We're Back!
After a serious hiatus from posting (sorry!) we have decided to get serious about this blog again. Although we never stopped pairing cheese & sake, we’ve realized in the last year that so many others are genuinely interested and it would be selfish to keep these pairings to ourselves.
Quick update from Liza: 2014 has been my cheesiest year by far! In January, I competed in the first West Coast Cheesemonger Invitational (CMI). Studying was fun, especially developing my “perfect bite” with Jesse. We paired Point Reyes’ Bay Blue with Bartlett pears poached in sake, served on a sea-salted shortbread. Our goal with the pairing was to counterbalance the saltiness of the Bay Blue with the sweetness of a pear. The sake infused poaching liquid provided the perfect vehicle to introduce new flavors and give the pairing more complexity. The shortbread gave the bite a nice texture and an additional hit of saltiness. We weren’t entirely shocked to find out it took first place in the perfect bite competition. Even though Jesse and I knew cheese and sake can create a truly perfect pairing, it was very reassuring to know important industry experts agreed with us.
Shortly after CMI, my cheese journey continued to the next exciting phase when I was invited to the join Laura Chenel’s Chèvre/Marin French Cheese Company as a member of their sales team. Therefore, don’t be surprised to find a few extra pairings with these cheeses in the posts in come. No need to worry though- I still love and admire so many other cheeses so you don’t have to worry about this becoming a full blown marketing tool for my employer :-)
Of course, I was very excited to pair Laura Chenel’s plain chèvre because I knew the acidity and creaminess would easily pair with a crisp and fruity sake.
Here’s a quick overview of the company: Laura Chenel is widely recognized as the pioneer of American goat cheese production. She began producing chèvre in Sebastopol, CA in 1979 and the company is now located in Sonoma, CA. Laura Chenel’s Chèvre upholds a long tradition of European style artisan cheese making. The company only uses fresh milk from family-raised goats in California and Nevada, an example of its commitment to local farming and distinctive regional terroir. In 2006, Laura sold her company to The Rians Group, a French family of cheese makers (who now also own Marin French Cheese Company in neighboring Petaluma).
Laura Chenel’s Log is the original cheese (when sliced into rounds, breaded and baked), that adorned the iconic Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese Salad made famous at Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, CA. Made in the traditional French elongated shape, it has a fresh, delicate and tangy flavor and a beautiful creamy texture. Like all well made chèvres, it does not have a lingering “barnyard” flavor and often convinces people that they do in fact like goat cheese!
Jesse: For the sake pairing, I wanted to use something that highlighted the creamy and tangy notes of the goat cheese without overpowering it. We decided that the best was the Shimizu No Mai “Pure Dusk” Junmai Daiginjo. (We used a sake from this brewery in an earlier post, but the sake used previously is not available in the US). Pure Dusk is imported by the wonderful people at Terlato Wines International and it is a Junmai Daiginjo, meaning the rice used to make the sake is milled to a very high degree relative to most other sakes. This gives the sake quite a bit of lightness and finesse with soft notes of melon and orange peel.
This pairing is a good example of why it’s important to match the relative “weights” in the sake and cheese. Goat cheese tends to be light and fresh, so a light sake does a nice job of bringing out the finer notes in the cheese. When enjoyed together, the lovely citrus notes in the cheese shine through, while the light fruit notes in the sake linger for a moment before fading gently.









