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Hawaii, Hawaiian wines, and a variety of interesting cheeses are the focus of our latest quest for Wow! pairings of specific wineries’ wines with specific cheeses. In this venture our idea was to pair two flavorful Hawaiian wines and one imported Spanish wine with a variety of cheeses. As a special bonus, daughter Cynthia and daughter-in-law Lori joined in this exotic tasting adventure.

Diamond Head

Here are the highlights of this chapter in our ongoing experiment of looking for amazing pairings that give us the exhilarating experience of “Wow!, this wine and cheese combination is fantastic!”

Buying wine

We bought two wines at Tamura’s Market in Hau’ula, Hawaii (ask for Brian for insight on their large wine selection): (1) Maui Splash! Passion Fruit & Pineapple Wine from Tedeschi Vineyards, Ulupalakua, Maui, and (2) 2009 Opera Prima Tempranillo from Spain. The third wine, which we purchased at CVS in Lihue, Kauai, was Volcano Red, Pele’s Delight produced by Volcano Winery “in the heart of the volcano between Mauna Loa and Kileauea” on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Brian at Tamura's Market

Cheese

The cheese selection we paired were the following: Havarti (Ostenborg), Gruyere (Grand Cru), Fontina (Kronenost Swedish style), Aged Asiago (Stella), Gouda (Holland), Extra Sharp Cheddar (Lucerne), and Sharp Cheddar (Lucerne).

Our Wow! combinations discovered in our current Hawaii venture

We swirled, sniffed and sipped these special wines and paired them with these delicious cheeses and recorded our various responses to these combinations as we discovered several Wow! experiences.

(As we usually mention at this point in our venture reports, there are no “wrong answers” in Wow! pairings. One person’s individual taste buds, olfactory nerve cells, and mind-state can produce a Wow! response to the interaction of specific wines with specific cheeses while another person may not get a Wow! experience from that combination, but does find a Wow! effect from a completely different wine and cheese pairing. In other words, all of your Wow! pairings are valid.)

Surfing at Waikiki

Barbara experienced a “Wow!” interaction of the Tempranillo with the Gruyere, describing enhanced flavors of both the wine and the cheese as they combined on her palate.

Norm reported two Wow!’s (1) The combination of the Maui Splash! and the Gruyere, which produced a unique and quite interesting flavor and (2) The Volcano Red’s fruity combination of 85% grape wine + 15% jaboticaba wine with the Aged Asiago, producing a long-lasting aftertaste with alternating new intriguing flavors.

Cynthia’s favorite Wow! sensation was produced by the Tempranillo enhancing the Havarti’s creaminess and buttery taste.

Here’s how Lori analyzed her Wow! pairing of the Tempranillo and the Havarti: “The cheese softens the tannins in the wine.” That combination was Lori’s favorite.

Bonuses

In Hau’ula we discovered a wonderful little family cafe named Papa Ole’s Kitchen (or Da Original Papa Ole’s Kitchen) at 54-316 Kamehameha Hwy.

Papa Ole's Kitchen in Hau'ula

The food (from old family recipes) is superb and the enthusiastic friendly service and generous servings are unique and great fun. Check them out next time you are on the North Shore of Oahu (near the Polynesian Cultural Center). You’ll be glad you did.

Another of our favorite cafes is Cafe Haleiwa, which is a surfer’s hangout that serves wonderful breakfasts (read as “mouth-watering banana pancakes and home fries”) at 66-460 Kamehameha Hwy.

Quiet "personal" beach at Gigi's Paradise

A great condo on the beach in Hau’ula is Gigi’s Paradise, 53-567 Kamehameha Hwy.  Peaceful ocean waves and refreshing sea breezes. Quiet “personal” beach.

Snorkeling on Kauai? Gear rental at Snorkel Bob’s, 3236 Poipu Road in Koloa, is a bargain and Chris Holmes makes the selection and rental process very entertaining.

On to future Wow! pairing discoveries

So that’s our report on this venture. We are thoroughly enjoying our visits to wineries and cheesemakers/cheese vendors and picturesque locations for our tasting experiences, and we hope that you are also venturing to find your special Wow! wine and cheese pairings. When you do, let us know what you have discovered.

Here’s to your exhilarating quest!

We will keep you posted on our next venture in which we plan to find more Wow! wine and cheese pairings.

We enjoyed our latest quest for Wow! pairings of specific wineries’ wines with specific cheeses as we also savored the unique, Shakespeare-oriented town of Ashland, Oregon.

Mt. Shasta viewed from rest stop in Weed, California

We selected a bench in Lithia Park to do our wine and cheese pairings. What a marvelous location in this beautifully landscaped city park which lies between picturesque Lithia Creek and the three dramatic theatres of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Lithia Park

Previously, at the Ashland Food Co-op (237 North First St.) we purchased two amazing Rogue Valley wines and three artisan cheeses by Oregon cheesemakers.

Ashland Food Co-op

Here are highlights of our Ashland venture as we continue our ongoing experiments with wine and cheese pairings, looking for those that give us that exhilarating experience of “Wow!, this wine and cheese combination is fantastic!” We hope that you are also finding your “Wow!” pairings.

The Wine

We chose the Daisy Creek Vineyard 2007 Viognier and the Cowhorn Vineyard 2007 Syrah. Both of these award-winning wineries are in historic Jacksonville, Oregon which is a few miles from Ashland and a fun place to visit.

Ashland Food Co-op food & wine expert Marina

The Cheese

The five cheeses we paired with the two wines were the following: Rogue Creamery’s Oregon Blue and Smokey Blue; Oak Leaf Creamery’s Tomme; and a Swiss and a Cheddar that we purchased from the Greenleaf Restaurant deli counter (49 N. Main St.).

Our Wow! combinations discovered in our current venture to Ashland, Oregon

As we sat on a bench next to the large pond in Lithia Park, watching the resident Mallard ducks float and swim, we swirled, sniffed and sipped the special wines, savored the delicious cheeses, and then recorded our various responses to these combinations. And predictably, we discovered several Wow! experiences.

