Tag: cheese

Wine, Cheese and Chocolate …and I’m There!

Posted in adventure travel, TravelTagged , , , Leave a comment

My reality lately though is I am not at the winery to enjoy this combo of food with wine; however, once again Papapietro Perry had a live at winery and virtual event at the same time.

I think is very slick how our world has changed and more programs are available to us through zoom. Papapietro Perry winery staff have gotten better with their programs and to combine it now with people at the winery was an excellent idea. We were concerned that they would not continue the virtual events, but they did!

At this event, we started with a delicious 2021 Chardonnay from Peters vineyard with Toma cheese from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. Sip of wine, bite of cheese, another sip of wine and then to try it all with Volo’s orange chocolate … which has orange pieces in it! Point Reyes creamery is a women-owned business with very happy cows and many different cheeses! Volo Chocolate was founded by a husband-and-wife team hand-making “bean to bar” chocolates.

Next tasting was 2019 Pinot Noir also from Peter’s vineyard, paired with Pimento cheese spread and dark chocolate with olive oil and roasted almonds. I love Papapietro Perry’s pinot noir … which is the reason we are wine club members with them… thanks to Pedroncelli Winery sending us just a short distance from their place to Papapietro Perry when they heard we were looking for delicious pinot noir. I was hesitant about the cheese spread but actually found it very tasty. The next day I took it and spread it on bread as my cheese with a turkey sandwich … delicious!

The final tasting was 2019 Pinot Noir from Nunes vineyard. Quinta cheese has a bark wrap around it and when left out about 1/2 hour before the tasting, it is like brie in its melting. With some ooze of cheese on a cracker and a sip of wine, wonderful! We followed this up with mocha bar….yum!

Papapietro Perry Winery is in Headsburg, California … check it out if you enjoy wines and specifically pinot noir. Pedroncelli Winery is in Geyserville, California and also has excellent wines …zinfandel …especially their Mother Clone. So if you are in California, you now have two wineries to enjoy tastings at. Let me know what you think of their wines!

Take Time to Discover How Little You Know

Posted in blogging, TravelTagged , , , , 2 Comments

Often we pride ourselves on how much we know about a particular topic and go on to prove it to others. More humbling than that, I believe, is when one takes time to listen and learn something new! We do not know it all and when we take time to listen we may discover how little we know about a particular topic.

Recently I watched a zoom webinar presented by Benovia Winery. Let’s just say I love their wines! What struck me while watching it though was how little I knew about goats and cows and the world of making cheeses! Lisa Gottreich, founder of Bohemian Creamery in Sebastopol California, was the guest during this webinar and you quickly discover Lisa knows all about cheese-making and she loves her goats! 

Who knew about natural/traditional or bloomy rinds? Or the number of gallons of milk to make pounds of cheese, the temperature and humidity best for aging the cheeses, orthe perfect time to buy and eat fresh cheeses? And why you’ll really love the cheese flavors when you take them out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes prior to eating them? Benovia’s winemaker asked wonderful questions of Lisa throughout the webinar and I realized this was a huge learning opportunity for me. The Chardonnay and Pinot noir wines were perfect for the bloomy rind of the Bodacious goat cheese, the hard and traditional rind of the ShredHead cow cheese and the soft Flower Power cow cheese with pollen on its rind. I have been selective in what rinds I eat, but I now understand many people eat them all. Even with choices of cheese, some people like cow cheese and not goat cheese; I am a fan of both! This morning I took a small piece of goat cheese to taste while it was cold … yup, having it warm-up and a bit gooey is absolutely the best way to eat it and really taste the cheese flavor! Live and learn!

Two wines for us to try during the webinar.
Three cheeses for us to taste during the webinar.

Benovia Winery is at 3339 Hartman Road, Santa Rosa, California. Bohemian Creamery is at 7380 Occidental Road, Sebastopol, California. Benovia Winery and Bohemian Creamery have similar challenges: current pandemic, possible drought and wildfire concerns, but they continue to provide us with quality products and service. If you can, support these businesses and learn about wine-making and cheese-making! Discover and learn something new! Who doesn’t love a chunk of cheese and a glass of wine!?! Okay, if not you, then send someone who does a gift … let’s support our local businesses.