Corkage

Saturday Night: Date Night
The Saturday Night Supper Club takes a week off.

This week, instead of our traditional Saturday Night Supper Club, we decided to drop our munchkin off with Grandma and Grandpa and head out for a date night.  Since we had already had a busy day, we wanted to kick it in the Valley and have a nice chill evening.  So where did we head?  The Boulevard, of course.  Ventura Boulevard, that is.

On a hot evening, nothing sounds better to us than some wine and cheese.  We opted for a simple meal instead of going to a fancy sit down restaurant.  So we headed over to the Artisan Cheese Gallery for a cheese plate.  They have several options you can choose from.  We ended up going with the 3 cheese premium plate for $19.95.  Usually they just ask you what KIND of cheeses you like and pick some for you, but we’ve been going there for a while, and it was quiet, so they let us do some cheese tasting and pick our own cheeses.  We ended up choosing the 3 year old Comte (France), Challerhocker (Switzerland) and the Tome de Bordeaux (France).  

To go with our cheese choices, we picked the Tolosa 2007 Pinot Noir ($14.95 for 1/2 bottle).  It had red fruit and oak on the nose, a light palate with hints of pepper and green herbs and smooth tannins on the finish.  Overall a very nice, light choice that went well with all three cheeses.  How were the cheeses?  Spectacular.  My favorite was the 3 year old Comte.  It had a sharp, tangy flavor that went on and on.  Made from raw cows milk, this cheese has large granulated crystals that add a little crunch to this mildly crumbly cheese.  Overall, a bold, dominating cheese, not for the weak.  

The second cheese, the Challerhocker, had a creamy mouth feel, nutty smooth flavor and just a hint of earthiness.  The earthiness is understandable as the name Challerhocker means “sitting in the cellar.”  This thermalized cows milk cheese is aged for approximately 10 months in a cellar.

Our third cheese choice of the evening, the Tome de Bordeaux, was also the only goat cheese we chose.  This unique cheese is coated in herbs: rosemary, thyme, juniper berries, red tapered cayenne peppers, savory, and black and white peppercorns, to be specific.  This infuses the cheese with a unique flavor, giving each slice off the wheel its own unique personality.

So we snacked on our sliced baguette, cheeses, dried fruit, nuts and membrillo while chatting with everyone there.  It is a nice, relaxed atmosphere in the late afternoon, early evening on a Saturday.  Most people are off getting ready to go clubbing or heading out to dinner.  After we finished, we decided we loved the cheeses enough to pick some up on the way out.  By far the 3 year old Comte was the winner of the big price tags, coming in at a whopping $65 per pound.  We definitely got a SMALL piece of that.  So, $43 later, we walked out with our 3 cheeses.

Our next stop of the evening, and the last that involves food or wine, was Flask Fine Wines, also on Ventura Boulevard.  This is my favorite wine shop in the valley.  They have a great selection, knowledgable staff and a wide range of prices.  When asked, they readily poured us tastings of everything they had open, mostly Cabernet Sauvignons.  My husband was in the mood for French wine that night, and Ray and Christopher were full of great advice.  We ended up choosing 4 wines:  

1. 1999 Chateau de Bellevue, made up primarily of Merlot and Cabernet Franc ($23.99)
2. 2004 Chateau Jander, made up primarily of Cabernet Sauvignon ($25.50)
3. 2000 Chateau Sainte-Colombe, primarily made up of Merlot and Cabernet Franc ($26.50) 
4. 2010 La Grande Cote, a Rose blend made up of Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache grapes ($23.99

Of the four, we have since opened the bottle of Rose.  A nice, dry Rose, it had a pretty nose of fresh spring fruit, green herbs and flowers.  Smooth mouth feel, with a strong floating citrus finish.  This makes me think of a Tuscan sunset and a fresh spring risotto.  Very nice, especially for a warm evening.  Serve chilled. 

A perfect evening down on the Boulevard.  A beautiful day, delicious cheeses and fantastic wine.  What more could a girl ask for on Date Night?