Lithia Park Pond

(As we have mentioned in previous venture reports, there are no “wrong answers” in Wow! pairings. One person’s individual taste buds, olfactory nerve cells, and mind-state can produce a Wow! response to the interaction of specific wines with specific cheeses while another person may not get a Wow! experience from that combination, but does find a Wow! effect from a completely different wine and cheese pairing. In other words, all of your Wow! pairings are valid.)

Barbara, Norm and daughter Rhonda all experienced “Wow!” sensations with the combination of the Swiss cheese and the Viognier. It’s a perfect pairing with both wine and cheese light and refreshing; excellently balanced so the flavors of the cheese and the wine were maintained as the fruitiness of this classic Viognier complemented the mild smoothness of the American cow’s milk cheese.

Norm experienced a Wow! in the combination of the Syrah and the raw, cow/goat milk Oregon Blue cheese. The cheese and wine enhanced each other with a pleasing balanced new flavor created by their magical interaction on the palate. The velvety, intense, full-bodied Syrah played perfectly with the pungent, sharp and tangy flavor of the cheese, forming a new intriguing flavor and a lingering, satisfying aftertaste.

Rhonda exclaimed “Wow!” when she combined the Tomme cheese with the Viognier as she enjoyed a progressive sensation of buttery, creamy, almondness. Barbara also was intrigued by the almond/lychee flavors that evolved in this remarkable pairing.

Barbara said “Wow!” when she paired the Syrah with the Smokey Blue cheese, describing a distinctive lingering pepper flavor that developed as the bold, pungency of the cheese worked with the full-bodied Syrah for a very dramatic sensation.

Elizabethean Theatre

Rhonda described another “Wow!” when the Viognier pleasantly enhanced the smokiness of the Smokey Blue cheese. Having expected that the sharpness of the cheese would overpower the fruity wine, she found instead that the combination resulted in the exceptional smokey flavor especially on the sides of her tongue and the back of her mouth. It’s a lot of fun to find a surprise “Wow!”

Lithia Park Tree

On to future Wow! pairing discoveries

So that’s our report on this venture. We are thoroughly enjoying our visits to wineries and cheesemakers/cheese vendors and picturesque locations for our tasting experiences, and we hope that you are also venturing to find your special Wow! wine and cheese pairings. When you do, let us know what you have discovered.

Here’s to your exhilarating quest!

We will keep you posted on our next venture in which we plan to find more Wow! wine and cheese pairings.

Thank you Julie Pedroncelli and Jon Brown for inviting us to be part of Pedroncelli Winery’s annual Holiday Open House in their wonderfully intimate tasting room in Geyserville, California. We had a great time greeting Pedroncelli’s tasting room visitors and “coaching” them as they experimented with pairing three of Pedroncelli’s sixteen impressive wines in combination with four excellent local artisan cheeses and one imported cave-aged cheese from Switzerland.

Pedroncelli Winery Tasting Room Entrance

In this report we will tell you about Wow! pairings discovered by visitors to Pedroncelli Winery during these two party-atmosphere days. In other words, we had a lot of fun, sharing the insights about cheeses, wines, tasting techniques, and pairing techniques from our book Wine & Cheese Pairing Guide: Your Exciting Search for Wow! Combinations.

We took notes of nearly 200 comments about the tasting experiences expressed as guests tried various combinations of the wines and cheeses. There were many Wow! experiences described to us and, of course, the variety of wines paired with the variety of cheeses produced the Wow! exclamation from a variety of people. Yes, it is fun to experiment and discover YOUR Wow! combinations. As we like to say, with over 1000 wines in the world and over 1000 cheeses, that makes over a million potential pairings.

We continually assured Pedroncelli Winery visitors that there are no wrong answers since each person’s taste buds, olfactory senses, and state-of-mind are different; so a Wow! discovery for one person may not register that way by someone else whose Wow! may be a completely different wine-cheese combinations.

The Cheese

The five excellent, intriguing cheeses:

(1) Mt. Tam from Cowgirl Creamery at Point Reyes Station, California. Smooth, elegant, triple creme, cow’s milk cheese.

(2) Laura Chenel’s Chabis from Sonoma, California: A fresh goat’s milk cheese with mild flavor and spreadable texture.

(3) Humboldt Fog from Cypress Grove Chevre in Arcata, California. Elegant, soft, surface ripened cheese which is creamy with a subtle tangy flavor. It features a ribbon of edible vegetable ash in its center and a coating of ash under its exterior rind. A distinctive ripened goat’s milk cheese.

(4) Toma from Point Reyes Farmstead (California): A unique farmstead semi-hard cheese from the milk of cows that graze on Certified-Organic pastures. Creamy texture, buttery flavor and subtle, grassy tang finish.

Inside The Tasting Room

(5) Cave-Aged Gruyere imported from Lucerne, Switzerland: A rich, spicy firm cow’s milk cheese that’s slightly salty and spicy, yet sweet with interesting complexity.

The Wine

(1) Pedroncelli 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, East Side Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County. Made from grapes grown in a perfect vineyard microclimate for Sauvignon Blanc (maximum sun exposure plus fog and excellent soil). The resulting wine is very aromatic with citrus and herbaceous notes. It is crisp and has many layers of flavor, including honeydew melon, grapefruit and tart apple.

(2) Pedroncelli 2008 Zinfandel Mother Clone, Dry Creek Valley. Grapes from 100-year-old “Mother” vines blended with grapes from 50-year-old vines (95% Zinfandel) and 5% Petite Sirah (which provide nice color and tannin) resulted in a full bodied and intense classic Dry Creed Valley wine. Aromas of ripe blackberry and spice, jammy fruit flavors, subtle black pepper and a long, lush finish are exquisite.

(3) Pedroncelli 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Three Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley. This rich, full-flavored blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec is highlighted by bright acidity to showcase the fruit of plum, raspberry and cherry, toasted oak notes and warm clove spice.

Wow! Combinations

Our estimate is that we conversed with about 200 people about pairing these wines and cheeses. As we encouraged visitors to experiment with different combinations of wines and cheeses, and to tell us about their experiences, we enjoyed discussing the various sensations and evaluations with them. Here are some of the many Wow! pairing comments by visitors that we jotted down. It was particularly fun when a venturer would try a specific wine with a specific cheese and involuntarily exclaim “Wow!” — a scenario that happened many times.

