September 23rd, 2007: English Cheeses and Tea
August 19th, 2007: Celebration of Local Foods
First Course with young Bardolino! 
The local almost everything line-up for this week included:
1.heirloom tomatoes with Sylvetta wild arugula, Carolyn Hillman's Fresh Chevre and Bayley Hazen Blue from Jasper Hill Farm
2. Dueling heirloom zucchini with ...
3. Fresh corn, wax pepper & sweet onion salad with Cabot Cloth-Bound Cheddar, made at Cabot Creamery and aged at Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont
4. Wild Maine blueberries drizzled with Julie's cousin's maple syrup from Vermont.
All served with Allagash beer from Maine and a splash of Berger Gruner Veltliner and Corte Marzago Bardolino to wash it all down.
A big thank you to Matt for braving the big city for the second time in one week and joining us to talk about his farm and his veggies. All produce used for this class was from Sparrow Arc Farm in Troy, Maine.
This was one of our favorite and most delicious classes yet- thanks to all who attended for a lively and interesting discussion.
July 29th, 2007: Germany & Austria
For this class we paired the wines and cheeses in a more fluid way, the first pairing blending into the next and so on...
~Bavarian Rye Bread ~ Styrian Pumpkinseed Oil ~
Salomon Gruner Veltliner 'Hochterassen 2006 (Kremstal Gruner Veltliner) with Blauweisser(cow's milk cheese from the Allgau, Germany)
Pinkus Mueller Organic Hefeweizen (Munster, Germany)
Brundlemeyer Riesling Kamptaler Terrassen 2005 (Riesling from the Austrian Kamptal) with Sibratsgfall Tilsiter (cow's milk from Austria)
Willi Schaefer Riesling Q.B.A. 2004(Riesling from the Mosel, Germany) with Bachensteiner (cow's milk from Austria)
Schenferla Helles Lagerbier (Bamberg, Germany)
Josef Leitz 'Dragonstone' Riesling 2005 (Riesling from the Rheingau, Germany) with Weisslacker (cow's milk from Germany)
Darting Scheurebe Spatlese 2002 (the Pfalz, Germany)
Edel & Gut Tiroler Dark Chocolate w/ Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese
March 25th, 2007 - Italy from Top To Bottom, B.Q.S.C. #2 Even Better!
As we are, alas, plagued by trips to Italy, the Bueno Queso members have not had a chance yet to chronicle our latest event. At the very least, we can put up a few photos to offer a hint of what took place, and what wild pairings we experienced. 
Delicious Morellino di Scansano made be the Valle Brothers of Trevalle. A lovely, friendly pairing with smooth, creamy Taleggio Latte Crudo...
An intense pairing....maybe a bit *too* intense. Luiano Chianti Classico Riserva from 1999 and Formaggio di Fossa. Wow!CrAzy-nesS!!!We asked everyone to leave a bit of the previous Sangiovese-based wine in their glass for an interesting comparison. Two wines from Tuscany, made from the same grape, but from different vintages and different towns, and made in different styles.
Things get even crazier with Copertino Riserva 2001 (Mostly Negroamaro) and the biggest, baddest provolone of them all- Provolone Mandarone. This pairing was delicious!!!
Rizzi Barbaresco- one of our bonus wines! We tasted this smooth Nebbiolo with Toasted Roman Hazelnuts and with a few of the previous cheeses. Mmmmmm.....
We really surprised ourselves with this tasting. We couldn't taste this one ahead of time because we only had one bottle of this wine, but our suspicions were confirmed when the rich chocolate from African beans melded perfectly with the concentrated, oaky new world barbera. Muy loco and muy delicious. I don't even usually like this type of wine but this was a match made in heaven!
February, 25th, 2007 - First Bueno Queso Event, Flavors of the Rolled Alpine Hills, Deemed A Success!
Thank you to the brave folks who ventured out to our first official tasting held at the Middlesex Lounge. We adore this venue for our classes! Lots of space, nice plates, cheese boards and wine glasses. Big tables and cushy seats. Not to mention the giant projector screen where we looped out favorite movie Andeer, where the cows prance around the town to the perky yodeling tunes.
