Catavino Bloggers Meet-Up - Cheese List
An evening of merriment and good humour was organised by Catavino and Eats Like A Girl. Around 40 wine and food bloggers struggled from Excel in docklands (where the London International Wine Fair is currently taking place) to The Westbridge. A veritable wine-lake of eclectic offerings was swilled, swirled and mostly not spat, accompanied by my selection of cheeses, as below:
HARD
Tête de Moines Swiss alpine, rich and sweet from the Bernese Jura. Served on the Girole (above - the only cheese I know which has its own slicer, specific to it).Tomette Agour Brebis du Pays delicate hard sheep from the Pays Basque
CREAM
Camembert Artisan Gillot Noir AOC raw, strong Camembert from Normandy
Brillat-Savarin triple-crème Brie from Normandy
STINKING
Livarot Graindorge a soft, pungent, washed rind cheese from NormandyBanon Tradition wrapped in Chestnut Leaves, goat's cheese from Provence (the bounders from Cheese Cellar failed to deliver this so was replaced at the last moment by a large quantity of organic Parmesan)
GOAT
Cloche Artisan Chevrechard piquant Touraine Goat
Rosary Ash Log light, fresh and our only British entry
The tasting was interspersed with shots of weird and wonderful teas from Henrietta Lovell (Rare Tea Lady). Perhaps she will comment on this and let us know what they were and their specific palate cleansing properties.
I will let others list the wines and comment on them.
Charlie,
ReplyDeletelovely evening. Thank you.
The teas I served (next time I demand a trolley) were:
my Whole Leaf Green Tea which is hand-fired over a wok to capture the soft vegetal notes of the undamaged leaf with a clean, bright finish. I was most gratified by the number of people who had previously not been keen on green tea but changed their mind on their first taste of the good stuff. This particular tea works brilliantly as a palate cleanser for white wines. I thought it went particularly well with the Riesling.
The second tea was my oolong. A glorious epicurean tea which lies artfully between a green and black tea. It is only partly oxidised by a great master to reveal myriad flavours. It has a really floral nose, soft apricots and a dry, flinty finish. This can compliment any wine but has the strength of character to stand beside the boldest red.
I'll be doing tea and wine tastings in the wine tent at Taste of London- please do come.
Charlie - am salivating just reading about those cheeses. shall we go and eat some good cheese somewhere at some point? La Fromagerie? Or I could bring a couple of personal favourites over to the Westbridge one night? Match them with some thirds?
ReplyDeleteGreat idea...have you ever seen the "Girole" which slices the Tete de Moine? A truly princely gadget.
ReplyDeleteYes - i definitely want to try that one out. I can imagine whiskered butlers in Zurich being quite handy with such a contraption!
ReplyDeleteJust let me know a date that works...