Thursday, May 29, 2008

GET YOUR GOAT CHEESE AND WINE TASTING

GET YOUR GOAT
When: Thursday, June 19, 2008 6:30pm - 8:00PM
Where: The Cheese Shop On Park 329 Park Avenue North
How Much: Tickets are $20.00 in advance and $30.00 the day of the event. Tickets are available for purchase in The Cheese Shop On Park or by phone with a credit card (407) 644-7296 - please DO NOT leave your credit card info on our voicemail - if you leave a message we will call you back.

GET YOUR GOAT - What to expect
Sample and compare goat cheeses, fresh and aged from all over the world paired with the appropriate wine and gourmet accoutrements
No pretense or boring seminar, but active tasting and open forum discussion that truly helps you to discover new cheeses
Participants enjoy a 15% discount on all cheese and wine sampled during Get Your Goat and 10% off everything else in the shop
This is a walk through tasting event, there is no seating
Space is limited so get your tickets early! Our previous event sold out.
Advance ticket sales end at 7PM the day before the event - Wednesday June 18, 2008 See our website for our cancellation policy w
ww.thecheeseshoponpark.com/events

Sunday, May 25, 2008

WE WILL BE CLOSED THIS TUESDAY MAY 27, 2008

The Cheese Shop On Park will be closed Tuesday May 27, 2008 for the Memorial Day Holiday (we're always closed on Mondays) so your resident Cheese Mongers can enjoy a long weekend.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend!

We'll see you on Wednesday

NEW ARRIVALS

NEW CHEESE

Cambozola Blue Brie - Germany $20.00 / LB - We've had many customers request this cheese and we finally got our hands on a lovely wheel. The cheese maker describes it as a cross between Camembert and Gorgonzola (hence the name) but it is indeed a triple creme brie that is infused with blue mold. It has a white bloomy rind, like a brie, and is smooth, buttery and VERY creamy - rather mild in the blue department, but the flavour is tangy enough to satisfy any blue lover.

Coach Farms Fresh Chevre - Pine Plains, New York $4.50 / Each - We debuted this little fresh goat cheese Wednesday night at our Anthology of American Artisan Cheese tasting event (huge success - see below for more on the event) Coach Farm is located in a small Hudson Valley village, just two hours outside of New York City. They have over 900 French Alpine dairy goats, born and raised on their farm. The small, white-tiled creamery where they make their cheeses connects directly to the milking parlor.

Green Peppercorn Aged Chevre - Pine Plains, New York $31.50 / LB - Our second Anthology debut, From the folks at Coach Farms again, this is their aged goat cheese that they laced with… green peppercorns. Aged goat cheese is stronger than fresh chevre, and the spicy little tidbits throughout the cheese give it a very unique, delicious surprise in each bite.

Wine Pairing: Both Coach Farm cheeses were paired at the event with New Gewurz, Gewurztraminer $13.50 - From Alexander Valley Vineyards, the New Gewurz is dry, with fresh floral flavours and note of spice, pear and citrus - light enough to not over power a fresh chevre.

Pleasant Ridge ReserveDodgeville, Wisconsin $35.00 / LB (yes Wisconsin has Artisan cheese makers too) Our third cheese launched at Wednesday night's tasting event. Pleasant Ridge Reserve is made by Uplands Cheese Company with unpasteurized cow’s milk using old world practices. The result is a distinctive "mountain style" flavour rarely experienced from a cheese made in the USA.

Smoked Gouda - Winchendon, Massachusetts $14.00 / LB Smith’s Farmstead Gouda Cheese, rivals any Dutch Gouda on the market today. Old fashioned traditions and hard work make this smoky farmstead gouda delicious and memorable.

Wine Pairing: Temptation Zin, Zinfandel $16.50 - From the same folks who make the New Gewurz at Alexander Valley Vineyards comes this seriously smokey, long finish Red Zin that bursts with plum, cocoa and big bing cherry.

Greek Feta - Greece $18.00 / LB - NOW CUT TO ORDER - We've carried the Mount Vikos Feta from the beginning, but always in the retail packs which were, as many of you mentioned, too large (they were usually 1 - 1.25 pounds). SO... We listened to you and got it in bulk. This Feta is a blend of Sheep's and Goat's milk and not like any Feta you have ever tasted from other stores or restaurants. We've been sampling the Feta all weekend (another benefit of buying cut to order) and the funny thing is when anyone tastes how fabulous this cheese is - they take home a pound! If you have not tried the Mount Vikos Feta come on in and taste the difference!

NEW NOT-CHEESE

Truffle Honey - $25.00 - Truffles Truffles Truffles - we can't get enough of them - and if you share the same obsession then this honey was made for you! Imported from Italy this 8.8 oz jar of pure Italian Acacia Honey is laced with 1.5% White Truffles... you can see the large truffle pieces hanging out in the top of the jar (who knew - truffles float, but I for one am not surprised as they are brought to us mere mortals by little culinary angels... ahem).


