Hello cheese lovers!
Happy August everyone.
Our Wine & Cheese events are back at Beaufort Vineyard & Estate Winery. Starting in August we will be co-hosting these events on Wednesday August 7th 4-6pm and Wednesday August 21st 4-6pm.
For those of you that have joined us in previous years, we will be doing things a little bit differently, but I think it's a change for the better. Each group of reserved tickets will receive a shared platter of 5 cheeses, a selection of delicious spreads & accompaniments and crackers & baguette. Each person will also receive a flight of 5 different wines (12 oz total) to enjoy as you sample the selection. There are limited seats available for each of these tasting events, so we recommend reserving early. Tickets are available via Beaufort's website.
France has been on my mind a lot lately. It has been a number of years since I've been there, and I'm really yearning to go. My social media is a constant feed of French cheese shops, French markets and French food. Other than the chaos of the Olympics right now I would love to be sitting out on the patio at a bistro, enjoying a pastry right now.
As usual we have a nice range of French cheese in stock, with a fresh round of Morbier, 2 types of Comté, an 18-mth and a 24-mth, as well as a selection of sheep and goat cheeses. Comté is one of the most heavily produced cheeses in France, approximately 40,000 tonnes is made each year. And for good reason. Comté is at once, fruity and smooth, but it carries the flavour of the caves it is aged in. From my own pallat, I generally describe it as fruity and earthy. I spend a lot of time processing cheese, and I inevitably sample each one every time, cut-offs for quality control all mean that i am eating all of the cheeses, all of the time. And still at this point, I have to say that Comté always surprises me. It always leaves me thinking..."Yum, that's a great cheese". It's also a tasty experiment to trial different ages, from the 18 month to the 36th month, they are fairly different with their own character.
For those of you who have been looking for us in Comox, with the closing of the Compass General Store & Kitchen we are currently only available at Beaufort Vineyard & Winery. Though we also encourage you to enjoy a drink of wine while you are out there, you can also pop in to grab cheese to go from our curated selection. However if you do want something specific, please reach out directly to us as we may not have every stocked on site.
We are bringing in an ever expanding list of products from Oyama Sausage. We even brought in some Duck Confit for some special people. So if there is a product that you love, let us know and we can arrange to bring it in.
We brought in a couple of new cheeses this month. The first, is this beautiful round of Spanish Queso de Oveja con Flores. This little beauty is 190 grams, made with sheep milk and covered with herbs and flowers. Imagine this on the top of a cheese cake! I'm interested to see how this is different from the Austrian Tomme des Fleurs which I brought in a few months ago. The Austrian version had a mild allium flavour which I loved. I will keep you posted!
As well, Fleuron de Bruge from Belgium. The Belgians make some of my favourite strong, washed rind cheeses. This is a stronger cheese, with a "crunchy" rind. It's also beautiful to look at, like a pincushion pillow. This is available by the piece.
If all of that deliciousness didn't make you hungry, nothing will! Without further ado, here is the current cheese & charcuterie meat selection!
Cheese
Comté 18 month (Cow - France)
Comté 24 month (Cow - France)
Morbier (Cow - France)
Cave-Aged Gruyère (Cow - France)
Chateau de Bourgogne (small rounds) (Cow - France)
Côte d'Or (Cow - France)
Brebirousse (Sheep - France)
Triple Crème Germain (Cow - France)
Fleuron de Brugge (Cow - Belgium)
Kefalograviera (Sheep - Greece)
Madelaine (Sheep - Quebec)
Fleurmier (Cow - Quebec)
Le Chevre Camarade (Goat - Quebec)
Pecorino Romano (Sheep - Italy)
Irish Cashel Blue (Cow - Ireland)
P'tit Sainte Maure (Goat - France)
La Galette (Cow - Quebec)
Amazing Grey (Goat - Quebec)
St. Marcellin Ceramique (Cow - France)
Crottin de Chèvre (Goat - France)
Le Pizy - (Cow - Quebec)
Kaams Classic (Goat - Netherlands)
Oyama Sausage
Keep it Cheesy!
We/ I respectfully acknowledge that the land we gather on is on the Unceded Traditional Territory of the K’ómoks First Nation, the traditional keepers of this land.
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