick hunk, $21.99

This is another more pungent, gooey cheese that ranges from being fudgy to being running and silky. Cow’s milk washed with vegetable ash that takes on a wrinkly outer skin. Inside you get mushrooms, grass, creamy milky notes, and it finishes with a bright tang. Lovely spreadable cheese for a cheese plate or dolloped into mushroom dishes, like pizzas.

 

 

 

Beecher’s Smoked Flagship Cheddar. No size indicated but about 4oz, $9.99

Beecher’s was another creamery that started it all in terms of artisanal domestic cheeses and they have a massive following even outside their shop in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. The regular Flagship has won awards for years, but fewer people know about this smoked version. Great crumbly texture, like Cheddar but with a powerful smoked flavor. A favorite for grilled ham and cheese, burgers, nibbling with sweet fruit and adds tremendous punch to grilled pizzas.

Um, You Might Just Be Lame...

So after a couple days of mulling it over I have come to the careful conclusion that this

Not only makes more sense, but would likely taste far better than these....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anneli-rufus/professionals-tips-on-pai_b_5605993.html 

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2014/07/rose-wine-mister-softee-pairing 

What the fuck?!
I swear my face just puckered
Palate just quit
And brain just atrophied reading this nonsense. 

Shame
On
You...

Oh and I wonder what the belly hole guy is dipping that cheese stick in a little more than I wonder what any of these "professionals" would pair with it. Can't you just see it now, "What To Pair With Toe Jam & Other Bodily, Um, Sauces"
Whimper.....
You all let me know when it's safe to come back.

Newsletter Recap On Cheese & Wine Fest

In an effort to not talk politics, which is fucking consuming me right now, I am running this piece from our current newsletter about my big Cheese & Wine Fest. Totally cheating I know but trust me, you don't want to hear what's really on my mind right now...

For those of you that weren’t able to get seat for the highly coveted Cheese & Wine Pairing Seminar last month, (always wish we had more seats to accommodate everyone that wishes to attend) I thought I would give you a recap, a run down if you will, of what we poured, which cheeses we paired with them. Not quite as good as being there but a glimpse and maybe a guide for your next cheese and wine purchases.

As the sold out crowd sat before their cheese plate I explained that we would be starting with the cheese at twelve o’clock and moving clockwise as we moved on to the next flight. We began, as we often do, with a classic cheese and wine pairing, and then, in the interest of helping them understand, I had them try that same wine but with a cheese that was an absolute disaster with it. Sounds a little mean I know, and I confess that some of the horrified, “Why would you make us do that?!” faces crack me up, but the reason I do that is to make clear the fact that there is something to that whole pairing thing, something chemical, that can take two wonderful tasting things and completely wreck them, both, when tasted together. Once tasted, “Yuck” faces and all, the group totally got it and it ended up being a truly fantastic night of tasting and leaning. 

First Flight

Wine- 2010 Pierre Fouassier Quincy ($18.99) A delightfully fresh and bright Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley, just across the way from Sancerre, this wine is full of tang, fresh cut grass, grapefruit and minerals.

Cheese- Bucheron, French Goat’s Milk. A nicely aged goat cheese with a sturdy bloomy rind, luscious creamy layer right beneath the rind and a firm, crumbly texture in the center.

Pairing: A classic. If you’ve not had goat cheese and Sauvignon Blanc, well get in your car and drive over to The Wine Country this second! Gorgeous balance of bright, tangy, vibrant and creamy. 

Second Flight

Wine- 2011 Chateau la Canorgue Luberon Blanc ($16.99) White Rhones can be somewhat difficult to pair with food but this balanced little blend of Calirette, Roussanne, Bourbelanc and Marsanne, that sees no oak, is a pure joy to drink. Nice fruit, light weight and with the coolest little hint of fennel.

Cheese- St. Marcellin French Cow’s Milk. This is a cheese that can vary tremendously depending on its stage of development or age. A soft washed-rind cheese that comes in fun little terracotta crocks, when young the cheese is buttery, dense and has a tart, almost sour finish. When older you can nearly use it as dip! Super gooey and where that milky sour thing was you will now find a mushroom like earthiness.

Pairing: I confess that I was hoping for the cheese to come in a little further alone in age, (does make a huge difference) a wee bit gooier, but was still very happy with how the Canorgue Blanc tempered that tart thing on the cheese. A simple but nice pairing. 

