CHEESE MATTERS
Attending Wine Spectator’s California Wine Experience, in New York was a trip I would totally recommend. The plethora of world-class wines to explore was mind blowing. I was able to spend quality time with wine royalty Agustin Huneeus Jr. and Jim Sweeney, while sipping their heavenly Quintessa. And yes, I had a full plate of cheeses to enjoy with this majesty of a Napa red. Huneeus Vintners create a collection of wines including the luscious FAUST Cabernet Sauvignon and Illumination Sauvignon Blanc. Agustin Huneeus Sr., pioneered winemaking in the now renowned Casablanca Valley, in Chile. It is here, and in the Colchagua Valley, where they make the accoladed Primus and Veramonte wines. These are astounding cheese-friendly wines priced for ultimate value. Veramonte is available at Bristol Farms.
Honey & Cheese A flavor adventure
I’ll never forget the first time I enjoyed a drizzle of honey enveloping a piece of blue cheese. The experience was truly transcendent, transportive and transformative to the total max. You’ve got to try this amalgamation of sweet and savory. Those who didn’t enjoy blue cheese are now loving it and, drizzling away with all kinds of honey. Parmesan and so many other cheeses also love a dollop of honey.
There are more than 300 varietals of honey in the United States. They range from the sweet and light orange blossom honey to savory lavender. The different flavors of honey are not added in, they come straight from the flowers where the bees drink their nectar. A rare tupelo honey from Savannah Bee Company you can buy in the store, is made by bees that were sipping from the tupelo blossoms in the swamp- lands of Georgia and in Florida.
Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Just drizzle from above and don’t pollute your honey jar with any other organic matter. If you follow this methodology of pure enjoyment, your honey could last for more than 3,000 years, just like the honey that was recently found in the pyramids of Egypt.
Relish this flavor adventure!
By Barrie Lynn / The Cheese Empressario