(1) A visitor pairing the Zinfandel with the Toma cheese said she got a Wow! sensation from the “burst of flavor” she experienced.

Sam Poueu & Stephanie Anderson visiting from West Hollywood

(2) Another visitor had a Wow! sensation from pairing the Gruyere cheese with the Sauvignon Blanc. An explosive Wow! with the combined flavor of the wine with cheese. He described an accentuated cherry with a very long, pleasing after-taste. A Wow! discovery.

(3) In pairing the Sauvignon Blanc with the Toma, one venturer said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”

(4) One person said the Zinfandel with the Gruyere gave her an elongated new flavor … pleasingly spicey.

(5) An enthusiastic lady combining the Zinfandel with the Humboldt Fog said simply, “I Love It!” That was obviously a Wow! experience for her.

Eris Stassi & Johann Hart visiting from San Francisco

(6) When he paired the Sauvignon Blanc with the Gruyere, one man opined that the cheese added more zest to the wine,  producing an effervescent mouthtaste.

(7) Another person found a Wow! in combining the Cabernet Sauvignon with the Humboldt Fog. He said both wine and cheese were bold and worked well together to produce a very interesting flavor.

(8) The Sauvignon Blanc with the Humboldt Fog led one woman to exclaim, “The combination dances in my mouth. I like it a lot!”

(9) “Excellent balance. Both strong with long aftertaste” was a lady’s evaluation of her Wow! experience from pairing the Zinfandel with the Humboldt Fog.

(10) In pairing the Sauvignon Blanc with the Chevre, this man found a nice balance with the wine and cheese both maintaining their flavors, with a lingering pleasing aftertaste.

(11) Another visitor said the Zinfandel with the Chevre was a Wow! with “just the right balance”.

Michael & Suehyun Kim Lindo visiting from Santa Monica

(12) In combining the Cabernet Sauvignon with the Toma, a man described his Wow! as “the cheese softened the wine and produced a good integration of flavors.”

(13) “Balanced perfectly, wine acidity offset by the cheese,” declared a woman pairing the Cabernet Sauvignon with the Mt. Tam

(14) “Wow!, that’s good!” was the exclamation of a lady pairing the Zinfandel with the Mt. Tam

(15) One visitor pairing the Sauvignon Blanc with the Toma had a one-word description of his experience: “Awesome!”

Summary of Wow! Experiences

The notes we took regarding our fellow-venturers’ descriptions of their experiences demonstrates that sharing the search for Wow! combinations is great fun because everyone can enjoy different pairings with a variety of taste sensations. Here is a recap of most of the Wow! comments on these two days with these enthusiastic visitors:

Sauvignon Blanc with Gruyere = 27
Sauvignon Blanc with Humboldt Fog = 18
Zinfandel with Toma = 16
Cabernet Sauvignon with Gruyere= 14
Zinfandel with Gruyere = 12
Zinfandel with Humboldt Fog = 12
Cabernet Sauvignon with Toma = 12

Beth Michaud from Arizona upon one pairing said "It's an Oooh!, but not a Wow!" (a fun evaluation indeed)

Sauvignon Blanc with Mt. Tam = 12
Sauvignon Blanc with Toma = 10
Cabernet Sauvignon with Mt. Tam = 9
Zinfandel with Chevre = 9
Cabernet Sauvignon with Humboldt Fog = 9
Zinfandel with Mt. Tam = 8
Sauvignon Blanc with Chevre = 8

On to future Wow! pairing discoveries

So there you have our report on this terrific venture. We continue to thoroughly enjoy our Wow! pairings of specific wineries’ wines with specific cheesemakers/cheese vendors’ cheeses as we experience these pairings in picturesque locations around the country. Once again we encourage you to venture to your favorite locations, to new beautiful and exotic locations, or at a party in your home. Wherever you and your family and friends experience special Wow! wine and cheese pairings, we would enjoy hearing from you about them.

Here’s to your next exhilarating quest!

We recently ventured to the Frances Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville, California to search for Wow! pairings of Coppola wines and three cheeses we had brought with us.

Entry Archway

On the grounds of the winery we enjoyed the beautiful outdoor patio near the dramatic curving-stairway leading from the parking area to the tasting room and guest services area.

Dramatic Stairway to Family Fun

At a small outdoor table, Barbara, Norm and daughter Cynthia savored Wow! combinations of Coppola wines and the cheeses.

The winery grounds and guest areas are spectacular, as you would expect of a Frances Ford Coppola production. In the tasting room and restaurant areas are rooms and hallways filled with props, pictures, oscars, etc. from various Coppola movies. The just-finished lavish swimming pool and pavilion are beautiful and cater to visiting families.

Swimming Pool Fun & Pavilion

Here are the highlights of this venture in our ongoing quest for those pairings that give our taste buds and olfactory nerve cells that exhilarating experience of “Wow! this wine and cheese combination is fantastic!”

The Cheese

We began our adventure at Trader Joe’s grocery store on Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa

The Three Cheeses

where we purchased three excellent, intriguing cheeses:

(1) a Dutch goat’s milk cheese (Potatoes Au Gratin)

(2) an Italian sheep’s milk cheese (Italian Rustico)

(3) a cow’s milk cheese, (six-month aged Gruyère)

The Wine

Heading north on Highway 101, we took the Independence Avenue freeway exit in Geyserville which put us within a few yards of the archway entrance to the Coppola winery. With the assistance of Coppola tasting room expert Lori Reed,

Tasting Room Expert Lori Reed

we selected three wines to pair with the cheeses:

(1) Francis Coppola Diamond Collection 2008 Pinot Grigio with its pear and citrus aromas and flavors of green apples, pink grapefruit and minerals.

(2) Francis Coppola Reserve 2007 Syrah (Mounts Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley) which is co-fermented with 3% Viognier to lift the aromatics and help accentuate it’s bright magenta color. This is a smooth, rich, alluring wine with gratifying flavors of black cherries, raspberries and plums accented with some smokiness, cloves and anise.

