At last nights Cheesy Wine Down tasting class, the Co-op's cheese expert Heidi showed us how to create the perfect New England themed cheese platter. Heidi brought along lots of props to help inspire our own creations for the upcoming holiday season including a variety of platters, boards and various dishes that she likes to use to present her selections to her guests. A great idea she had was using ramekins to serve nuts and jams. We all have ramekins hidden in the back of the kitchen cupboards that hardly get to see the light and they are the perfect size for small spaces and servings. Heidi also pointed out that while traditional plates are great for serving already cut cheese, they don't make for a very elegant cheese cutting board, so stick to flat boards or slates when serving cheese that your guests will be cutting into themselves.
So onto the cheese selections; the Co-op's cheese buyer Suzy has been busy finding seasonal cheeses that make great conversation starters from local New England farms. These selections make great gifts this time of year too. We tried Olga cheese from Seal Cove Farm in Maine, that is a blend of raw cows and goats milk. From New Hampshire we tried Toma and Piermont from Robie Farm. Robie Farm is a 140 year old dairy farm in Piermont along the Connecticut River. Then we tried a nice selection of cheeses from Vermont Farms like Lake's Edge and Crottina from Blue Ledge Farm. The Lake's Edge cheese has a dramatic ash-vein through it which makes for a very eye-catching selection on a cheese platter and tastes out of this world with a dollop of honey. From Grafton Village we tried the Leyden cheese that is inspired by an area of the Netherlands. And lastly from Von Trapp Farmstead we tried the Mad River Blue cheese and Brie from Blthydale Farm.
It sounds like a lot is going on, but for a group of 25 people it served us very well (there was plenty for seconds and even thirds) and only cost about $65 for the cheeses and another $20 for a blueberry spread, a couple apples and some walnuts. That works out to less than $4 per person. (Don't worry you definitely get your money's worth at our tasting class, we also prepared 2 other similar sized platters plus the wealth of knowledge that Heidi provides.)
Now lets move on to the wines of the month. Clos LaChance winery is a small family owned and operated winery near the Silicon Valley in California. The vineyard and production facility are both Sustainably Certified via the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. This means that when you purchase Clos LaChance wines you are supporting environmentally sound practices, economically feasible agriculture and socially equitable conduct. I think this makes the wine much more enjoyable!
We started the evening with a glass of Chardonnay and Meritage. The Chardonnay would pair lovely with a manchego, but the goats milk cheeses on the platter were a great alternative. The fruitiness worked well with the Reine des Rennette apples too. The Meritage was a lovely splash to enjoy with the Mad River Blue and nuts. The strong personalities of each worked well.
Then we tried the Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. I thought the Cab Sav was a great wine with anything on the cheese platter. It was fresh and fruity, even though it looked dark and mellow. The Sav Blanc worked well with the goats milk cheeses on the platter like the Olga from Seal Cove Farm or the Crottina from Blue Ledge Farm. the fresh citrus notes left a crisp taste on the palate.
Like Heidi always tells us, pairings are a personal thing, you either like a combination or not, so get out there and try something new from the Co-op! Make sure to print your coupons to save $5 on cheese with your wine of the month purchase, click here.
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