All Things Chill

Youtube link here. Liana, Don, Matt, Deb and myself hit up the Seattle Wine and Cheese Festival last weekend. Pike Place Market is even MORE overwhelming on a festival day compared to a regular sunny weekend. Taste of Chicago overwhelming (shudder lol). Everyone was pleasant and very conversational aaaaannnnddd… surprisingly… there weren’t any drunkards out and about in the afternoon (I’M LOOKING AT YOU OAKLAND lol).

From what I can tell from my chicken scratch and my random notes, we tried the following wines at the wine garden (read: cramped tent with tables for each vendor). The notes below the vineyard were from the wine garden flyer – kinda fluffy, but pretty much spot on. I stayed mostly with white wines because it was such a sunny day out and I didn’t want to get the red wine sweats. LORD KNOWS I’VE BEEN THERE BEFORE. Here we go!

Spain
Licia Albarino
Fresh and elegant on the palate with a clean, crisp finish
Cheese pairing: Cypress Grove, Midnight Moon

Vina Reboreda
A light refreshing white wine from Spain. Crisp and clean with a bright finish. Perfect with seafood.
Cheese Pairing: Cypress Grove, Midnight Moon

Italy
Kris Pinot Grigio
Pale yellow with aromas of citrus and tangerine as well as hints of apricot and almonds. Clean and refreshing.
Cheese Pairing: Sierra Nevada, Caprae Chevre

France
Campuget Tradition Rough
Scents of ripe fruit dominated by black currants mingle with hints of spice and pepper. Round and harmonious
Cheese Pairing: Kerrygold, Dubliner

I enjoyed all of them except for the French wine – way too spicy. It would have been nice if they served cheese with them (or hell if I’m complaining, caviar lol) but they weren’t very stingy with the pours and people were willing to answer any question about grape varietals and tasting notes.

We tried cheeses from all around the world and the only one that really stood out to us (besides Cypress Grove Cheese, which we’re already quite familiar with) was “Remembrance” from Tumalo Farms in Oregon. Information from their site follows:

A creamy farmstead goats milk cheese made with high desert rosemary. It has soft, clean, pleasant aroma and taste of rosemary. The finish is wonderfully long.

Texture: Semi-soft; cooked,pressed. Scattered rosemary leaves
Affinage: 8-10 weeks, wiped and turned daily. Cellar aged at 58º F and 85% RH
Available all year – Sold by the pound
Suggested Wine Pairings: Sauvignon Blanc / Viognier
Ingredients: Pasteurized Grade-A goats milk, culture, rennet, salt and high desert rosemary

If you try any of the wines or cheeses, let me know. I’d love to hear any other recs you can dish out! Also, one more thing…

YAY TO NON-LACTOSE INTOLERANCE!

~Spec

This entry was posted on Monday, May 18th, 2009 at 6:03 am and is filed under Cooking Culture, Cuisine, Seattle, Streaming Conciousness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.