(3) 2006 Archimedes, a robust intriguing blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley grapes and 24% Cabernet Franc from Knights Valley grapes grown at the foot of Mount St. Helena. Incredibly smooth with intense aromas of dark sour cherries, cranberries and sandalwood with a very nice spiciness.

Our Wow! Combinations

We always want to remind you that there are no “wrong answers” in Wow! pairings. One person’s individual taste buds, olfactory nerve cells, and mind-state can produce a Wow! response to the interaction of specific wines with specific cheeses while another person may not get the Wow!ness of that combination, but does experience a Wow! effect from a completely different wine and cheese pairing. Therefore, all of your experiences of Wow! pairings are valid.

Norm, Barbara and Cindy each experienced “Wow!” interactions in our pairings:

Your Exciting Search for Wow! Combinations: Cheese & Wine Basics, Tasting Recommendations, Tips for Wow! Pairings, & Programmed Journal for Your Wow! Pairings

(1) Barbara said “Wow!” to the Italian Rustico sheep’s milk, creamy, smooth, full-flavored cheese with a hint of lemon paired with the Pinot Grigio. Her experience was that the wine and cheese “totally complemented” each other. A very satisfying combination in total balance. Wow!

(2) Norm enjoyed an explosive Wow! with the combined flavor of the Archimedes wine with the Gruyère cheese. He described an accentuated cherry with a very long, pleasing after-taste. A Wow! discovery.

(3) Cynthia opined that the Dutch goat cheese Potatoes Au Gratin produced a “Zing! … explosion of a new combined flavor” that caused an involuntary “Wow!” exclamation as she savored the combination.

(4) All three of us experienced the Wow! effect of combining the Gruyère with the Syrah. For all of us the cheese enhanced the fruits of the wine and yet were perfectly complementary to each other. Three Wows! on this one.

Bonus: Dramatic Scenic Beauty

Our bonus on this venture was enjoying the spectacular vistas from the elevated winery location.

Beautiful Vineyards and Majestic Mount St. Helena

The Alexander Valley spread out before us with majestic Mount St.Helena (hell-Ee-na) in the distance. Jaw-dropping beauty.

On to future Wow! pairing discoveries

So that’s our report on this venture. We continue to thoroughly enjoy our Wow! pairings of specific wineries’ wines with specific cheesemakers/cheese vendors’ cheeses as we experience these pairings in picturesque locations around the country. Once again we encourage you to venture to your favorite locations, to new beautiful and exotic locations, or at a party in your home. Wherever you and your family and friends experience special Wow! wine and cheese pairings, we would enjoy hearing from you about them.

Here’s to your next exhilarating quest!

As a sneak peak on our next venture in which we find more Wow! wine and cheese pairings we will let you know that we just did a wine & cheese pairing activity with holiday visitors at Pedroncelli Winery. We gathered pages of notes of exciting Wow! pairings discovered by the several hundred visitors to the winery. Stay tuned for a fun report and pictures of our venture at Pedroncelli’s.

We recently ventured to Cloverdale, California and experienced Wow! pairings of wines and cheeses while we enjoyed the  lively Friday Night Live & Certified Farmers Market in “America’s Coolest Small Town” (according to the 2010 Readers’ Choice Poll, Budget Travel.com).

"Friday Night Live"

The evening was a lot of fun as we had lawn seating in front of the stage and dance floor for a live musical concert featuring the very talented Steve Pile Band. So while we thoroughly enjoyed Steve’s music and watched energetic dancers of all ages, we also greatly enjoyed our pairings of two excellent wines with two very interesting cheeses.

Here are the highlights of this venture in our quest for those pairings that give our taste buds and olfactory nerve cells that exhilarating experience of “Wow!, this wine and cheese combination is fantastic!”

Friday Night Live audience enjoying the music

Buying Cheese

We began our adventure at The Cheese Shop in Healdsburg (423 Center Street near the Raven Theatre) where Doralice Handal has a very nice selection of artisanal cheeses. We bought two excellent cheeses there:

(1) Vella Cheese Company’s Dry Monterey Jack — a firm, pale yellow, cow’s milk cheese with a sweet nutty flavor. Produced in Sonoma, California.

(2) Beehive Cheese Company’s Barely Buzzed — a full-bodied cow’s milk, flavored cheddar cheese with a smooth texture and nutty flavor. It has a unique rind rub of blended Colorado Legacy Coffee Company’s South American, Central American and Indonesian beans roasted to different styles, with French Superior Lavendar buds ground with the coffee. It’s a very interesting cheese with a variety of flavor sensations, so we were wondering how it would interact with the wines we chose. This cheese is produced in Uintah, Utah.

The Cheese Shop in Healdsburg

Buying Wine

From Highway 101, the South Cloverdale exit takes you to a small shopping center which is anchored by Ray’s Food Place supermarket at 1139 South Cloverdale Blvd.

Ray's Food Place in Cloverdale

There we purchased two wines from their large selection of Sonoma County and Mendocino County wines:

(1) Pedroncelli 2008 Dry Creek Valley Mother Clone Zinfandel. This is a full-flavored wine with delicious senses of blackberry, spice and pepper.

(2) Parducci 2005 Mendocino County Chardonnay. This is a smooth, rich, dry wine with gratifying flavors of apple, melons, and citrus.

Our Wow! Combinations

We always want to remind you that there are no “wrong answers” in Wow! pairings. One person’s individual taste buds, olfactory nerve cells, and mind-state can produce a Wow! response to the interaction of specific wines with specific cheeses while another person may not get the Wow!ness of that combination, but does experience a Wow! effect from a completely different wine and cheese pairing. Therefore, all Wow! pairings are valid.

Norm and Barbara each experienced “Wow!” interactions in our pairings:

(1) Barbara said “Wow!” to the Barely Buzzed cheese paired with the Pedroncelli Zinfandel. Her experience was that the wine dramatically enhanced the pleasing coffee flavor in the cheese, resulting in a lingering and satisfying aftertaste.

(2) Norm enjoyed an explosive Wow! combined flavor when he paired the Barely Buzzed cheese with the Parducci Chardonnay.

