A most memorable and delightful evening took place on Thursday 6th March at Gastronomy Deli and Cafe in Hale Village, Cheshire. A warm welcome from Peter, Rebecca, Annabel and the charming and knowledgeable staff put all members at ease. This was going to be an evening that we would all remember as the delivery was rather unique, a great learning curve for members, with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere and copious amounts of wine to savour and enjoy.
Ronnie Costello and Chris Redman planned the event with Gastronomy and these two committee members are known for their finesse and fine detail that always shines through.
We started the evening with a glass of Pol Roger Champagne and our first canapé was aptly named Drunken Burt Cheese, served on toasted brioche, with a semi dried grape. The Pol Roger Champagne was a good choice to accompany this tasty mouthful complementing the toasty flavour of the brioche and contrast with the creaminess of the cheese. It was a special cheese semi-soft, produced from cows milk, matured and rind washed in Hereford cider, made down the road by the award winning Claire Burt.
The second canapé was Feta cheese served in a delicate pastry case, the Chef excelled in the preparation of unique flavours and attention to detail with such simple ingredients - broad beans, mint and lemon. We drank Attitude Sauvignon Blanc from one of the Loire's young and dynamic producers Pascal Jolivet, herbaceous, beautifully defined, the match was made in heaven! Interestingly enough his philosophy to wine making is "let nature take its course"
The next canapé was H S Bourne's Mature Cheshire with roast baby beetroot and purple radish.The cheese is rather unique, produced on a farm in nearby Malpas and is made in small batches from cows milk from his own herd. The Casa Silva Viognier wine arrived with great credentials. The Casa Silva winery was the 2013 winner of the Chilean Winery of the Year award. This wine, stored for a short time in French oak, drank well with the earthiness of the beetroot and the slight acidity of the Cheshire cheese.
The only red wine of the tasting was a delicious French Syrah chosen by Rebecca, in her opinion, it is the easiest red grape to match with cheese. Jean Luc Colombo is a devotee of the syrah grape. The wine is produced in the Rhone valley and is a well structured, juicy, fruity wine with relatively rounded tannins, making it a good match for cheese. It certainly worked with with the Pyrenean cheese, Ossau Iralty, a tasty sheep's milk cheese, accompanied with a Cornish Bresaola, green fig jam and fig.
The final cheese was Scottish Dunsyre Blue. A creamy soft blue, served with poached pears, walnuts and Cheshire honey. A classical touch was added with a sweet French wine, Pacherenc du Vin Bilh, Saint Albert, produced in Gascony, South West France. The unique position of the vineyard in the path of the warm dry winds from the Pyrenees allows the grapes to remain on the vines until early December. This produces the sweetness without the action of noble rot so it is subtle with a honey and tropical fruit sweetness, not cloying in any way.
Supper followed:
Fish pie with the best of the catch from Fleetwood cooked in a creamy sauce topped with mashed potatoes with lashings of cream, butter and a hint of nutmeg, peas and homemade tomato sauce.
Tanguero unoaked Chardonnay 2012 and Ederra Rioja 2010 were offered to members to do their own evaluation.
A wonderful end to the evening was old-fashioned Lemon Posset topped with homemade organic lemon curd served in antique demi-tasse cups.
A jolly relaxed evening enjoyed by all.
Patrick Trodden