Weekly Pairing and Holiday News

The Chicago Loop Alliance, in partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository has come up with a "Winter Wonderloop" project. Please help us help others this holiday season with your donation of any non-perishable foods.

This Saturday we will be offering another free tasting at our Broadway location from 3pm-6pm. Stop by for a taste of some delicious wines and beer and get your holiday libations in advance!

We are also offering specialty breads from Bennison's for your holiday festivities. This year we have the always popular Cranberry Pecan bread and a new addition to the roster, Apple Cider bread. Call either store to pre-order your loaves.

This week for our pairing we're going French. The cheese this week is Abondance de Savoie. Named for the breed of cattle whose milk is used to make the cheese, this cheese dates back to the late 1800's. Sweet and nutty with a slight grassiness, this cheese has a rich and complex flavor that is sure to please the Alpine cheese lover.

For wine Jan suggest the 2005 Domaine Brusset "Chabrille" from Cairrane, France. This small production wine comes from a single village. This wine has a long finish with a lot of bacon, loam and cedar in the nose. This wine is full of old-world funk and glory.

Weekend Pairing 5/1/09

May is "Eat Local" month here at Pastoral. We are kicking it off with a local pairing. Pleasant Ridge Reserve is a raw cow's milk cheese from Uplands Cheese co. in Wisconsin. This cheese is the result of hard work and a quest for perfection from the makers.

Pleasant Ridge Reserve is made in tune with mother nature. When the fields are lush and green and the cows are grazing, only then is their milk turned into cheese. Does it make a difference? Of course! Terroir is important in cheesemaking as it is in wine. Pleasant Ridge Reserve has won numerous awards and after sampling this nutty, creamy, grassy, green Alpine styled cheese we think you'll be ready to give it an award of your own.

Our suggestion for wine is the Highland Red from August Hill Winery right here in Illinois. This red is made from fromtenac grapes. It has some fruity notes of cherries and dark berries with just a bit of pepper. It drinks like a light bodied pinot noir, and is delicious! Come in for a sample, leave with a bottle of your own!

Don't forget that tomorrow is the first Saturday of the month and that means it's time for a free wine tasting at our downtown store. Come and join us from 6:30pm-8:30pm as we pour samples of local and delectable products. Our store in the Loop is located at 53 E. Lake St. right between Wabash and N. Michigan. Hope to see you there!

-Agela

Saturday ( free) Wine Tasting!

Come and join us this coming Saturday, March 7th from 6:30pm-8:30pm for our first free tasting of the New Year! This month we are focusing on Wines and Spirits along with Irish Cheeses for your St. Patrick's Day celebrations! Bring a friend, come in and taste what our wine expert Jan recommends to help make your gathering truly special!

Mark it on your calendar, the first Saturday of every month is a free tasting day at Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine's Loop location. Every month our wine guru Jan comes up with a new theme. In the past we have done "Wines under $20", "Wines from Long Island", and "Dessert Wines". The tastings are always free, and always open to the public.

-Agela