(3) Both Norm and Barbara expressed a Wow! reaction to the Vella Dry Monterey Jack cheese when mouth-swished and consumed with the Parducci Chardonnay. The predominant flavors of both the wine and the cheese held and enhanced each other. A complex and exciting taste sensation.

Bonus: Captivating Music

Our bonus on this venture was discovering the eclectic music of the Steve Pile Band. We enjoyed the entire evening concert which featured Steve’s impressive range of original songs styled in a hybrid of blues, folk, and melodic African guitar music, with a hint of country too.

Steve Pile Band

Very entertaining.

On to future Wow! pairing discoveries

So that’s our report on this venture. We are thoroughly enjoying our visits to wineries and cheesemakers/cheese vendors in their picturesque locations, and we continue to encourage you to try your own ventures focused on finding your special Wow! wine and cheese pairings. When you do, let us know what you have discovered by leaving a comment for us.

Here’s to your exhilarating quest!

We will keep you posted on our next venture in which we plan to find more Wow! wine and cheese pairings as we visit  exciting wineries and cheesemakers/cheese vendors.

We enjoyed our latest quest for Wow! pairings of specific wineries’ wines with specific cheeses as we also savored the spectacular views from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. This time our approach was to purchase two flavorful wines from Yosemite’s Curry Village Store, which we paired with three delicious cheeses purchased from two stores in Sonoma County: Raley’s Supermarket in Windsor and Costco in Santa Rosa. Of course we kept the cheeses and wines at cool temperatures until the unveiling and pairing 3200 feet above Yosemite Valley with Half Dome, Vernal Fall, Nevada Fall, and much of the spectacular valley floor in easy view.

El Capitan, Half-Dome, Bridal Veil Fall

As a special bonus, daughter Rhonda, her daughter Serena, and Serena’s fiancee Anthony joined in this wonderful tasting arrangement and they described their Wow! pairings, too.

Here are the highlights of this venture as we continue to experiment in pairings, looking for those that give us that exhilarating experience of “Wow!, this wine and cheese combination is fantastic!” We hope that you are finding your “Wow!” pairings too.

Buying wine

We bought two wines in Yosemite: 2008 Delicato Family Vineyards Shiraz (vinted and bottled in Manteca, California in San Joaquin County), and 2009 “Yosemite” Chardonnay which was produced and bottled by Chateau Lasgoity in Madera, California in Madera County.

Cheese

The three cheeses we sampled with these two wines were the following: Kerrygold Swiss (from Ireland}; Bel Gioioso Sharp Provolone (crafted in Wisconsin); and Cotswold Double Gloucester with Minced Onion and Freeze Dried Chive (from England).

Wine, Cheese, Wine & Cheese Pairing Guide, and Half-Dome

Nevada Fall & Vernal Fall viewed from Glacier Point

Half-Dome

As we sat on granite benches at Glacier Point, we all swirled, sniffed and sipped these special wines, savored these delicious cheeses, and then recorded our various responses to these combinations. And, yes,  we discovered several Wow! experiences.

(As we have mentioned in previous venture reports, there are no “wrong answers” in Wow! pairings. One person’s individual taste buds, olfactory nerve cells, and mind-state can produce a Wow! response to the interaction of specific wines with specific cheeses while another person may not get a Wow! experience from that combination, but does find a Wow! effect from a completely different wine and cheese pairing. In other words, all of your Wow! pairings are valid.)

A fanny pack for wines and cheeses

Barbara experienced two “Wow!” interactions both with the sweet nutty taste of the Swiss cheese with first the subtle flavors of the Chardonnay and then with the Shiraz with its complex aromas of spice, blackberry and cherry and lingering finish with some spice and oak nuances . Barbara described the interaction of the Swiss cheese with the Shiraz as producing a buttery new combined flavor and an interesting effervescence at the back of her tongue.

Norm’s two Wow!’s were the combination of the Chardonnay with the Swiss cheese, which formed a perfect balance of parallel flavors; and the Shiraz with the Cotswold cheese which also created a very pleasing balance with a soft mouthfeel and lingering, satisfying aftertaste.

Rhonda’s most dramatic Wow! combination was the Shiraz with the Cotswold cheese. She enjoyed an exciting long-lasting aftertaste of a new evolving flavor.

Serena’s favorite pairing that gave her a Wow! sensation was the Shiraz with the Swiss cheese. The wine dramatically enhanced, but did not overpower, the smooth, subtle cow’s milk cheese and produced a well-balanced taste sensation.

Anthony’s Wow! combination was the Shiraz with the Sharp Provolone cheese. He described a new tangy flavor from the interaction of wine and cheese, and he enjoyed a pleasing aftertaste that lingered.

It is interesting to note that all five of us thoroughly enjoyed the Chardonnay and Cotswold cheese combination which yielded a variety of new intriguing flavors.

On to future Wow! pairing discoveries

So that’s our report on this venture. We are thoroughly enjoying our visits to wineries and cheesemakers/cheese vendors and picturesque locations for our tasting experiences, and we hope that you are also venturing to find your special Wow! wine and cheese pairings. When you do, let us know what you have discovered.

Here’s to your exhilarating quest!

We will keep you posted on our next venture in which we plan to find more Wow! wine and cheese pairings. The next post will be about our venture to Cloverdale, California’s “Friday Night Market” which is a fun-filled, music-filled outdoor event in this energetic small town at the northern edge of Sonoma County.

Our latest venture seeking Wow! pairings of specific wineries’ wines with specific cheeses unexpectedly turned into a delightful two-day event. This time our approach was to purchase three superb wines from the domestic wine section of our local CVS Pharmacy, which we paired with six delicious cheeses purchased at two artisan cheesemakers in Marin County. Then, with wines and cheeses secured in a cooler, we drove north on Highway 1, enjoying magnificent views of Tomales Bay and the Pacific Ocean, to Sonoma County. Just north of Portuguese Beach we pulled off the road and walked down an easily accessible, flower studded path to a quiet, unnamed beach. There, we watched the sun set over graceful waves, breathed deeply of the salt air, and enjoyed part one of our wine and cheese pairing.

