The Importance of Having Good Chocolate

This week we're pulling from three of the most important food groups, chocolate, cheese and wine.

The chocolate comes to us from Antica Dolceria Bonajuto in Sicily, Italy. Founded in 1880 by Francesco Bonajuto, Antica Dolceria, has been recognized world-wide for it's chocolate production.

The chocolate begins with a mass of semi-ground cocoa that still contains its cocoa butter. The mass is heated to make it fluid, and when ready it is mixed with caster sugar and spices (either cinnamon or vanilla). The mixture is kept at a temperature that prevents the sugar crystals from melting and allows them to remain an integral part of the chocolate.

This chocolate is pure, without the addition of butter, vegetable fats, milk derivatives or lecithin, just sugar and spices. We are sampling the vanilla bars at the stores, but if you're looking for a deeper spice and slightly more savory characteristics I suggest pairing with the cinnamon bar.

Humbolt Fog comes to us from Cypress Grove in California. Cheesemaker Mary Keehn is one of the leading ladies that put a spotlight on goat cheese in the American dairy scene and introduced high quality goat cheese to the American palate. She began raising Alpine goats in the 1970's and quickly discovered that she had a natural talent for breeding goats. Her herd began winning numerous awards and before she knew it, Mary was recognized as America's premier Alpine dairy goat breeder.

Like many farmers she soon was faced with a surplus of milk and so turned to cheesemaking. Eeventually Mary made the decision to sell her goats and instead to focus on the artisan production of cheese. Cypress Grove supports the agricultural community in Humboldt county and buys milk from people who practice sustainable farming.

Humbolt Fog is an elegant, soft goat cheese. The texture is creamy and luscious with a subtle tangy flavor. Each handcrafted wheel features a ribbon of edible vegetable ash running through its center and a coating of ash under it's white exterior.

The wine is Jorge Ordonez Malaga Special Selection Muscat. Muscat is a phenomenal grape that yields some of the most wonderful sweet dessert wines and dry whites as well. It is a variety that is grown around the world with great success.

Special Selection comes from thirty year old vineyards in the mountains of Axarquia in the south of Spain. Fermentation is carried out completely in stainless steel tanks and, as is characteristic of this type of wine, the alcohol comes exclusively from grape fermentation.

Pale gold in color with intense fresh notes of orange and exotic spices, floral and musk this sweet wine is powerful on the palate, embracing and warm with just a punch of minerality.

The sweetness of the wine, slight acidity and tang of the goat cheese and the rich spice of the chocolate all come together to make a well-balanced, delicious, party of happiness in your mouth!

Belgium+Wales=Yummy in Your Tummy

Have you met Xian yet? In addition to his duties as Assistant Manager of our Broadway location over the past few months he has taken our small beer program and turned it around 180 degrees. Interesting craft beers both domestic and international have been popping up on our shelves lately and it's all due to our beer-passionate Xian. After you try this particular pairing you may want to take a special trip up to Lakeview and thank him in person for bringing in such awesome bubbles.

This week we're featuring McChouffe, a beautiful, special Belgian dark ale . It started when two Belgian brother-in-laws started homebrewing in the 70's and eventually turned their hobby into a business by opening up a brewery in the 80's. Their beers quickly attained a cult following, which resulted in their joining up with Duvel for importing and marketing purposes.

This beer has rich notes of caramelized sugar, a little bit of bubble gum, and some dried figs which are common in Belgian darks due to the roasted malt and proprietary yeasts. The McChouffe is uniquely refreshing which makes it a perfect full-flavored beer for the summer. Super smooth going down with a swift hit of hops to sweep away any cloying remnants.

Our cheese this week is exclusive to us in Illinois thanks to the fabulous team at Neals Yard Dairy.

Hafod has only been in production since 2007. This Welsh Cheddar from is made by cheesemakers Sam and Rachel Holden. While the cheese is a new venture, the farm that they work on belonged to Sams' father and is the oldest registered organic farm in Wales. Using a modified recipe for the cheese Linconshire Poacher and with a herd of Ayrshire cows in the fields, this cheese has a bit of a Swiss quality that compliments it's Cheddar aspects.

Hafod is a raw cows milk cheese with a smooth close knit texture and a golden color. The predominant flavors are buttery, rich and nutty with a slight tang at the finish. Together the beer and cheese are magnificent with the the brown sugar notes in the beer balancing the salt, tang and fattiness found in Hafod.

Send all hugs and complimentary emails to Xian and Cesar for such a great pairing.

Virginia Meets France

Using the Taleggio-styled Grayson with the Rhone berry nuanced Plume Bleue is a pairing that will take your taste buds on a fantastic journey through both the Old and New Worlds.

Washed-rind, seasonally-made and ACS award-winning Grayson from Meadow Creek Dairy is one of our staff and customer favorite cheeses.

Meadow Creek Diary is a family farm in the mountains of southwest Virginia. At an elevation of 2800ft. the combination of pure water, clean air and deep soils produce an ideal environment for growing diverse, mineral-rich pastures.

Since 1980 the Feete family has focused on farming and working closely with their herd of Jersey cows, giving them the best care, and developing a herd that is best adapted to their farm. By practicing sustainable farming and treating their cows naturally, they produce milk of the highest quality which in turn translates to healthy, full-flavored, ecologically friendly cheese.

We'd like to welcome Jill Pienta as our new wine buyer replacing Jamie Kluz who is moving on to work at the Penninsula hotel here in Chicago.

Jills' suggestion for this week is the 2007 Laurence Feraud Selection's Plume Bleue.

Plume Bleue is a negociant wine (grapes are sourced from outside the estate) created by Laurence Feraud of Daomaine du Pegau, a very reputable estate in Chateauneuf du Pape. Laurence Feraud is one of France's young progressive winemakers. wine making is a family affair with her father helping with the wine-making process and her mother manning the administrative end. Laurence uses the family estate to created traditional Rhone style wines in addition to experimenting with negociant labels to work around AOC rules.

Wanting to create a Vin de Pays d'Oc, Laurence sought out top quality fruit from the surrounding Rhone area to create this 50/50 blend ofGrenache and Syrah. This charming wine offers vibrant red fruit character with hints of pepper and toasted herb. Medium-bodied with subtle tannins, this wine is perfect with grilled meats, charcuterie and of course washed-rind cheeses.

-Cesar & Jill