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Our first of our new series “Talk and Taste with the Winemaker” was awesome!
We enjoyed the stories, education and passion of our guest Pierre Clavel. The wines were a big hit as was his passion and wonderful photos!
We will be announcing our next Winemaker shortly.
We are having a Winemakers tasting! approximately 20 seats available.
Call us if you want to attend. 203 438 5757
Event will be this Sunday June 2nd at 2pm
$35
Domaine Clavel
For generations now, the Clavel name has been associated with winemaking in the Languedoc region of Southern France. Pierre Clavel is the current owner, following in the footsteps of his father Jean Clavel, wine historian and founder of AOC Côteaux du Languedoc.
The 81.5 acre vineyard spreads through four remarkable terroirs of Langudeoc, including Pic Saint Loup, and is cared for organically, with a respect for nature taking prime importance.
“Excellence in what I produce, in all humility, in truthfulness, and the simplest expression of my terroir.” With these words, Pierre Clavel sums up his philosophy towards wine and life.
Domaine Clavel
Rosé Mescladis 2012
AOC Coteaux du Languedoc – Pic Saint Loup
70% Syrah, 30% Grenache
This vibrant Rosé will captivate you from the first sip; its sparkling salmon color alone will catch your eye and lure you in, carrying you away to the South of France, where the vineyards are surrounded by garrigue aromas of wild Herbes de Provence… At the foot of the Pic Saint Loup massif, the 35 acres of Syrah and Grenache vines are planted in shallow soils with large underlying limestone blocks. However, the clay make-up of the soil allows for good water reserves, and the galets roulés at the surface reflect the sun’s warmth directly onto the grapes (exactly like those in Chateauneuf-du-Pape). The surrounding mountain ranges form a micro-climate with more rainfall and temperature range. All in all, a combination of elements conducive to an excellent terroir for the vine and one of the best appellations of the Languedoc.
Domaine Clavel
“Le Mas” 2011
AOC Coteaux du Languedoc
Syrah, Grenache, Carignan
“Le Mas” comes from Syrah, Grenache and Carignan vines planted in “Les Gres” soils, clay and limestone beds covered with galets roules (those rounded stones made famous by Chateauneuf-du-Pape), and large underlying limestone blocks. The galets roules stones conserve the cool morning air so that the vines don’t lose too much water in summer.
The vineyard is in its 3rd year of organic conversion: no herbicides or fungicides are used. This translates to an intense manual labor, with the soil regularly worked to help roots dig in deeper, keep vine foliage trimmed, limit weight of grapes on each stock. Balance is key between all these elements. The year-round attention and work extends to almost harvest time, when focus shifts to the cave. Grapes are sorted carefully after harvest and completely de-stemmed to remove any plant matter that would affect the final wine. Each varietal is vinified separately to reveal the individual qualities and decide on a final blend. Regular tastings decide whether to continue extracting via pigeage, delestage or remontage. The wine is aged on fine lees in concrete tanks.
AOC Pic Saint Loup
Domaine Clavel “Bonne Pioche” 2011
65% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre, 15% Grenache
90-91+ rating – Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate
“Bonne Pioche” comes from 35 acres of land parcels, all grouped in the same area and so with very similar terroirs. The mostly Syrah (with Mourvedre and Grenache) vines are planted in shallow soils with large underlying limestone blocks. However, the clay make-up of the soil allows for good water reserves, and the limestone deposits at the surface reflect the sun’s warmth directly onto the grapes. Surrounding mountain ranges form a micro-climate with higher than average rainfall and major fluctuation between day and night temperatures. All in all, a combination of elements conducive to an excellent terroir for the vine and one of the best appellations of the Languedoc.
