Farmstead Cheeses and Wines

New Cheeses Another shipment of Bohemian Creamery's Bo-Poisse arrives Friday, and Cowgirl's Devil's Gulch is in the cases now.    Both will hopefully last through the weekend. 

Bo Poisse, an organic, locally made Jersey cow milk cheese, is based an Epoisse recipe, and blends salty and sweet together - combining the pungency of a washed rind with the richness of a triple cream. 

Devil's Gulch, also an organic, locally made Jersey cow milk cheese, has a  paste is similar to that of Cowgirl's  Mt. Tam and Pierce Point, but the rind is lightly dusted in sweet and spicy dried red pepper flakes.

We're also bringing in three more new cheeses discovered at the recent Fancy Food Show :  Fiorito, Tome des Bauges and Quattro Stagione. 

Quattro Stagione is a rich Jersey cow's milk cheese made by local cheesemaker Soyoung Scanlan of Andante Dairy for Italian importer Fresca Italia. 

These smallish, bloomy rind rounds are covered with flowers or fruit, depending on the season. 

Then there's Fiorito in Foglie di Ciliege, a goat's milk cheese wrapped in cherry leaves from Basilicata, Italy.  Cheesemaker Giovanni Samela uses pasteurized goat's milk only from his own and his brother's herd. The disks weigh about a pound and have a bloomy rind dusted with gray mold underneath their crispy leaf coat. They ripen for about 20 to 25 days before being shipped.

This is a lovely cheese with a silky and lush paste that looks like a million bucks!

Finally, there's Tome de Bauges, an AOC raw milk cow cheese from the Savoie.   Slightly denser than its cousin Tomme Crayeuse, this fermier cheese has a slightly bitter finish and tons of flavor. 

We've brought in tiny quantities of each of these cheeses, as we want to see what you think of them before we commit to them.  Please let us know your reactions to these new finds.

I hope everyone is doing well. Carol started back at school last week, welcomed by a class full of wide eyed, eager-to-learn Berkeley 3rd graders; our new family member Andy The Dog is settling in to a life without Carol at home all day; and I am prepping for our upcoming wine dinner and a visit from my Dad and brother.   

Last Call for Pinot Noir Dinner @ Rivoli!! We have a few seats left for our first wine dinner at Rivoli Restaurant this coming Tuesday, the 15th of September, featuring wines from Dutton Goldfield.

Four courses, including a cheese course from Farmstead, five wines -  $80 per person, plus tax and tip ($100 total), or $75 per person, plus tax and tip ($95 total) for wine club members. 

We'll be tasting Dutton Ranch Chardonnay, Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir, McDougall Vineyard Pinot Noir, Devil's Gulch Vineyard  Pinot Noir and Cherry Ridge Vineyard Syrah
Call 510 864 9463 for reservations!

We came across a cache of well-aged, amazing dessert wines, lovingly stored by a customer.    Please email me if you have any interest in the following:

• 1970 Taylor Vintage Port (now known as Taylor Fladgate)
• 1976 Chateau dYquem Sauternes
• 1977 Graham's Vintage Port

Please call if you're interested.

Wine Clubs Speaking of fabulous wine, we launch the September releases of our numerous wine clubs tomorrow.  That's right, our wine club releases are available this Friday, and this month, we offer some outrageously good wines to our beloved club members. 

Club members receive significant discounts on all wines in the store, advance notice and discounts for our frequent wine dinners, free pours at our weekly tastings, recipes, and our unflagging gratitude and devotion.  We ask for a four month commitment to any of our clubs.

This month,

• the Bargain Club features a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, a French Chard-Viognier Blend , a Washington Cab/Syrah/Merlot Blend from Owen Roe , a Rhône Grenache blend, and two Aussie Wines with very fun names!
  
