International Versus Domestic A Cheese and Wine Rumble!

 

Some of my favorite local purveyors of cheese and wine have gotten together to duke it out over which is best with lots of audience participation required!  A fun way to taste a lot of good wine and cheese, in an "underground venue" only announced after you have bought your tickets - I'm intrigued!  Here's the dirt in their own words:

Usually wine and cheese freaks use a whole lot of flowery language to try to evoke images of bucolic pastures or elegant country chateaux. Well, you probably know by now we're not the usual wine and cheese freaks. Maybe we're a little bit off, but we think some of the greatest things in life happen not on sun-splashed hillside vineyards or in mountaintop chalets, but in dank, smelly cellars with minimal lighting--namely wine maturation, cheese ripening and illegal bare-knuckle boxing. The world has been waiting for someone to combine these noble pursuits, and we've answered the call.

We're going to go ahead and break the first rule of Fight Club and the second rule of Fight Club to announce a one-night-only-no-holds-barred-all-out-overly-hyphenated Vino and Whey Melée. We've assembled a motley collection of rival LES factions for a proper underground rumble. That's right--September, Discovery, Formaggio Essex and Saxelby Cheese are going to duke it out on Monday, November 15th, and teach all in attendance a bit about wine and cheese in the process.

But like Fight Club, we don't do bystanders. Participation is mandatory for all, but don't sweat it too much. Instead of the taste of your own blood, we're inviting you to savor the taste of some of the finest artisanal wines and cheeses from around the world.
       
So cop a ticket and shake yourself out of your blue oxford button down matching couch set complacency. Go underground for a night of low-light, funky-smelling, tasty chaos. And when the last crumbs are finally swept up off the wine-splattered floor, you'll decide who will reign as the next people's champ.

 

Monday, November 15th @ 8pm
$60/per person
To reserve your seat, please contact: bittersweetsoursalt@gmail.com

Chilled Red of the Week

$12.99 at my favorite local wine store September.

Good Wine Made from Organic Grapes

Chono is winery in Chile that makes some delicious wine using organic grapes that are for sale here at my two favorite local wine stores September and Astor Wines.

Chono has a Riesling Reserva, a very drinkable white but it's the Carménère that's really outstanding to my taste buds. It's described as the lost grape of Bourdeaux a grape wiped out in the old world by phylloxera and never replanted.

The Chileans were lucky to have gotten some cuttings before the aphids got hold of them and for what ever reason the Carménère grape thrives in Chile and has become their iconic grape like Cabernet Sauvignon in California. For more background read the New York Times article here.

Red wines made biodynamically and organically tend to be juicy and light lacking the fullness we have gotten used to in the more processed, pesticide soaked, reverse osmosis flavored beverage wines that have taken over. So it is very exciting to find a grape and a vintner who can coax a full bodied, luscious, complex wine with some fruit in it that utilizes organically grown fruit.

The best news is that it is only $12.99 at Astor!

The other bottle that I have been buying a lot of comes from Spain a wonderful dry Cava with a little bit of Citrus called Savia Viva also grown from organic grapes. It's perfect to just sip or wonderful with some peach puree if you want to treat yourself and your guests to some Bellini's.

I don't think September has it, but Astor not only carries it, but currently has it on sale for 8.99 reduced from 11.99! I want to buy a case I can't imagine it lasting very long at this price.

Say hi if you see me at Astor. And rememeber they have a huge fridge so the Savia Viva can be bought chilled and taken directly to your friends house for immediate gratification bubbly!