Lurking in the background there is Jason of the Middlesex Lounge, the man who made our use of this beautiful space possible. I tried to take a nice picture of Jason for you but it came out all blurry. Next time, hopefully.
What follows are the cheese and wine pairings and general thoughts on each product, and on the combinations of the wine and the cheeses. We'll slowly fill in these notes as time permits over the next week or so...
1. Bergkase Senne Flade
milk: raw cow age: two months home: Toggenburg, Switzerland
paired with
Domaine de Beudon Fendant A.O.C. Valais
grape: Fendant aka. Chasselas vintage: 2001 home: the Valais, Switzerland bonus: BIODYNAMIC
This was a wild and unusual beginning to our tasting. The Senne Flade's rind is very strong, partially because of shipping at such a young age. But inside so unctous and smooth, rich creaminess.
A fascinating and unusual wine, this Fendant is biodynamically produced way up in the mountains of Switzerland, the vineyards being acessable only by cable car. Hence the phrase on the label, "les vignes dans le ciel". The darling couple who make it are, according to Julien Guillot, a go-to for young biodynamic winemakers trying to learn as much as they can. Considering that only 2% of Swiss wine ever leaves the country, and that this producer is not big by any standards, its pretty incredible that any of this wine makes it here at all. I feel as though the brilliant sun and the extremely high windy hills are apparent in the taste of this wine. UNFLITERED to retain every last drip of flavor, i think this is a great introduction the the potential of Swiss wines. This is truly a 'living' wine that changes and transforms in your glass as it warms, and as you pair different cheeses with it to bring out specific flavor nuances. Visit their website especially if you happen to speak French or German!
2. Bunder Bergkase Andeer
milk: raw cow age: 8 months home: Graubunden, Switzerland
paired with
Nikolaihof Gruner Veltliner Federspiel
grape: gruner veltliner vintage: home: the Wachau, Austria bonus: BIODYNAMIC
Honestly, Andeer is one of my favorite cheeses. tbc.....
Nikolaihof are intensely biodynamic. One trip to their website will reveal how dedicated they are to not only making their wine biodynamically, but living their lives biodynamically, too. tbc.....
3. Comte Marcel Petit Fort St. Antoine "Le Fort"
milk: raw cow age:20 months home: the Jura, France
paired with
Jacques Puffeney Arbois Poulsard M
grape: poulsard vintage: 2003 home: the Jura, France bonus: ORGANIC
Who doesn't love Comte?! tbc.....
A fascinating wine. A combination of a very pale red color with surprisingly intense flavors. tbc.....
This is a photograph of Jacques Puffeney behind his Vin Jeaune.
4. Taleggio Latte Crudo Castagna
milk: raw cow age: 3 months home: Lombardy, Italy
paired with
Rainoldi Rosso di Valtellina
grape: Chiavannesca (a northern Nebbiolo) vintage: home: Chiuro, the Valtellina, Italy
Ahhh.....Taleggio Latte Crudo.....how do i love thee? This cheese is soft, creamy, sweet, and so flavorful! tbc....
Visit Rainoldi's website to see photos of how incredibly steep these vineyards are!!! This wine is made with 100% Chiavannesca, the northern clone, so to speak, of Nebbiolo. Growers in this area are firm in their conviction that over the hundreds of years the grape has grown here, it has become very different from the southern Nebbiolo of Piemonte. These grapes grow on south-facing slopes along the bank of the river Adda, where warm days, bright sun and dry winds are tempered by cold nights. tbc...
This photo shows the Rainoldi Rosso di Valtellina at the far left, one little bottle of the Puffeney Poulsard in rear center, Terlano Lagrein Gries on the right and (clockwise from the top) Taleggio Castagna, Bunder Bergkase Andeer, Marcel Petit Comte "Le Fort", and Senne Flade in front. Also note the Miele di Bosco and the Speck Alto Adige, and Michael Rhodes' delicious potato and rye bread in the center of the plates.
5. Sibragtsfall Bergkase
milk: raw cow age: 6 months home: Sibratsgfall, Switzerland
paired with
Terlano 'Gries' Lagrein
grape: Lagrein vintage: home: Terlan, the Alto Adige, Italy