• the Châteauneuf Club offers up three great  southern Rhônes while waiting for the next batch of '07 Châteauneufs to arrive
  
• the Classic Club (two wines per month) features a choice of Unger Gruner Veltliner, Pampelonne Rosé, a Willamette Pinot from Owen Roe, and a super Santa Ynez Syrah from  Holus-Bolus
• the High End Red Club features wines from Sanguis, full blown Grenache or Syrah based wines
• the Italian Club features a Malvasia and a  Santa Maddalena (Schiava/Lagrein blend) from the Alto Adige
  
• the Pinot Noir Club features wines from Foxen
  
• the Spanish Club features a Garnacha Blanca-based white from Terra Alta and  an amazing Ribera del Duero
  

Check out the Wine Club page on the Website for further info, or send us an email if you'd like to join one of our clubs.

• • at least 10% off on all wines in the shop
  • recipes
  • detailed notes on each wine
  • advance notice of and a club discount on our amazing and frequent  Wine Dinners (we target 8-10 per year at top local restaurants like the Bay Wolf, Franklin Square, and the Wood Tavern)
  • free weekly wine tastings
  • our undying love and gratitude
  • Unger Gruner Veltliner
    
  • Pampelonne Rosé
  • Sharecropper's Pinot Noir
  • Holus-Bolus Syrah
  • Chateau Urquel is a semi-hard cheese reminiscent of Tete de Moine but with more flowery and flavorful notes.
  • Heublumen is an organic  Gruyère style cheese, covered in dried hayflowers.  Creamy, flavorful and grassy.
  • Selun is an organic, pungent, washed rind  St Nectaire-type cheese.  Flavorful, but not too stinky.
  • Unterwasser is a true mountain cheese, similar to Appenzeller but slightly firmer, nuttier and sweeter.

Bargain Wine Club The Bargain Wine Club is our latest club, and nearly seventy of you have joined since we launched in January.  The club features a monthly selection of six wines - four red and two white - regularly priced from $9-15 per bottle, hand selected for you for high QPR (quality/price ratio).


Many of the Bargain Club selections are store favorites, over-performing, well-made wines that you may already be buying, others will be new discoveries.  


Like our other clubs, joining the Bargain Wine Club delivers some pretty impressive benefits:

We ask for at least a four month commitment to any of our clubs. Please click here to send us an email asking to join.

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Tastings This Friday in Montclair from 6-8 and Saturday in Alameda from 2-5, we're pouring wines from this month's Classic Club. To whit:
As always, the tastings are $3 per person, per flight, waived if you purchase some wine, or are a member of one of our wine clubs.

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Jazz and Wine Fest Mark your calendars for this Sunday - the 7th Montclair Jazz and Wine Fest.  I'll be manning a booth with Mick Unti, and offering day of fest specials on wines in the shop from Aubin Cellars, Broadside/Broc, Dashe, Esterlina, JC Cellars, Keenan,  Rockwall (Kent Rosenblum's new winery),  Steven Kent/La Rochelle and Unti.

We're selling advance tickets ($5 off day of fest prices of $30 and $50 per couple ) in our Montclair shop.


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Cheese Arrivals - We've received another shipment of fabulous, high end Swiss cheeses

Sine Qua Non -  The Wine Spectator just chimed in on Sine Qua Non's Raven Grenache and Raven Syrah and awarded them 97 and 95 points respectively.   We have a few bottles at each shop.

Parker gave the Syrah  96-99 and the Grenache 96-100, raving: "The 2006 Grenache Raven was aged in 43% new oak, including both small barrels and demi-muids.   Full-bodied and seamlessly constructed, it offers hints of graphite, licorice, smoke, and meat.  ....The 2006 Syrah Raven has aromas of sweet black and blue fruits, forest floor, lead pencil shavings, and spring flowers emerge from this remarkably elegant Syrah. With great fruit intensity, a stunning texture, and an opulent mouthfeel, this is a gentle, gracious, large-scaled wine displaying extraordinary finesse and elegance for its size."

Burrata and Bufala arrive today in the shops.  Tomatoes are now at their peak.  'nuff said. 

Yelp! I know that I've mentioned Yelp! before.  As a business owner, I find it an invaluable source of real-time feedback on what I'm doing at Farmstead.  As a Yelper, I love being able to mouth off about local (and not so local) restaurants,  products, and services.  It's really fun! 

Click to see our reviews:  Alameda Montclair.  I invite you to become members of Yelp! and start Yelping about your favorite places.