Third Flight

Wine- 2009 Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet Clos de Chateau ($29.99) One of the best vintages to date from this Domaine. A powerful Chardonnay with lovely nutty, roasted flavors and a big blast of ripe pear and citrus. Rich and full in the mouth but with brilliant acidity.

Cheese- Epoisses French Cow’s Milk. An extremely aromatic, (read stinky as all get out) washed rind cheese with the most glorious of all silken textures. Massive mouth feel, salty and uber rich, this is without question one of my favorite cheeses in the world.

Pairing: Have you ever heard the adage, “What grows together goes together”? While I’m not dogmatic about that there are times when there is no denying it, this pairing of two treats from France’s Burgundy, was mind-blowing. Decadence, salty, savory with fierce creaminess and astounding length. 

Fourth Flight

Wine- 2009 Trimbach Gewurztraminer ($23.99) A slightly sweet Gewurztraminer from Alsace full of ripe peaches, wild white flowers and a note of spicy ginger. Round in the mouth but with plenty of zip to keep your palate refreshed and ready for another sip.

Cheese- Red Dragon English Cow’s Milk. I tossed this cheese in the mix to challenge myself a little. A Cheddar-like cheese packed with mustard seeds and a swath of horseradish. Great melting cheese so a no-brainer for grilled ham and cheese or burgers, it is one of my favorites to serve with thick slices of green apples.

Pairing: One of the stars of the night! Had one couple even tell me that they didn’t like Gewurztraminer, thought it too aggressive for most foods but they loved this pairing so much they ended up buying both at the end of the night. The sweetness in the wine held in check by the mustardy, spicy cheese and the cheese was also more restrained by the weight and slight sweetness in the wine. 

Fifth Flight

Wine- 2010 Widman Vernatsch, Alto-Adige ($19.99) Such a light and delicate red wine! Just a shade darker than some of the Roses we carry but don’t let the color fool you, there is plenty of lip-smacking flavor going on here. Tart red cherries, cranberries and black pepper, makes me crave grilled pork loin or smoked chicken.

Cheese- La Tur Italian Mixed Milk. This ultra-creamy, rich, decadent and hauntingly mouth coating cheese from Piedmont is a blend of cow, sheep and goat milk, has a very lacy bloom and has a texture that can remind you of cream cheese. Creaminess from the cow’s milk, salty from the sheep’s milk and acidity from the goat, this is one of those cheese that makes people’s eyes roll back in their head.

Pairing: Even thinking about it now, I don’t think we could have picked a better wine for this cheese. Because of the richness of both texture and flavor we needed something with a fairly light body and some spice to cut through and the Vernatsch did so beautifully. One of my favorites for sure.

Sixth Flight

Wine- 2010 Josep Vendrell Sere, Montsant ($12.99) Frankly this is one of the most screaming deals we have as far as red wine goes right now, period. An all-purpose red that would go with just about any food you threw at it. We love this wine so much in fact, when we heard the importer was running low Ronnie hopped on the phone and bought the rest they had. Brimming with spicy Grenache flavors, light and easy going body, nice spice and wicked cheap. Love it.

Cheese- Onetik Pilota Spanish Sheep’s Milk. Along with Epoisses, this has got to be one of my most adored cheeses. Dense pale white texture, slightly fruity and nutty, perfectly salty but it is the meltingly sumptuous mouth feel that makes me wild for this Basque cheese. One of those cheeses that you could pair with anything from red, white, rose and sweet wines. If you are building any kind of cheese plate, you need Onetik Pilota.

Pairing: Easier pairing of the night, a wine that goes with anything and a cheese that does as well, together they were simply comforting. The salty cheese bringing out more of the pretty fruit in the wine and the wine graceful enough not to clobber all the character in the cheese. Sometimes simple is what’s needed. 

Seventh Flight

Wine- N.V. Villa de Corlo Lambrusco ($14.99) We are wild about Lambruscos we’ve been tasting as of late. Once thought of as a sweet, insipid lifeless stuff that sold itself as a beverage to pour over ice here in the US for years, but the real Lambrusco is revered in Italy, especially in Emilia Romagna, as the perfect wine, weather dry or off-dry, to serve with slices or slabs of cured meat and hunks of sweet and salty Parmigiano Reggiano. It might be a bit of a challenge for us to convince people to give these serious, deep red and frothy sparklers a try, but we’re up to it as we know just how freaking cool these wines are. Serious importers are bringing in the real deal now folks, the lush and full, spicy and crave worthy sparkling reds, be the first of your friends to be all over it!

