Friday, November 23, 2007

Cheese lovers

Last week-end I decided to make a little extra and get some "good" cheese in town- usually I make the trip to the Cheese Board in Berkeley when it's time for me to refill the cheese plate- so I went to this place on 24th Street where I used to go when I was living in the Noe Valley neighborhood 10 years ago. The place is called Cheese and Co. I guess they went under new management and this is NOT the place to go for cheese:
1- unqualified employees
2- not systematically offered to try
3- some cheeses are so old they should not be on the shelves
I got 3 varieties, none of which was acceptable for about $20 which I realized later the price was probably wrong but couldn't find the detailed bill in the bag... of course. They definitely lost a customer and I could prevent anyone else from going there it would only be justice. AVOID this place! I got there a bottle of wine a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru for a bit more than $20...well I should be skeptical about the deal: the wine started with a fine taste but the illusion disappeared as fast as it came; very short in mouth; probably to young. Trader Joe's have Bordeaux as good for half price.

Week old Beaujolais Nouveau 2007

As much as I like this tradition, possibly because one of my daughter is born on a 3rd Thursday of November as well as Beaujolais nouveau every year, it is now a one day event and is barely of any interest to mention. This year I got 2 bottles of Louis Tete (pic) on Wednesday evening at $12 each; it was as good as I could expect. The next day I had 2 other kinds at a celebration at work one bottled by Kermit Lynch for $16, the other one at $15 a bottle: totally ridiculous! The trend seems to produce primeur wine closer to common Beaujolais than to banana juice but it is still far to justify such price. Anyway it's alreay a week old and before I forgot I wanted to post these comment in memory of the 2007 cru.

Monday, November 05, 2007

Moulin de Gassac 2006

The Guilhem 2006 from famous Daumas Gassac is the table version of the winery. I found this one at Berkeley Bowl for $9.95 and they also have the white one. The Red is a mix of 5 different grape varieties, very fruity and easy to drink. Interesting to taste but at this price not really worth to stock up.