Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Wine & Cheese of the Week - Truchard Vineyards & Challerhocker


Truchard Vineyards
Truchard is a great find in the Carneros valley. Tony and Jo Ann Truchard bought 20 acres of land in the 70's. Today they've got over 400 acres in the area and sell grapes to over 20 premium wineries across the valley. They produce 15,000 cases of wine a year under their own label and even make their own olive oil.
Tasting at Truchard is so fun because it's such a small, family-run operation. Jo Ann herself hosted our tasting and toured us through the vineyards. Best of all, wines are great and very reasonably priced. Here's what we tasted:
2011 Roussanne (really good, dry white) - $25
2009 Pinot Noir (fantastic!) - $35
2008 Merlot - $30
2008 Tempranillo - $28
2009 Zinfandel (cooler weather zin. really good, not as heavy as a regular zin.) - $25

Challerhocker


Did a little cheese tasting at Oxbow the other night and one of our favorites was the Challerhocker from Switzerland. The fine people at Oxbow describe it as being dense and creamy and tasting of melted leeks, brown butter and sweet cream.