Domaine Clavel
AOC Coteaux du Languedoc – La Mejanelle
“Copa Santa” 2011
83% Syrah, 17% Grenache
Call for Reservations – Class size is limited – 203-438-5757
Exploration into Italy; cheese and wine .01 Friday, May 17 @ 7pm
Explore a great evening of Italian Cheese and Wine, their relationship and how to pair them. Class will start with some wonderful small bites and a glass of Prosecco, then continue with a tasting and comparison of 5 cheeses and wines. Something sweet will end this evening.
Sarah Wine Bar & 109 Cheese and Wine Dinner
Sunday May 19 2013 at 5:30 pm
Special Guest Henryk Teraszkiewicz, Director of the Woodcock Nature Center
Duo of Smoked Scottish Trout with a potato leek salad
Cep D’ Or Rose Saint Tropez France 2011
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Lobster Ravioli with spring peas and tarragon
Roccafiore Bianco Fiordaliso Umbria Italy 2011
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Veal loin Chop with a ramp, corn risotto, chanterelle thyme reduction
Vinkara Kalecik Karasi Tokat Turkey 2011
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109 Cheese Selections
Chateau Roques Mauriac Bordeaux Superior France 2005
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Dessert
Call for Reservations – 203 438 8282 $55 plus tax and tip

Understanding the movie “Sideways” Thursday May 23 @ 7pm
How many times have we seen the movie “Sideways” and wondered what are they were really talking about? Well, the wine and food geeks at 109 are here to rescue you. We will explore the movie subjects and taste the wines and most of all discuss the “Sideways” experience.
$55
East Coast Beer and Cheese Friday May 24 @ 7pm
A continuing education on our exploration of the Northeast with the craft beers from New England and beyond, this class will start with some small bites and special starter brew. We will continue the class with an in-depth comparison of 5 cheeses and 5 craft beers.
Something sweet will end this evening.
$45
A lunch date with Pamela, the Boxed Goods entrepreneur
Friday May 31 @ 12:30 – 2:30
Pamela from Boxed Goods will be showing us simple healthy Indian cooking and a cheese demonstration on making Paneer (similar to queso fresco a great cheese for cooking). Cook, mother and businesswoman, Pamela will prepare paneer cheese and an easy delicious recipe that everyone will love.
Be prepared to take home a Boxed Goods gift!
$65
June:
Tasting with Winemaker Pierre Clavel from Domaine Clavel Languedoc
Sunday June 2 @ 2pm
More information to follow
Spain in depth with Emily : Thursday June 13 @ 7pm
Just wine and a few tapas for your palate. Emily from 55 degrees distribution will guide us through the fascinating wine regions of Spain, featuring the most amazing tastes of Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Priorat and much more.
$40
“Taste of the Marketplace” Saturday June 15 @ 11- 2
Join us for tastes from our local producers that we feature in our gourmet shops, plus samplings from the Marketplace restaurants & bakeries.
Come see what the Marketplace has to offer, talk with our shop and restaurant owners and fill all of your culinary shopping needs right here in Ridgefield.
In addition to the food fair, check out our great gift shops and amazing restaurants.
Stay for lunch or dinner, shop or just hang out on the sculpture patio!
Sparkling Wine and Cheese : Date TBA
We have a special guest, Author and blog writer Cara Alwill Leyba (The Champagne Diet).
$55
Understanding the movie “Bottle Shock” Friday June 28 @ 7pm
On the Board – Date TBA
A Dinner date with Ridgefield Prime
Beef, Barolo, Barbaresco & Brunello Dinner – More to come on this exciting dinner.
Patty is back at it today with a great Burrata dish from “The Cheesemongers Kitchen”. 
This just such a wonderful and simple dish that just screams delicious! Fresh asparagus, pine nuts and golden raisins sing atop the burrata and a little bit of your favorite prosciutto or Serrano adds that salty goodness.
109 Wine suggests our new Italian friend, a bambino bianco or a Sancerre would be great too.
Friday, May 10
Time: 7pm
Hurray for Rosé!
