Enjoying fine wine and cheeses
By Brenda and Dennis McLaughlin
 Mountain Echo is delighted to
have wine and cheese experts Brenda and
Dennis McLaughlin join the columnists writing for mountainecho.com.
Brenda and Dennis McLaughlin, opened Creekside Cellars in July 1998
offering fine wine, wine accessories , gourmet foods and cheese in
Chico, CA. They also serve wine and food in the tasting room at their
shop. In the summer of 2004 they expanded and now have outside seating
plus a new gourmet cheese counter.
Before opening Creekside Cellars Brenda McLaughlin worked as a
marketing director in the Chico area. Brenda has also worked for the
Chico Chamber of Commerce. She has served on the Butte County Board of
Education for the past 26years and is the longest serving member of the
board.
Dennis worked 17 years for the City of Chico as Housing Officer and
recently retired and will devote more time to Creekside Cellars. Dennis
has his Masters degree in Economics from California State University,
Sacramento.
In this column they will offer a variety of tips related to wine and
cheese. Those readers who would like more information than offered here
are invited to log on to creeksidecellars.com and tell
them
mountainecho sent them.
Every once in a while we have something in the store
that is a really big hit. The past year or so the shining star in the
food department has been the Peppaddew! Peppadew is a trademarked name
for a certain preparation of slightly sweet and slightly hot pickled
bright red piquante peppers from South Africa. They were discovered in
1997 by South African farmer Johan Steenkamp and have been featured
many times on cheese plates in our the tasting room much to the delight
of one and all!. We like stuffing them with a fresh chevre and dusting
the tops with crushed pistachios. We order them almost weekly from our
broker and were shocked when we were told back in November that they
were out! "What do you mean you don't have any Peppadews?" I
asked. "Well, there was a crop shortage in South Africa and they
are behind production and we don't expect them for while." Kevin
told me. I cringed and thought how I was going to break the news to the
many Peppadew fans when they came in to purchase them. Each order I
made I would always ask, "Any Peppadews?" and each week I was
told, "No, Brenda. Maybe in another month or so." Then low
and behold, Kevin dropped by last week with some tasty new cheese for
me to try and quietly mentioned, "Oh, we'll have Peppadews by the
end of this week" "Yeah!" I shouted. So I proudly
mentioned "The Peppadews are Back!" in our ad in the paper
this week knowing customers would want to know. First thing this
morning I had a call from someone who had read the ad and asked me "What's
a Peppadew? I feel like I must have missed out on something and sure
would like to know what it is." I gave her a description and told
her the story and she was excited to hear about their tasty features. Hmmm,
another Peppadew fan in the making I thought. Sure hope they don't
have any problems with the next crop!
Prepare to be charmed and captivated this week as we
pour suave Sauvignon
Blancs & captivating Cabernet Sauvignons. Try the grassy, fruity
styles or
the more citrus-y sauvignon blancs . The cabernet sauvignons will be
sure to
please with flavors of big, juicy black cherry & bold tannins &
hints
of cedar all wrapped in elegant balance....very captivating! Two
favorites
being poured are the new vintage of the Valdez Sauvignon Blanc
(whoa, hang onto your hat!) and the MollyDooker 2006 Giggle
Pot
Cabernet Sauvignon . Intensity straight up, this powerful
Cabernet
proudly displays a beautifully concentrated blackberry, plum and
licorice nose.
With fine dusty tannins combined with lovely bacon and cashew oak
characters,
the purity and refined structure of this wine will linger in your mouth
and
amaze you. Awarded 95 points at The Wine Advocate & 91 points at
the Wine
Spectator.
Along with Napa's
Rochioli
Sauvignon Blanc, a great Sancere from France
and a zippy New Zealand
gem the white wines will also shine. There will be plenty of other Cabs
to show
off and please you, so come check them out. We'll have a new shipment
of cheese
that week & will serve an aged cheddar which will pair beautifully
with the
cabernets. It's all about enjoying great wine, great cheese with our
great
customers!!
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