Wine and Cheese Pairings

I realize I have been absent. Since June I have been afflicted with a painful, undiagnosed illness that affects my ear and neck and/or carotid artery. I lived with it all summer and tried to keep posting and keep my chin up. But I'm going on month five now, and many co-payments and specialists, and x-rays and MRI's and prescriptions (and still no answers) have left me broke, fatigued, still in pain, fearful, impatient and depressed. I have not even had my usual zest for wine tasting - that alone is enough to make me depressed. While this strange pain I have affects me daily, I am lucky enough that it leaves me for anywhere from 4 - 8 hours at some point during the day or evening. My boss gave me his seat tonight at a wine and cheese pairing event that I accompanied his wife to. The stars lined up for me and my pain left me at 5:00 p.m. I have just returned from a wonderful reprieve of an evening pairing exquisite artisan cheeses with five wines. There is a new store in a local town that sells fresh, unbelieveable creamy goat, sheep and cow cheeses, as well as fine chocolates and artisan breads. The owner and his wife ran the event this evening. I was thrilled to meet the owner's wife who is a sommelier who trained under Kevin Zraly at "Windows of The World" in NYC.

As my zest for photo taking has left me as well, there are no photos of the evenings' pairings, but following are my two top favorite pairings of the evening.

I have tasted and reviewed both of the following wines previously (so if you want label info, look in the archives here). Both wines were unparalelled when paired with these cheeses this evening.

Drylands Estate, 2007 Sauvignon Blanc ($17.99) paired with Brigid's Abbey Cato Corner Farm cow cheese. The cheese being extra creamy and FAT, the citrus fruit of the Drylands was a perfect match.

7 Deadly Zins, 2006 Red Zinfandel ($17.99) paired with Timberdoodle Woodcock Farm Vermont cow cheese. The Timberdoodle cheese is very strong and complex on its own and the other wines we tried with it just petered out. But the 7 Deadly Zins was power packed full of flavor to match the cheese. The result was a fantastic smoke flavored finish of both cheese and wine. (This combo I hope to be able to serve as Thanksgiving appetizers.)

I can't promise I'll be posting again soon, but I am going to think positive and tell you when I have a good day, and a good wine experience, I will pass it along, even if just brief. Mid-November, this store is having a special holiday pairing. Focal points will be Chocolate and Cabernet and Port and Bleu Cheese. I am hoping the stars will align for me once again and I will forward my experiences on to you. :)