Marin County pastures

We decided to have another tasting of the same wines and cheeses the next day at home to answer a question  that came to us while we were at the beach: “Had the salt air at the beach modified our tasting sensations? Will the wines, cheeses, and pairings taste the same at home?”
As a special bonus, several family members joined in the at-home tasting and described their Wow! pairings, too.

Here are the highlights of this venture in our quest for pairings that give our taste buds and olfactory nerve cells that exhilarating experience of “Wow!, this wine and cheese combination is fantastic!”

Buying wine

We began our adventure with the following wines: Clos du Bois 2007 California Riesling (off-dry style with aromas and flavors of fruits, floral & citrus), Kenwood Vineyard 2009 Sonoma County Chardonnay (complex fruit & oak), and Robert Mondavi Private Selection 2007 California Meritage (intriguing blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec & Cabernet Franc).

Marin French Cheese Company, Petaluma, California

Heading west from Highway 101, we passed through beautiful hills and valleys of farmland pastures and soon arrived at Marin French Cheese Company at 7500 Red Hill Road in Petaluma.

Marin French Cheese Co. entrance

Also known as The Cheese Factory, and as Rouge et Noir, this historical artisan cheesemaker has been handcrafting soft-ripened cheese since 1865.

In the cheesemaker’s store we were greeted by Elizabeth Delgado who described and served us a flavorful array of cheese samples. For our soon-to-be pairings we decided on the soft, creamy, cow’s milk Camembert and Le Petit Bleu, a cow’s milk triple-crème brie with blue veins. For an extra treat, we also purchased three containers of delicious Quark (soft curd cheese flavored with wild blackberry, strawberry, and jalapeño) to enjoy at home, spooned directly from the package or spread on crackers, bagels and toast.

Elizabeth Delgado with Rouge et Noir cheeses

Lake & picnic area at Marin French Cheese

Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes Station, California

Again heading west, we soon arrived at Cowgirl Creamery at 80 Fourth Street in Point Reyes Station and as we entered the building we were treated to a view of artisan cheesemakers at work fine-tuning curds and whey while hand-mixing that stage of the cheesemaking process.

Making Red Hawk cheese

We then met Cheesemonger/Manager Michael Zilber who gave us fascinating insight into the Cowgirl Creamery cheeses as well as general artisan cheesemaking philosophy.

Cheesemonger Jennifer Luttrell served us mouth-watering samples and we purchased the following cheeses made from the Straus Family Dairy organic cows’ milk: Mt. Tam (smooth, creamy, elegant triple-crème cheese ), Red Hawk (hearty flavored, triple-crème with brine-washed-rind), & Batch 35 (mild, Asiago-type table cheese). “Batch 35” refers to the current iteration in the 2010 version of what will be Wagon Wheel cheese when it is released in June.

Michael Zilber & Jennifer Luttrell at Cowgirl Creamery

We also purchased some Inverness cheese, which is a surface-ripened-rind cheese with a tangy, dense, creamy mouth feel. This cheese is made from John Taverna’s Chileno Valley Jersey Dairy cows’ milk.

Cowgirl Creamery in Pt. Reyes Station

Our Wow! combinations discovered in our current venture to Marin County and the Sonoma County coast

As we sat near the ocean waves and swirled, sniffed and sipped these elegant wines, savored these delicious cheeses, and then tested our responses to the various combinations, we discovered four Wow! experiences that we want to tell you about.

Tomales Bay tranquility

(As an aside, there are no “wrong answers” in Wow! pairings. One person’s individual taste buds, olfactory nerve cells, and mind-state can produce a Wow! response to the interaction of specific wines with specific cheeses while another person may not get the Wow!ness of that combination, but does experience a Wow! effect from a completely different wine and cheese pairing. Therefore, all Wow! pairings are valid.)

Norm and Barbara each experienced two “Wow!” interactions in pairings near the ocean: Barbara’s were (1) Le Petit Bleu cheese paired with the Meritage wine and (2) the Red Hawk cheese with the Riesling. Barbara described the interaction as producing an exciting, long-lasting, spicy effervescence. Norm’s Wow!’s were for (1) the Camembert with the Chardonnay which formed a perfect balance of parallel flavors and (2) Le Petit Bleu with the Chardonnay which created a very pleasing immediate new flavor with a long evolving aftertaste.

Beautiful Pacific Ocean scenery

Our Wow! combinations discovered at home the next day with several family members

By the way, in repeating the pairings at home (35 miles east of the ocean), Norm & Barbara concluded that the ambient salt air at the ocean had not appreciably altered our tasting experiences. One exception was that the Chardonnay alone in the salt air seemed to be without complexity, but away from the salt air the wine was abundantly complex.

Here are some Wow! pairings that we discovered at home:
Norm: Camembert with the Chardonnay produced a surprising and rich new nutty taste sensation. Wow!

Trail to beach through flowers

Barbara: Inverness with the Chardonnay evolved into a luxurious creaminess melting on the tongue at the front of the mouth. Wow!
Rhonda: Mt. Tam with the Chardonnay created a dramatic, mouth-coating taste explosion at the back of the mouth. Wow!
Cynthia: Batch 35 (aka Wagon Wheel) with the Riesling enlivened a new extremely-pleasing buttery flavor. Wow!
Serena: Le Petit Bleu with the Meritage. The wine dramatically enhanced the butteriness of the cheese for an exquisite taste sensation. Wow!
David: Mt. Tam with the Meritage were perfectly balanced taste sensations with a special long-pleasing aftertaste.

Another Wow! recommendation

Michael Zilber indicated that a Wow! combination for him is pairing Red Hawk cheese with Sauternes, which produces a completely harmonious tasting experience.

Bonus: A terrific restaurant in Jenner, California

After our pairing venture at the ocean, we craved a good clam chowder before heading home. We set our sights (actually our GPS) on Jenner with the hope of finding a purveyor of clam chowder … and MUCH to our delight, we discovered Jenner Bistro (Jenner Inn & Cottages, 10400 Coast Route 1) whose chef and restaurant manager Helena Giesea welcomed us, even though we were there before she officially opened the restaurant for dinner service.