Cheese- Barber’s 1833 Cheddar English Cow’s Milk. I’ve never had a more perfect and balanced Cheddar, not ever. Sharp but not in that way that has you reaching for the sides of your throat, milky, crumbly, fruity and salty. I’ve had way more powerful Cheddar but none I couldn’t keep my hands off like this one. Once the plastic wrapping is removed you can pretty much count on it being gone, it’s that good.

Pairing: Another total rock star! The gently frothy red with all its deep, dark black fruit and cracked pepper just sang when you had the fruity and succulent Cheddar in your mouth. A good pairing is when the two things taste just as good together as they did on their own, a great one is when both things were made better when put together, this is a great pairing.

Eighth Flight

Wine- 2010 Dover Canyon Cujo Zinfandel ($15.99) Our September Wine of the Month this is just a juicy, luscious, berry-rich and soft Zinfandel that is a blast to gulp. No spike of high alcohol, no pruney notes, no cooked or over-ripe flavors, this wine offers pure uncomplicated pleasure, and who doesn’t love and need that from time to time?

Cheese- Rebloshon French Cow’s Milk. Now before some of you get too excited, this is not the un-pasteurized version that is still not legal here in the states. This is however a beautifully indulgent and runny cheese that is impossible not to adore. Firm washed rind that once it’s cut open releases the almost pudding like savory goodness that lies within. Mushrooms, earth, fruity and a touch nutty this is a cheese you almost want to eat with a spoon.

Pairing: I jokingly referred to this as, “Our big dumb pairing” keying off the almost snuggly like feeling putting these two nearly over the top things together gave us. Like a loveable nuzzle from a big adoring puppy. The sweetness in the wine made the cheese slightly nuttier and the fat in the cheese held up swimmingly to the wine.

Ninth Flight

Wine- 2010 Copain Tous Ensemble Chardonnay ($18.99) Anyone that says California Chardonnay is all gloppy, over-oaked and flabby has never tasted this wine. Ripe pears, green apple, some citrus with a crisp green note play delightfully against the wines curvy texture and slight caramel flavors. Rethink California Chardonnay, try this wine!

Cheese- Ewephoria Holland Sheeps’s Milk. One of our best-selling cheeses, take one bite and you will know why. Created for the US market, hence the “cute” name, this wine has more sweetness than most other Gouda coming from Holland. That sweetness shows itself in the form of caramel and browned honey butter and it is divine. A drier cheese that is best suited for chunking as opposed to slicing it is on every fruit and cheese plate I make.

Bonus- Stone Brewing Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean (12oz $2.99) So when trying to pair a wine with the Ewephoria I ran into a fairly serious issue, one that was solved by this dark, mildly smoky, hop-rich and vanilla kissed porter.

Pairing: You know, sometimes the best wine for the job, well it’s a beer. The super-intense cheese, while eye-rolling delicious is kind of a wine killer. I tried wine after wine, went red to white and back again but once the cheese was in my mouth with the wines, everything went horrifically metallic. Not good I assure you. I found that the stunning Copain Chardonnay was the least offensive  but, that metallic thing was still there and rather than try and ignore it I took the opportunity to share with the group that not every cheese has a wine buddy as it were. The porter was amazing with the Ewephoria, just perfect as the vanilla picked up all the caramel in the cheese and the hops and roasted notes in the beer were way sturdy enough to marry with the cheese. Some things can’t be forced and that cheese needed beer.

Tenth Flight

Wine- N.V. Dow’s Trademark Reserve Porto ($16.99) Buying Port can be a bit of a commitment, I mean that is a big bottle of sweet wine and unless you have a couple big parties, or like many of us, love ending our evening with a glass of something sweet and rich, well like I said, a commitment. That’s why we love this Trademark from Dow’s, all that deep berry and cassis, coco and palate filling Port flavor without costing and arm and a leg!

Cheese- Roaring 40s Blue Australian Cow’s Milk. This packed and powerful blue has become a Wine Country staple and we even have a few people that flip out a little if our supplier is out of stock, it’s that addicting. Without a doubt a blue in its intensity but with some balancing sweetness and far less acidic tang or sharpness.

Pairing: We started with a classic and ended with one as well. Port and blue cheese is another one of those cheater pairings, it always goes, always floors people and is always remarkable. Both things are enhanced when paired together and as I said, that is a great pairing. 

Sorry you were not able to attend but I hope this helps!

Samantha Dugan

Cheese Maven