California Dreaming… Sept. 9, 2023
California, here we come.
On a monstrously rainy day in Northern New Jersey, the customers at my wine & cheese shop were transported to the enduring sunshine, rolling hills, and famous panoramic views of California wine country. With four Californian wines to sample, plus expertly-paired cheeses from my shop’s lead monger, these customers were in for a treat that would transport them away from the dreary climes just outside.
This Saturday’s tasting prep began as it always has, with a private tasting between myself and the shop’s wine manager to allow me to get a sense of the wines we were trying out for the day. At 11am with nothing but half a smoothie in my stomach, I embarked on a trip through Napa and Sonoma, with stops along the way in Atlas Peak and the Russian River Valley. I must say, as I spend the majority of my waking hours during the week on the corporate grind, having a job where you get paid to day drink fabulous wines and eat endless spectacular cheese truly is the sleeper career of our generation.
After gaining a well-earned buzz and taking detailed notes from our wine manager to share with customers later in the day, I hopped back behind the cheese counter to finish preparing the samples and sales cuts of the four cheeses we were pairing with the wines for the day.
2020 Go Figure Lot 89 Chardonnay - Atlas Peak, CA | Paired with Truffle Tremor (Cypress Grove, Arcata, CA)
2019 Going Forward Pinot Noir - Russian River Valley, CA | Paired with Tomme Vache (producer unknown, FR)
2021 Angel’s Landing Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa County, CA | Paired with 7-Year Cheddar (producer unknown, Quebec, CAN)
2020 Mazzocco Reserve Zinfandel - Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma, CA | Paired with Nimbus (Chaseholm Creamery, Pine Plains, NY)
Beginning with our Chardonnay from Atlas Peak, I was surprised at what a citrusy tone this Chardonnay had to it. It was delicious, and had very little of the buttery, oaky creaminess that I’ve come to expect from Chardonnays - especially one from California! I was told that the citric minerality (along with stone fruit, specifically apricots) I tasted was due to the high altitude at which the grapes were grown... if you say so! We paired this wine with Truffle Tremor from the indomitable Cypress Grove, also from California. The punchy, vibrant acidity in the finish paired very nicely with the mixed texture creamline & paste found in the goat’s milk cheese.
Moving on to the Pinot Noir, this Russian River Valley wine was a beauty. The bouquet gave raspberry, ripe cherry, cocao powder, and even licorice. It had a lighter body than most other Pinot Noirs I’ve tasted, with delicate earthy notes to boot. This red wine was paired with Tomme Vache, a pasteurized cow’s milk cheese from France. Tomme Vache is exceptionally creamy and fatty for a tomme-style cheese, which tend to have lower moisture contents as they are made from the leftover, lower fat milk once the cream has been skimmed off in order to create butter and other higher cream cheeses. This was a welcome surprise nonetheless, and the earthy, slightly wet barn-smell of the cheese (especially on the natural rind) went very nicely with the slight earthiness and mellow yet present tannins from the Pinot Noir.
Next we tasted a Cabernet Sauvignon, which was noted by the customers for two things. First off, this Cab was lighter in body than anyone might expect from a California Cab, which usually tend to be full bodied and bold. Second, people were surprised that it was priced at under $25, which (I have been told) is quite rare to find from a Cabernet hailing from the Golden State. Nonetheless, people enjoyed its notes of dark fruit, currants, and nicely balanced acidity. That acidity lended itself very well to the 7-Year Canadian Cheddar we served it with, which was far creamier than any cheese aged seven years has a right to be! People (myself included) were genuinely shocked at how creamy this cheese was. Thankfully it had those incredible tyrosine crystals sprinkled like confetti throughout, and was a pretty big crowd pleaser, indeed.
Finally, we sampled a Zinfandel from Deer Creek Valley in Sonoma, which was shockingly the most fruit-forward out of all the wines! It led boldly with a concentrated strawberry note, followed by underlying notes of violet, black pepper, and vanilla (which I totally, for sure picked out all myself and didn’t read the overview sheet that the wine manager provided me). This wine had the strongest tannins of the group, which lingered very nicely and served perfectly to complement the Nimbus cheese from Chaseholm Farm in Pine Plains, NY (a mere thirty minutes from where I grew up!). If you haven’t heard of Nimbus, I’m not surprised at all. In all seriousness, Nimbus is an absolutely spectacular triple cream, bloomy rind cheese made by hand on the same farm where the cows whose milks helps create it graze. For all you brie-style cheese lovers out there, Nimbus will blow your freaking mind. Once left out for 1-3 hours at room temperature, it transforms into the most splendid soft, buttery, slightly mushroomy, cloudy little piece of heaven you’ve ever had. This little cheese wheel is so good that I most definitely plan on giving it its own post - so stay tuned!
Overall, this Saturday’s wine & cheese tasting was a success, with surprises aplenty along the way, and lots of fantastic sips and bites along the way. Until next time.
