An occasional blog from and about Farmstead Cheeses and Wines, Alameda and Montlcair California’s choice for fine wines and artisan cheeses. Peppered with comments, Jeff’s musings and articles in local publications, as well as photos from Jeff and Carol’s travels in search of the best food and wine, the Farmstead Blog is a fun way to keep in touch with the store.
Last night we went to a Mendoza restaurant for beef (called bife -bee fay - in local parlance), and when I say beef, I mean beef. Grass fed hunks of meat literally the size of a brick! Most of us were only able to eat a small portion of these very tasty megamorsels, [...]
We woke up and piled into the vans for a trip out to Chakana Winery a beautiful modern facility set in the Agrelo sub appellation.
Chakana makes the Maipe and Cueva brands with and for Fran - well priced wines priced from $12-16/ bottle. Produced in the Luján de Cuyo subregion of [...]
Like any proud parent, we take a lot of pictures of our children.
Here’s the latest addition to the Farmstead family
We visited Penguins at Boulders Beach on my South African Vineyard Brands Wine trip. While traipsing through the parking lot, I spied this sign.
These are truly words to live by, so inspiring and moving. Too bad they didn’t cite the author! Could it have been Nelson Mandela, the father of [...]
Today was a “non-wine” day, with the exception of a dinner with the folks for MAN Vintners, we were done with our wine duties. for the trip.
We left at 9:00 a.m. for our two hour trip to the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost point on the African continent, and the supposed meeting point of [...]
Today, we visit the wineries of Charles Back.
Charles is arguably the CRobert 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 [...]
Today, we were supposed to go to Table Mountain to see the views and unique plant species that live there, but the weather was bad, so we tried plan B, a walking tour of Capetown, followed by a traditional Cape Malay lunch at a restaurant on the top of Signal Hill.
Capetown architecture is [...]
Boo hoo, it’s raining!
Tuesday was a busy day, three wineries - a trip through Stellenbosch and then to Boekenshoutscloof (easy for you to say, Cheesemonger!!) in Franschoek.
First stop, Man Vintners, a partnership between Fairview, Stark-Condé and a large cooperative, that produces quality wines at a very attractive price point. Our host for most [...]
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 [...]
The journey to South Africa took 30 hours - I left SFO on Friday morning at 7:00 a.m. and I arrived, shagged, dragged and bagless, in Capetown, Saturday night at 11:00 p.m.
I’d never flown for so long a time before. Believe me, it wasn’t fun. Compression socks, Ambien, and lack of [...]
copyright © 2008 farmstead cheeses & wines
powered by Wordpress
design by atomtan/electronovelty
