Scribbles

That’s what it’s all about here, French cheese and wine. One of our chateau mates proposed the idea of introducing us to such French specialties over a special dinner. Who were we to disagree? So he took care of all the shopping in Paris (on a Monday no less, when many stores are closed.) Since no tasting would be complete without the proper wine pairings, our host handpicked a few selections up to par to his highest standards. And to top it off, he brought back some of the most delicious baguettes from Paris. The claim goes that French people get religious about their baguettes, and take my word for it, they really do when it comes to food. Needless to say, everything was top notch in quality and presentation – we all owe our very gracious host huge for going all out.

Although not a fan of cheese, I’m always open to trying and learning new things. The eleven select cheeses were divided into three categories: goat cheese, the creamy stuff, and the strong and slightly greasy ones, served in that order. The idea is to present them from light tasting to strong and to pair them with wines that bring out their flavors. For the goats we enjoyed a light white wine, a strong bordeau with the creamy cheeses, and finally a Sauternes-like sweet white wine with the last group. The second group reminded me too much of the Borden wedges wrapped in foil back in the States, so I was partial to the goats and one in the final group.

All of that served up with an imagination-stretching description magnificently delivered in a deliberate French accent (this guy amazingly turns it on and off at will) that I won’t even attempt to repeat. Others added in with their comments and suggestions as well. So our little soiree with the most fine company of our Montmelian gang thrown in would be grossly understated as a mere entertaining evening. Sante!