Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Wine Show Wind Up--Part 1



Okay peeps, you might think I've been neglecting my wino duties, but if you do you're WRONG!  Nooooo, in fact, I've been a drinkin' and testing and trying loads of the good stuff.  It's all for you, you know.  I don't want you to waste your hard earned dough on something crummy.  See, I'm only thinking of YOU *guffaw guffaw*.

This past weekend I was sipping and stumbling at the Toronto Wine and Cheese Show.  I was accompanied by my three main winos: Karen, Lorri and Dad, man, did we have a good time!  I have so, so, so much to write about, I'm going to have to do it in installments.  I figure we tried at least 20 wines, and noshed on lots of goodies too, so I'm breaking up these posts to make things more organized.

First on the Wine Show Wind Up list: Thornloe Cheese.  Thornloe Cheese is a 70+ year old institution, and part of my family history.  I was thrilled to see them front and centre at the show!  Thornloe is a teeny zibbity-zibbit of a town North of New Liskeard.  When we were kids, my folks would pack us into the car and make the monthly trek from our suburban home in the South, back to the North for a visit with parents and siblings.  We would always break our trip at Thornloe Cheese; in fact, on the ride up it was one of the signals that our journey wouldn't be *too* much longer.  We would get loads of the most delicious cheese curds; I've tried many since but none have ever been as good as Thornloe's.  They also made ice-cream that was better than anything you could ever get at the grocery store (and probably still is). 

And there they were, Thornloe Cheese at the Wine and Cheese show.  Dad was tickled!  And I'm happy to report they are still making top quality cheese, using local fresh milk.  We parted with a few of our show tickets to try their artisinal cheese and WOW.  The standout for me was Evanturel, an ultra-creamy Camembert that has a slightly earthy quality.  We also tried a blue cheese--I think it was blue goat cheese--that was lovely.  And good news, my foodie friends: you can buy Thornloe cheeses online at www.thornloecheese.ca .  Isn't that good news?  Ps. Dad, if you're ordering, buy me a bag of cheese curds.  I want to make sure they're as good as I remember.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about a wine that would go brilliantly with either of the above mentioned cheeses. 

xo

B.

3 comments:

  1. uuuuuu, I love blue cheese and the curds from anywhere else are just preteneders to the throne. These curds squeek on your teeth. Best trip ever~ nothbound on a summer day, stop a the cheese factory and eat curds all the way home with the smell of spruce and blueberries on the wind.

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  2. You have to say something about their amazing sage- cheddar! And how do I know this? I confess I stopped by them again enroute back from the ladies room and sampled - I confess I've never been able to order anything but cheese curds during my visits - I do believe my hips are 100% curds. Shame on me - the sage cheddar was SOOOoO good!

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  3. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm............cheese.............yep, my fave was definitely the soft cheese, and I even liked the blue cheese....it had little enough blue that I actually thought I could manage a taste...and it was pretty darned good. Man....sage cheddar, how did we miss that!!?? There's always next time....

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