Chef Helena Giesea at Jenner Bistro

Helena served us a wonderful white clam chowder with roasted vegetables and other creative ingredients and flavors, scrumptious, freshly baked breads, tempura fruit & vegetables, and an exotic, curry-enhanced chicken and noodles entrée. Another Wow! experience.

Jenner Cafe

On to future Wow! pairing discoveries

So that’s our report on this venture. We are thoroughly enjoying our visits to wineries and cheesemakers/cheese vendors in their picturesque locations, and we continue to encourage you to try your own ventures focused on finding your special Wow! wine and cheese pairings. When you do, please let us know what you have discovered by leaving a comment for us.

Here’s to your exhilarating quest!

We will keep you posted on our next venture in which we plan to find more Wow! wine and cheese pairings as we visit Mendocino County wineries and cheesemakers/cheese vendors.

Note:  Click on each photo for a large-size version.

This report to you is about our recent venture seeking Wow! pairings of another specific winery’s wines with cheeses from another specific cheese vendor. This time we visited the Napa Valley and paired exquisite wines from Grgich Hills Estate with three imported cheeses we purchased not far from the winery. Here are the highlights of this step in our quest for pairings that give our taste buds and olfactory nerve cells that exhilarating experience of Wow!, this wine and cheese combination is fantastic!

Buying cheese in St. Helena, California

We began our adventure along the St. Helena Highway portion of Highway 29 where we stopped at Dean & Deluca (607 So. St. Helena Highway) to purchase some imported cheeses: Asiago D’Allevo (Italy), Brillat Savarin (France), and Abbaye de Belloc (French Pyrenees).

Marcus Johnson at Dean & Deluca

Dean & Deluca in St. Helena

Dean & Deluca has an impressive selection of cheeses and Shannon Thorne and Marcus Johnson gave us excellent recommendations while considering the Grgich Hills Estate wines we were soon to enjoy.

Grgich Hills Estate in Rutherford, California

Heading south on Highway 29, we soon arrived at the Grgich Hills Estate winery at 1829 St. Helena Highway in Rutherford. We were greeted by Betsy Van Dyne (Tasting Room Manager) who served us a wonderful array of exceptional wines. As a bonus, Wine Club Manager Bob During also stopped in the tasting room to say hello.

Bob During & Betsy Van Dyne

As we swirled, sniffed and sipped the elegant 2007 Napa Valley Chardonnay and the 2006 Carneros Selection Chardonnay, we recalled the magical story of the historic 1976 Paris Tasting where a blind-tasting competition revolutionized the world’s wine industry as little-known wines from California’s Napa Valley surprised the world by winning the top rating over the best world-class French wines. All of the esteemed judges, who were French wine experts, were astounded at the exceptional quality of the California wines and were shocked that they had rated the California wines as superior to their beloved French wines.

This story is apropros because the winning white wine in that competition was the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that was crafted by the same Mike Grgich (then Chateau Montelena’s young winemaker — have you seen the 2008 movie Bottle Shock?) who partnered with Austin Hills and Mary Lee (of the Hills Bros. Coffee family) to found Grgich Hills Estate in 1977. Mike, enjoying acclaim as the creator of the 1976 Paris Tasting’s best Chardonnay, was obviously the winemaker in that new Grgich Hills venture.

Grgich Hills Estate entrance

Grgich Hills Chardonays have consistently been recognized for high quality. In 1980, “The Great Chicago Showdown” brought 221 Chadonnays together for the largest blind tasting ever held of wines of a single varietal. Guess who won the first place ribbon … Grgich Hills 1977 Chardonnay crafted by Mike Grgich, who soon would be affectionately known as the “King of Chardonnay.” And in 1982, President Reagan selected the 1979 Grgich Hills Chardonnay to serve to French President Mitterrand at the U.S. Embassy in France.

Great stories, great history!

More to appreciate about Grgich Hills Estate

By the way, all Grgich Hills Estate vineyards are certified organic and Biodynamic® by Demeter Association. This holistic farming practice uses the earth’s natural cycles and organic preparations to grow balanced, healthy vines without artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or fungicides.

Our Wow! combinations discovered in our current venture

In addition to the Chardonnays we mentioned above, Betsy Van Dyne served us tastings of the 2008 “Essence” Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley appellation; 2008 Fumé Blanc, Napa Valley appellation; 2006 Petite Sirah, Miljenko’s Vineyard, Napa Valley appellation; 2007 Zinfandel, Napa Valley appellation; 2005 Merlot, Napa Valley appellation; 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley appellation; and 2006 Violetta, Napa Valley appellation.  

We savored and thoroughly enjoyed each of these wines, paired them all with the three cheeses we had with us, and discovered several Wow! combinations that we want to tell you about. Here they are:

Norm and Barbara both experienced “Wow!” interaction of the rich, creamy Abbaye de Belloc sheep’s-milk cheese and the 2008 “Essence” Sauvignon Blanc’s floral, citrus, fruity aromas and flavors. The combination produced perfectly balanced taste sensations with a special long, evolving aftertaste.

Barbara found a Wow! pairing of the Brillat Savarin triple-creme, extremely buttery cow’s-milk cheese with the 2005 Merlot (aged two years in Oak barrels plus two years in bottles) with it’s mouth-coating flavors of plums and cocoa. The combination was completely harmonious and extremely pleasing.

2006 Violetta

Norm’s next Wow! pairing was the sharp, salty, granular Asiago d’Allevo cow’s-milk cheese with the full-bodied 2006 Petite Sirah with it’s blackberry and roasted coffee flavors. The combination of flavors of the wine and the cheese evolved into a dramatic cherry, which was a fun surprise and very rewarding effect.

Another surprising taste combination where Norm and Barbara both expressed “Wow!” was pairing the Abbaye de Belloc triple-creme cheese with the 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. We anticipated that the elegant, bold wine would overpower the creamy, brie-style cheese, but instead, we found that the wine enlivened the cheese flavors and the combination produced a long-lasting, luxurious aftertaste.

Another Wow! recommendation

Betsy Van Dyne indicated that a Wow! combination for her is pairing a creamy gorgonzola cheese with the Grgich Hills Estate 2006 Violetta, which is a unique late-harvest dessert wine that is made from a field blend of Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Semillon, and Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Betsy says this incredible wine’s flavors of peaches, honey and almonds result in a Wow! experience for her when combined with the blue, sharp gorgonzola. This is an intriguing recommendation for us all.