Just in time for the beginning of summer, a class to help you find your rosé style. We are not talking Lancers, but dry, complex Rosé from Italy, France, Spain, and Oregon plus we will pair them with light and lovely fresh summer cheeses. Bring a friend or spouse for a perfect evening of fun, entertainment and education. Classes run approximately 2 hours
Class fee $55
Sunday, May 12 Spain
Time: 2pm
Spain in depth.
Just wine and a few nibbles for your palate. Emily from 55 degrees distribution will guide us through the fascinating wine regions of Spain, featuring the most amazing tastes of Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Priorat and much more.
This class is a more in depth study on the subject of Spanish Wines.
Class fee $40
Cookbook Thursday
Kale Caesar Salad from “Tartine” with Cheesemonger Patty
Of course you have to start with the cheese. A vintage 2007 Parmesan that is so beautifully nutty and bursting with salty flavor it creates perfection on this kale Caesar. This dish is just clean, nice and salad perfection. 
Check it out, you won’t be sorry. And don’t forget to enjoy this salad with a beer! We recommend the Sixpoint “Crisp”. 
Patton Valley’s most popular spring tradition, and one of our favorites, is the release of their Pinot Noir Rosé. We discovered this little gem in the Willamette Valley while traveling the west coast on our 2011 “willdrive4food” trip. This wine has built an enthusiastic following due to its high quality and distinctive food-friendly style, a direct result of their dedication to the production of this very special wine. Each year one estate block of Patton Valley’s Dijon clone 113 is farmed specifically for Rosé. 
From vineyard to bottle they diligently work to craft a wine that consistently delivers a world-class experience.
The 2012 Patton Valley Pinot Noir Rosé delivers on that promise! Its beautiful salmon-pink color hints at the enjoyment that awaits you, and us. Alluring aromatics spill out of the glass, with scents of fresh ripe pear and grapefruit. Cotton candy and bubble gum welcome deeper inspection. In the mouth, lush ripe fruit flavors are balanced by a zingy, green apple acidity and a slight mouth-watering frizzante.
One glass is never enough.
Drink and enjoy!
Harvest Dates: September 28th 2012
Elevage:
Fermented and aged on lees in Stainless Steel
Clones: Dijon 113, 777, and 667
Alcohol: 12.9%
pH: 3.21
TA: 7.2
550 cases produced
Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Grapes sourced exclusively from their Certified Sustainable estate vineyard.
Patton Valley Vineyard is dedicated to the preservation of their finite resources, and employs sustainable practices in both the vineyard and the winery. As a result, they have earned Salmon Safe and LIVE certifications and are proud to bear the Oregon Certified Sustainable logo.
109 Cheese and Wine will soon be introducing our new educational component. We have taken over the space above the shop and added a beautiful new classroom. We believe that food; wine and beer education are vital to the health and wellbeing of all of us. Come learn and enjoy with us! 
Easter & Passover
Cheese, Wine & Family
Come and Indulge with us!
Let us setup your cheese and charcuterie platters and pair your wines.
Call ahead or stop in
Our Holiday Cheese Picks
Mt Tam, Cowgirl Creamery’s signature cheese, is a smooth, creamy, elegant, 8 oz, triple-cream. It is made with tasty organic milk from the Straus Family Dairy. Mt Tam is firm, yet buttery with a mellow, earthy flavor reminiscent of white mushrooms.
Chiriboga Blue
Made by Ecuadorian cheesemaker Arturo Chiriboga at the Obere Muhle co-op dairy in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps (the story goes that Chiriboga fell in love with a German woman and stayed on to make cheese–seriously, how much more romantic can you get?), Chiriboga is unlike any blue cheese we’ve ever tasted. Made from raw cow’s milk, it’s only slightly veiny and barely gamy, and tastes exactly like it looks: almost unbelievably creamy, slightly sweet, and downright buttery. It’s quite mild and easy, but there’s just enough pungency to keep things interesting.