Wine and Cheese Event

Thanks to all who participated in our first event An Anthology of American Artisan Cheese. We tasted a lot of wonderful cheese from artisanal cheese makers in the USA, paired with American wines - also from small wine makers.

Our next Cheese and Wine Tasting Event is:

GET YOUR GOAT
When: Thursday, June 19, 2008 6:30pm - 8:00PM
Where: The Cheese Shop On Park 329 Park Avenue North
How Much: Tickets are $20.00 in advance and $30.00 the day of the event. Tickets are available for purchase in The Cheese Shop On Park or by phone with a credit card (407) 644-7296 - please DO NOT leave your credit card info on our voicemail - if you leave a message we will call you back.

GET YOUR GOAT
  • Sample and compare goat cheeses, fresh and aged from all over the world paired with the appropriate wine and gourmet accoutrements
  • No pretense or boring seminar, but active tasting and open forum discussion that truly helps you to discover new cheeses
  • Participants enjoy a 15% discount on all cheese and wine sampled during Get Your Goat and 10% off everything else in the shop
  • This is a walk through tasting event, there is no seating
  • Space is limited so get your tickets early! Our previous event sold out.
  • Advance ticket sales end at 7PM the day before the event - Wednesday June 18, 2008
  • See our website for our cancellation policy www.thecheeseshoponpark.com/events
Some discussions from Wednesday night...

What is American Artisan Cheese?
We are seeing a renaissance in artisan and farmstead cheese making in the United States driven by changing consumer tastes, culinary tourism and agricultural activism. Cheese making in the US can be traced back to the Civil War. In the past 25 years, artisan and fine cheese making has become a significant food-culture movement in the US.

What is the difference between Artisan and Farmstead?
In a nutshell, the key difference between these two approaches to cheese making is in how the milk is sourced. Farmstead cheeses are made by a farm operation using the milk produced by their own animals. Artisan cheeses are also made by hand, however, artisan cheese makers typically purchase their milk from one or more local dairy farmers. In both cases, the production facilities are relatively small, and the owner typically operates the facility.

What makes a Cheese Maker an artisan? What defines an artisan cheese maker is his or her ability to make great cheese largely by hand in a relatively small scale creamery using locally produced, pure milk. The cheese maker is recognized for their ability to design a cheese to reflect their local environment or terroir. They know how to liberate the taste of a place within the cheese via the artful introduction of microflora into fresh milk. The unique taste profile created in the end is ultimately the artisan cheese maker’s signature.
The above information is credited to Petra Cooper of Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company & Fifth Town Productions








Wednesday, May 7, 2008

NEW ARRIVALS

NEW CHEESES

Gjetost - Norway - $8.50 Each - We got this cheese in via customer request. It is an interesting little cheese, 80% cow's milk, 10% goats's milk. Caramel-esque and deliciously sweet.

Asiago Pressato - Italy - $16.50 / LB - Pressato is the D.O.P name for this young Asiago produced in the Po Valley near Treviso, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. The texture is firm and supple followed by a lingering sweetness.

Widmers's 6-Year Old Cheddar - Wisconsin - $23.00 / LB We actually had this one in earlier this year, but we finally got it again. Aged 6 years this cheddar is SHARP SHARP SHARP, complex, nutty, crumbly and did I mention sharp?

NEW NOT-CHEESE

Dried Mango - $8.00 / HALF LB - We're now selling dried Mango out of the deli case - we'll be adding additional dried fruits very soon! If you love goat cheese, you will be in HEAVEN when you try it "schmeered" on a hunk of dried mango. I have it priced at the HALF pound - mainly because a pound is a heck of a lot of mango!

LIBATIONS

Leyris Maziere LiAiguier, Sauvignon Blanc Blend from the Languedoc region, France - $23.00 This is the white ORGANIC cousin to that big, bold, organic red you big, bold red lovers (me included) are dreaming about. Well rounded as you come to expect from a Languedoc wine, it's fruity, dry, diverse and oh - so lovable.

Trivento, Torrontes from Mendoza Argentina $12.00 - I am drinking this wine as I am writing this blog (this is my job - I love my job!) My first reaction when I took my first sip was - WHOA! It reminds me of my beloved Vigonier. Floral on the nose, bright, fruity with a dry and rather pleasantly tart finish. This wine is very pale - but don't let the flaxen, waif like exterior fool you, it packs a ton of flavour, trust me and try it. For 12 bucks - you'll be back for more!

Wine 101:
Torrontes is the grape. The Torrontes grape is cultivated in the Argentine provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja, Mendoza, Salta, San Juan and Rio Negro. The Torrontes wine made from this white grape is considered the best of its kind in the entire world. Torrontes is the most distinctive of all Argentine wines, including both white and red, because Argentina is the only country to produce it. It is considered a wholly Argentine variety.

Te Hira, Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough New Zealand $22.00 - I ask you, from where else would a tiny cheese shop get their Sauvignon Blanc if not New Zealand? (OK France see the Leyris above) Zing, zip, gooseberry and steel this is your above average, boutique NZ SB with a lively palate and a lingering finale.