Poppies & Lupins along St. Helena Highway

On to future Wow! pairing discoveries

So that’s our report on this venture. It’s great fun to experiment with a variety of wines and cheeses to find combinations that give us that Wow! experience. In our book Wine & Cheese Pairing Guide: Your Exciting Search for Wow! Combinations we present details of 150 wines and 340 cheeses of the world. That’s over 50,000 potential pairings for all of us to explore. And if you want an even bigger challenge, since there are more than 1000 wines and 1000 cheeses in the world today, that’s more than a million potential pairings to set your sights on.

It’s also a lot of fun to visit specific wineries and specific cheesemakers/cheese vendors in their picturesque locations. Yes, we highly recommend a day trip or weekend getaway focused on finding your special Wow! wine and cheese pairings. When you do, please let us know what you have discovered by leaving a comment for us.

Here’s to your exhiliarating quest!

We will keep you posted on our next venture in which we plan to find more Wow! wine and cheese pairings as we visit artisan cheesemakers in Marin County.

“With more than a thousand wines and a thousand cheeses in the world today, the number of potential pairings is mind-boggling.” -Norm Ray, co-author of Wine and Cheese Pairing Guide: Your Exciting Search for Wow! Combinations

It’s wonderful to live in this era when we have easy access to thousands of fine wines and cheeses, many from nearby wineries and cheese producers, others from national or distant world locales. The tasting goal is finding the best wine-and-cheese pairings, which we define as WOW! combinations. It’s something of an art, but not difficult because the artist’s pallet for wine-and-cheese pairing is your unique taste buds. For us, the process is a great adventure, and we hope you will join us on this road to discovery.

General Pairing Rules

You probably know the general pairing rules: soft, creamy cheeses with crisp white wines; salty cheeses with sweet wines; bold, pungent cheeses with full-bodied reds. But beyond these rules are combinational nuances of pleasure you won’t want to miss. We encourage you to taste-test many wine-and-cheese combinations, and to that end, we share the following specific recommendations in this, our first post.

Specific wineries’ wines paired with specific cheesemakers’ cheeses

Everyone who enjoys delicious wines and good cheeses can appreciate the reports we will be sharing with you on our blog. You will receive information about some Wow! pairings we have just experienced from specific wineries’ wines and specific cheesemakers’ cheeses. So, here are the highlights of our first Wow! pairing venture.

Buying some cheeses in Healdsburg, California

We recently visited Healdsburg, California in Sonoma County with the goal of experiencing a Wow! combination of a wine and a cheese … and we found three Wow! pairings  that we want to tell you about.

Oakville Grocery, corner of Matheson & Center Streets

We began our adventure at the downtown plaza in Healdsburg where we purchased a chunk of Carmody cheese at Oakville Grocery at the corner of Matheson Street and Center Street. Oakville Grocery has a very good selection of domestic cheeses, and Kat Zaneline and Chris Wippert,who  know their cheeses well, make great recommendations.

Chris Wippert & Kat Zaneline at Oakville Grocery

Heading north on Healdsburg Ave., our next stop was Big John’s Market at the corner of Healdsburg Avenue and Dry Creek Road where we bought some Pierre Robert cheese. The cheesemonger there is Mike Haney

Big John's Market, Healdsburg Ave. & Dry Creek Road

who is very knowledgable about their enormous offering of imported and domestic cheeses and enjoys recommending wines too.

Domestic & International Cheeses at Big John's Market

Ferrari-Carano Winery & Wines

Next, we took a scenic drive westward to the Ferrari-Carano winery at 8761 Dry Creek Road

Entrance to Ferrari-Carano Tasting Room at 8761 Dry Creek Road

where Jacqueline Denier and John Daniels served us tastings of four excellent wines: 2007 Chardonnay, Carneros appellation; 2008 Viognier, Alexander Valley appellation; 2007 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley appellation; and 2005 Sangiovese, Alexander Valley appellation.

John Daniels serving fine wines, Ferrari-Carano tasting room

We savored each of the wines, paired them with the two cheeses we had with us, and discovered three Wow! combinations.

Our Wow! combinations

Norm’s first Wow! pairing was the Pierre Robert triple-cream cheese (made by Fromagerie Rouzaire in France) interacting with the 2008 Viognier’s floral, citrus and oak aromas and flavor. The combination produced a pleasant peppery flavor with an evolving aftertaste that included several delightful new taste bursts.

Barbara’s first Wow! pairing was Pierre Robert cheese with the 2007 Chardonnay, with it’s oaky, creamy aromas and flavors. The combination was in perfect balance, a completely harmonious and pleasing sensation.

Wines aging in oak barrels at Ferrari-Carano

As our third Wow! pairing, Norm and Barbara agreed that the Bellwether Farms Carmody cheese and the 2005 Sangiovese were great together. The wine’s earthy Chianti style clearly enlivened the flavor of the six-week-aged, semi-soft, cows milk cheese.

Beautiful grounds at Ferrari-Carano Winery

So there you go. You just don’t know which combinations will give you a Wow! experience until you  experiment with a variety of wines and cheeses. And what a pleasure that will be.

More Wow! Recommendations

We also picked up some expert recommendations for future pairings. Jacqueline Denier said that a double-cream Gouda paired with the Ferrari-Carano 2007 Chadonnay is a Wow! combination for her. And Mike Haney opined that the Pierre Robert cheese also pairs extremely well with Champagne or Sauterne.

Your Wow! Pairings

We want to hear about your Wow! pairings.  When you discover a  combination of a specific cheese and a specific wine that gives you the Wow! sensation, please let us all know about it. Make your comment to this and future posts.

It will be great fun to hear about everyone’s discovered Wow! pairings … and to try them.

Our future Wow! pairing discoveries

We will also keep you posted about our Wow! combination discoveries as we venture to wineries, cheesemakers, wine vendors, cheese vendors and pair specific wineries’ wines with specific cheesemakers’ cheeses .