Greetings from New London,
Thames River Wine & Spirits - 860-443-9463 - 84 Bank Street
Thames River Greenery - 860-443-6817 - 70 State Street
Brie & Bleu - 860-437-2474 - 84 Bank Street
Now Open: Import - 60 State Street
It is a short week so we will keep it brief -
We have a BlockBuster on the list this week and a near perfect line up for Friday night -
• Formaggio Kitchen - If you missed it the first time -
has just confirmed their return on October 24th for the second installment of their series of matching cheese and wine!
Formaggio Kitchen has been an institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts for over 20 years – a gourmand’s paradise doubling as a neighborhood grocer. We convinced them to offer an evening of their wildly successful cheese and wine classes - right here at Brie & Bleu.
Leslie Mann returns to lead the evening and introduce us to amazing wine and cheese parings - and at the same time explain why it all works.
Leslie Mann: "This installment will feature "Autum Cheeses" - As the leaves turn and the air chills, our appetite for Fall's bounty awakens...hungry? Butternut squash and sage-scented roasts will satisfy, but nothing signifies Fall quite as well as a fresh-picked apple with a hunk of nutty cheddar cheese. Yet Autumn is an exicitng time for many other types of cheese as well. Join us Tuesday, October 24 to explore not just cheddars, but a whole range of cheeses that celebrate Fall. From French Cantal to local New England goat's milk cheese, we'll tour through Autumn in a range of taste, textures, and tradition."
This evening will be a lot of fun and will fill quickly - tell your favorite cheesehead and reserve now.
Eight artisan cheeses paired four with different wines will be served.
Seating is limited. Cost is $35 - 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Please reserve early - 860-443-9463
• There are only Two or Three sets left of the Special Dominus Gift Selection.
Dominus - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - All rated 95+
Beautiful Wooden Box - we will store it in our cellar until holiday pick up -
This hard to find "vertical" is the ultimate gift for the wine lover in your family - a special gift that will not be forgotten.
860-443-9463 - First come, first served.
• Oktoberfest Beer Dinner - October 19th - 6 p.m.
If you love Beer, and Food - and if the idea of seeing our own Kristin Webers singing Bavarian Drinking Songs sounds interesting to you -
Don't wait to reserve your seats for this night. Check out the menu and more information here: http://thamesriver.com/wine/calendar.html
Or Call to reserve - 860-443-9463 - limited seating.
• New London Fall Food Stroll - October 18th. For more information or to register please contact:
http://newlondonmainstreet.org/events/fallfoodstroll06.php
This Week At Brie & Bleu - the featured cheese this week is Delice.
Our Cheese Monger Colleen - has this to say:
Délice de Bourgogne is $10/lb this week at Brie & Blue.
A little history: this decadent triple-cream cheese was the creation of the celebrated 18th Century gastronome, Brillat Savarin.
He married full-fat cow’s milk to fresh cream, creating incredibly rich, full-flavored cheese with a smooth, melt-in-the-mouth texture.
The remarkably pungent (somewhat moldy) aroma of Delice de Bourgogne belies the velvet-smooth texture and subtle taste of this cheese.
Similar to the classic Brie both in appearance and texture, this sumptuous cheese delivers an extra triple-cream punch to the palate.
Its outside is yellowish-white in color, with a soft, chalk-like dusty rind.
The smell can be overpowering at first, but adds a playful contrast to the sweet and creamy interior. The first layer is soft and smooth and stark white in color, but as you approach the center, Delice’s texture becomes thicker and more consistent, comparable to that of cream cheese. The natural blending of the intensely flavored exterior and that of the more subtle and soft interior makes Délice an unusually delicate cheese. This stellar product makes an elegant and classic addition to a cheese board.
It is easy to spread into bite-size toast for a provocatively simple appetizer, and is also sublime when paired with fruit as a dessert cheese plate. Spread on fresh bread, it transforms a simple snack into an opulent feast. For a most memorable Delice experience, procure the freshest French baguette, slice and toast. Spread some Delice and feast on this fantastically simple treat before another hectic day commences. Pair with a slightly acidic Riesling such as Alsace Reislihg purchased at Thames River Wine and Spirits for an additional 10% off the cheese.
Cheers,
Colleen
WINE TASING PLEASE JOIN US
Friday October 13 - 6-9 p.m. - No Charge
1 - Domaine La croix Belle " Le Champ des Lys" $14 www.croix-belle.com
Pale yellow in color with green highlights. Intense, complex nose of white fruits (peach and apricot) mingled with floral aromas. Full and luscious in the mouth. A festive wine that is an excellent with grilled fish and fish in sauce (monkfish, salmon), scallops or white meat.
Why not try with goats cheese.
2 - Ermitage du pic st Loup Coteaux du Languedoc $14 - a Kermit Lynch joint
Du Pic St-Loup is a small, but very high quality "cru" of the Languedoc, with vineyards planted mostly to Syrah, with Mourvèdre and Grenache too. The vineyards are cool and elevated. This micro-climate gives these wines more elegance than many from the area. The nose here is very seductive, with coffee-bean and briar adding warming depth to raspberry and cherry fruit, and little violet and herbs. It is silky and quite rich, with plenty of black fruit and more of that zippy raspberry on the tongue. Fine tannins make an impression on the finish in this balanced wine of really good length. Ready to Drink now or cellar for a few years. Kermit Lynch wines are something that can be counted on - we are very pleased to offer them to you.
3 - Tenuta Montebello "Per Marco" Barbera del Monferrato $18
This wine was discovered almost by accident on one of the many buying trips that our friend & importer, Mark, makes to Italy. He stopped at a tiny farm - at the suggestion of a local produce vendor that he met in a market in a nearby town.
He asked to try the wine and was seated at a rough wooden table in the farmers kitchen. The farmer was not accustomed to visitors asking to try his wine and like all gracious Italians produced plates of food, baskets of bread and finally bottles of wine. Mark was dumbstruck - "it was like finding a sack with magic beans" - I had to have this wine.
In his broken Italian Mark kept saying to the farmer - "For me, for Mark".
"Sî per Marco" - replied the farmer - and that is how this wine got its name. "Per Marco".
4 - Joseph Phelps "Insignia" $145 - (rated 91 points Robert Parker)
With the release of the 1974 Insignia, Joseph Phelps Vineyards became the first California winery to produce a blend of traditional Bordeaux varietals under a proprietary name. Thirty vintages later, Insignia has remained one of Napa Valley’s most highly acclaimed and sought-after wines. Originally sourced from the best available grower fruit, since the 1990 vintage Insignia has been produced primarily from estate-owned vineyards in the Stag’s Leap District and Rutherford Bench – two of the most desirable sources for Cabernet Sauvignon in the world.
VERY LIMITED - This wine is layered with aromas of blackberries, black cherries, anise, dark chocolate and coffee. The aromas and flavors are framed by mouth-coating tannins and followed by an extremely long finish.
It takes BIG Kah-Ho-Kneees - to ask this much for a bottle of wine. BUT - this is wine that deserves real attention - We have it in stock - a tremendous gift for the wine lover in your life - please give it a try - First Come, First Served.
Thanks to everyone for sending us your ideas and suggestions. We love to hear from you.
Keep an eye on the calendar of events page for new menus and events.
And as always - thanks for your support, we all appreciate it.
Please say hello when you visit the stores.
Please join us - It is fun, informal and a great way to start the weekend.
AAA
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment