Farmstead Cheeses and Wines: Jeff’s Blog

We left the hotel for the short drive south to Meursault to taste the wines of Xavier Monnot. Monnot’s family has been in the wine trade since the 1700s, and has been making wine at the estate for three generations. Xavier owns 40 acres of vines mostly in Meursualt, with some property in Monthelie, Beaune, [...]

Carol and I were invited to learn about blending wine at the fabulous Handley Cellars. We visited vineyards, blended wine, and ate a fabulous meal. Afterwards, we visited The Apple Farm. For a slideshow of more photos, please click here

Dinner with Raul Perez was optional. Why some of us didn’t jump at the opportunity to get some face time with a groundbreaking, singular visionary winery is beyond me, but needless to say I jumped at the chance. Raul’s red wines are confounding – sometimes they are massive, chewy, dense and aromatic; other times they [...]

Well, the big day was finally here – I was leaving for Spain for a ten day wine tasting trip, courtesy of Olé Imports, Angeles Wines and my pal Andy Booth! I woke early and Mrs. Cheesemonger dropped me at BART for the 1-hour trip to SFO. What a convenient way to get to the [...]

We were featured in an article in SFExaminer.com on taking a vacation without leaving home. Say cheese! How to feed the travel bug in recession times, Wanda Henning Visit exotic places. Enjoy foreign tastes. Learn about the bounty of the world. The fabulous thing about being a culinary traveler in the 21st century is that, [...]

Sometimes I feel like the luckiest guy on the planet! I was invited to have dinner with another of my wine heroes the other day – Jorgé Ordoñez – arguably one of the wine world’s movers and shakers, at one of my favorite restaurants on the planet – Piperade, Gerald Hirigoyen’s amazing Basque-inspired eatery in [...]

Every year Fran Kysela, the mind behind Kysela Père et Fils, throws two huge tastings of his entire portfolio in his Winchester VA warehouse. He calls the tasting Mondovino, after the documentary I guess, but unlike that amateurish film, Mondovino is a fun, educational and eye-popping afternoon of over 200 well made wines. I carry [...]

I went to a food show today at a large hotel put on by an even larger food broker. Generally, these affairs are set up for big boxes and chain grocers to visit with the commodity specialty food providers they deal with – to plan for their holiday orders. Big numbers are bandied about, lotsa [...]

Today, we visit the wineries of Charles Back. Charles is arguably the Robert Mondavi of South Africa, producing great wines in a user friendly, marketing-centric environment. He’s the mind behind Fairview, Goats do Roam and Spice Route wineries, and the head of a bustling food and wine empire, producing 25 different varieties of cheese, and [...]

South Africa – Day Two We packed into our bus – with trusty Mario at the wheel- to go visit Walker Bay, a beautiful spot on the coast, and the home of Hamilton Russell, maker of South Africa’s most elegant Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. We took a non-direct route to Walker Bay, over the ridge [...]