Farmstead Cheeses and Wines: Jeff’s Blog

When we were in Italy in ‘05, Carol and I visited Selvapiana, arguably the best producer in the Chianti Rufina region northeast of Florence.
Chianti Rufinas are a bit more fruit forward and ageable than other Chiantis, and the Selvapiana style is indefinitely more New World in style.
Here, Carol and owner Federico Giunti are [...]

I love Wednesdays - it’s when the newspapers publish their food sections. The best of the bunch is the New York Times’ Dining In/Dining Out section, featuring the always sensible Eric Asimov writing on Wine, Beer and Spirits.
This week’s column, entitled Toehold in Napa:Some Starter Bottles, was a summary of Napa cabs, priced [...]

Brr, baby it’s cold outside. There’s talk of snow in the Oakland Hills and black ice on Skyline Drive. It’s time to hunker down with some mulled wine.
Mulled wine, variations of which are popular around the world, is wine, usually red, combined with spices, served hot. Mulled wine is a traditional drink during winter [...]

We finally got our clearance to start building out the shop last week, and the construction crew has started work on store number two!
There’s a nice trench in the front room, some rough framing installed in the upstairs room, and a lot of noisy hubbub.
I’ll start posting in-progress photos on this site.

Last Summer, we scored a reservation at the famed St John Gastro-pub in London. St. John is famous for it’s old time British fare, what they call nose to tail eating.
According to its chef-owner Fergus Henderson, St, John is where “chefs, foodies, food writers and cooks on sabbatical, traveling [...]

Last March, I went to Spain as the guest of Jorgé Ordoñez Fine Wines from Spain. We visited many wine regions, and many wineries.

One of the highlights of the trio was a dinner at Restaurant Lera in Salamanca, Toro with the Eguren family, makers of Bodegas Numanthia Termanthia.
The restaurant [...]

I’m a big fan of Rarebit - a simple to prepare dish that’s perfect on a cold wintry night. The official name of the dish is Welsh Rarebit, with the second word pronounced as if it were in the hare family.
Dating from the 18th century, Rarebit is a sauce made from a mixture of [...]

Winter is when I salivate over melted cheese dishes. Elsewhere on this blog there are recipes for Fondue, Raclette, and Rarebit.
Well, the Swiss don’t have a lock on communal melted cheese meals. Just across the border - in the foothills of the Italian alps - lie Piedmont and [...]