Rosé sales are soaring, and I certainly have something to do with that. On warm summer nights, when the sun doesn’t set until we’re well into dinner, it’s the wine I want. U.S. sales volume for rosé climbed 1433% (you read that right) between 2010 and 2020, according to data from bw166, a market research firm. Some attribute this phenomenal spike to the rise of Instagram. What’s prettier than pink wine? Well, pink wine with a cheese board, if you ask me.
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California fresh: Nicasio Valley Cheese Foggy Morning
Can I brag on my state? California is about to host its 14th annual Artisan Cheese Festival, a three-day event that just keeps getting better. (I have perfect attendance.) Cheese fans: Your dreams can come true here. Want to step inside the aging cellars of an artisan Cheddar producer? Or visit three super-hip craft distillers? (There will be cheese. And a driver.) Want to meet the latest rock-star cheesemaker? (Hint: She’s not old enough to vote.)
Read moreEver So Grateful
As we head into the holiday season, I want to express my gratitude for my readers, my students, my cheese community and all those who make, sell and appreciate great cheese. Despite threats from regulation and industrialization, I think we cheese lovers live in a Golden Age. We have so many choices—a burgeoning American cheese scene and a bonanza of imports—but we have to choose quality or traditional methods won’t survive. Tomorrow, before my guests and I sit down to the turkey, I’ll offer thanks for my family, my friends, my health. But just between us, here are a few other things I’m grateful for:
Read moreMyth Buster
Steve Jones is one of the cheese world’s wise men, proprietor of Cheese Bar and Chizu in Portland, Oregon, and a cheesemonger everybody respects. He has been telling me for years that he is going to write a book, and now he has done it, with co-author Adam Lindsley. Cheese Beer Wine Cider: A Field Guide to 75 Perfect Pairings(W. W. Norton) takes us on a tasting journey that upends some conventional wisdom. You might be surprised to learn which beverage he would choose for cheese if he could have only one.
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