New Year's Eve Pairing and Hours

Special New Year's Eve Hours:

Broadway and Lake St. locations are open until 7pm. The French Market will be closing at 6pm. All three locations will be closed on New Year's Day.

This coming Saturday, January 2nd the French Market will be closing at 4pm and our stores on Lake St. and Broadway will be open regular business hours (11am-6pm and 11am-7pm respectively).

The new school term is upon us. A new term of classes start this January and are available online. Due to time constraints our classes are only held at our free-standing stores at Broadway and Lake St.

And now for the pairing. This week we went with something bubbly. A delicious non-vintage Brut from Domaine Saint-Vincent in Albuquerque, NM.

Domaine Saint-Vincent is a sparkling wine produced by the Gruet family. They produce more than one million bottle of French Champagne every year, and the Domaine Saint-Vincent it a second brand of theirs. Made using the Champenoise method where the second fermentation isn't pumped into the wine, but instead happens in the bottle. This wine is dry with a fruity and nutty aroma and a slight earthy undertones.

While you could pair the DSV with a variety of soft, creamy cheeses (St. Marcellin, St. Felicien, Nancy's Camembert to name a few) Delice du Jura is our selection this week. If you are familiar with Reblochon de Savoie you are going to love this cheese. This pasteurized little cousin from the Haute-Jura region of France has a mild buttery flavor with hints of mushrooms and pasture. A definite crowd pleasing cheese!

From Ken, Greg, Jan, Cesar and all of the other hard-working, fun-loving, cheese-adoring, wine-"sampling", bread-baking, meat-slicing, sandwich-making, behind the counter dancing, cookie "quality control" staff we'd like to wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Christmas Pairing and hours

Please note that all three of our locations will be closing at 6pm on Christmas Eve, and will be closed on Christmas Day. Give us 24 hours and we'll take care of any of your last-minute catering or gift basket needs for local pick-up only (delivery schedule is completely booked).

Our pairing this week is a new working on a classic. Stichelton and Port (no picture available)

Stichelton is a blue cheese hand-selected for us by the folks at Neal's Yard Dairy in London. Only available at a select few cheese shops in the world, this is a raw milk cheese very similar to the classic English Stilton, but a fantastic cheese in it's own right. 100% handmade, this cheese has a full flavor with a succulent buttery texture. Delicious on it's own, or of course with the classic Stilton choice, Port.

Graham's Six Grapes Reserve Port has a seductive, rich aroma of ripe plums, cherries and dark chocolate with a long, lingering finish. Six Grapes is one of Graham's original Port blends. It is a very full-bodied, luscious wine drawn from the same vineyards as Graham's Vintage Ports. Blended from two or three years' harvests, the wine is an average of five to six years old when it is lightly filtered and bottled.

Delicious combination just in time for the holiday season!

Weekend Pairing

For this pairing we're going Old World. First to France for the Champy Cote du Beaune Village Burgundy. An earthy wine with medium to soft tannins and a long complex finish. A wine that changes throughout the bottle, getting more complex and reveling new complexities as you enjoy.

Then let's take a trip to Spain for the cheese. Leonora is a young goat's milk cheese. Aged for at least three months this cheese has a distinct lemon zestiness to it with a slight earthy mushroom quality. If you like Bucheron this cheese is right up your alley.

Still looking for a last minute gift? We have a great selection of gifts that are just ready to go. Come in, pick up a gift starting at under $25 and get on with your day. We can help you take the stress out of your holiday shopping. gift certificates in any denomination, gift baskets (we respectfully request 24 hrs. notice for gift baskets), cheese, wine, charcuterie, books or classes, we've got just the right thing for the foodie in your life.