The Joy of Wine and Cheese

Welcome to summer! You may have noticed some new additions to the business community this year. There are new gyms, a frozen yogurt store, and Fred’s has added a gourmet store stocked with wine products, rubs and sauces for grilling, fresh pastas, salami, desserts and cheese.

Most of the gourmet cheeses come from a company called Artisanal Premium Cheese.  Artisanal has established a highly respected reputation and takes great pride in offering the highest quality, handcrafted cheeses made by award-winning cheese makers from all over the world.

We selected The Artisanal Cheese Company not only for the high quality of their cheeses, but also for the well thought out presentation of their program. The packaging of the cheese is filled with information. Not only is nutritional information included, but also facts about the cheese, the aging of the cheese, and the type of beer or wine to pair with the cheese.

The boxes are color coded according to the strength of the cheese.

The yellow boxed cheeses are mild. These cheeses go well with light white wines, such as Champagne, Sauvignon Blanc, Torrontes, and Pinot Grigio as well as Pilsner Beer.

Recommended:

• LOUIS ROEDERER BRUT PREMIER CHAMPAGNE- Champagne, France
  This Champagne is light and lively, featuring apple, toast and light vanilla flavors
• WITHERING HILLS SAUVIGNON BLANC- Marlborogh, New Zealand
  A wonderfully fleshy wine, with peach, apple, and citrus flavors.  Ripe, lush, and very refreshing
• LA MARCA PROSECCO- Italy
  This sparkling wine is crisp, bright, and delightful!

The gold colored boxes indicate cheeses that are slightly stronger such as Pecorino Sardo a firm cheese from Italy and Artisanal Camembert, A Bloomy Rind French cheese. Try these cheeses with Rose Wine, Light Reds, Merlot, and Lager Beer.

Recommended:

• DOMAINE LA BLAQUE ROSE-France
  Located in the Provencal Alps, this delicious rose is make from a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah, and Vermentino.
• DOMAIN DES ROY PONTLEVOY ROSE- Loire, France
  (50% Grolleau,40% Gamay, 10% Grenache)  A very bright wine with great minerality, and tart red currant notes.  Certified Organic
• SEAN MINOR MERLOT- Napa Valley, California
  This wine has a pretty spicy nose, nice cherry fruit, and is smooth and supple.

The orange colored boxes are stronger cheeses, such as 2 year Cheddar, a firm cheese from Vermont and Upland Pleasant Ridge, a firm cheese from Wisconsin.  The wines to pair with these cheeses are Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Sangiovese, Syrah, and Tempranillo, also Lambic Beers and Ales.

Recommended Wines:

• BERNARD BAUDRY CHINON LES GRANGES- Loire, France
  100% Cabernet Franc from France, Bernard and his son Matthieu are among the top producers in Chinon.  This wine is supple and delicious!
• CASTELLO D’ALBOLA CHIANTI- Tuscany, Italy
  This wine was on The Wine Spectators list for Top Hundred Wines of the Year. It has plenty of dark cherry flavors is fresh and fruity!
• LA POSTA MALBEC- Mendoza, Argentina
  Made by Angel Palucci, the winemaker at Catena, this delicious Malbec has great fruit and good body weight.

The wines in the red boxes are strong such as Gouda, a hard Dutch cheese and Roquefort, and French Blue cheese.  The suggested wines for theses cheeses are Dessert and Port Wines, Sauterne, Sherry, and stronger Red Wines, also Stout Beers.

Recommended Wines:

• EMILIO LUSTAU AMONTILLADO SHERRY –Jerez, Spain
  This is a very clean Sherry with flavors of walnuts and almonds, slight white pepper, sea salt, and light caramel.  It has very good balance and structure with an excellent finish.
• INNISKILLAN VIDAL ICEWINE- Ontario, Canada
  This wine offers seductive aromas of stone and tropical fruits and an alluring medley of sweet citrus flavors with a subtle nuttiness.

Remember to serve your cheese at room temperature, take out of fridge 30-60 minutes before serving.

Please drink responsibly.  Have a safe and wonderful summer!