Tomme Fleur Verte
Fleur Verte (green flower) is a rindless soft creamy cheese covered in fresh green herbs and pink peppercorns. The scalloped edges of this large, very fresh goat tomme and the lovely combination of herbs — mostly tarragon, savory, and thyme — pressed into the rind make for a gorgeous appearance and a cheese that embodies spring time, any time of the year. The herbs are edible, and their refreshing green color nicely contrasts with the semi-soft alabaster-white paste. Creamy, smooth, mild and lemony, with notes of white pepper and the clean yet lingering taste of tarragon. Not strong or “barnyardy”. Pasteurized, made in Perigord, France. The herbs and pink peppercorns do not overpower the creaminess of the cheese, it is mild, even if you bite one of the peppercorns. The texture is sublime, thick and succulent, but with a melty mouthfeel, like the great cheeses from the Pyrenees. Goat Tomme and summery beers are a match made in heaven. A semi-firm, grassy goat cheese like this one always pairs well with Rosé, or with crisp, appely white wines, or even hard cider. Use whats left, if any, in your morning omelet.
Tomme d’Abondance
Tomme d’Abondance or Abondance is a medium-sized mountain cheese from the Haute Savoie region of France in the Rhone-Alps. For centuries, this deep golden cheese has been made in mountain chalets, near the border between France and Switzerland. It is made exclusively from unpasteurized milk produced by the Abondance breed of cattle. Since 1990, the cheese has been enjoying the prestigious AOC designation. The handcrafted, wheel shaped cheese, is made using traditional methods only in the geographical area specified by AOC/PDO label. It has a strong smell and an intensely fruity, buttery and hazelnut flavor, with balance of acidity and sweetness, followed by a lingering aftertaste. Unearth an aroma of nutty vegetation as you slice the cheese. However, remember the crust including the gray layer beneath, should be removed before eating. Firm but supple and slightly grainy, the texture of the ivory-yellow cheese is creamy and velvety. Its rind is smooth with an amber color showing canvas marks. The affinage takes at least 100 days, so all the subtle aromas are realized.
Our Holiday Wine Picks
Mestres Coquet Cava Gran Reserva Brut Nature,
Spain 2007 $25
Mestres appear in the historical record as wine merchants in Catalonia dating back to 1312, and the first record of their ownership of the Coquet vineyard is from 1607. An early producer of the regional sparkling specialty, they also boast the first registered use of the name “Cava”, in 1959. True to this extensive heritage, this wine is still handmade in the traditional method. A blend of 30% macabeu, 40% xarel*lo, and 30% parellada, it is made in the ‘Brut Nature’ style, with no sugars added, resulting in an austerely dry bubbly; very aromatic, with white fruit and citrus, the dryness and very fine bubbles make it wonderfully refreshing.
Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett,
Mosel, Germany 2009 $23
If Mosel is arguably the world’s riesling heart, the Sonnenuhr is one of the valley’s greatest vineyards; extremely steep vineyards overlooking the river, graced with an old sundial (Sonnenuhr in German) that used to help the vineyard workers time their wine break. The Selbach family have grown riesling in the Mosel since 1661, and their style is known for its elegance and finesse. They harvest by hand (often a necessity in the sharply sloping vineyards of the Mosel) and ferment the wine in traditional large wooden barrels. This bottling is bursting with fresh peach fruit, finishing with a crisp, mouthwatering acidity and a touch of minerality. Low alcohol makes for a light touch as an addition to a meal.
D’Alfonso dal Sordo ‘Catipanus’ Bombino Bianco,
Puglia, Italy 2011 $13
This wine is made from the little-known but widely grown Italian grape variety bombino bianco. Known for its reliability and prolific yield, the grape is often used in everyday table wines for the European market, and is known locally by several nicknames that reflect its ability to consistently cover the farmer’s bills. However, it can also be used to produce quality wines with subtlety and balance, if the producer carefully restricts the amount of grapes the vines produce. This is one such producer, and the wine is a refreshing warm weather treat and a great value–straw yellow, with apple and pear fruit, herbs, and a soft nuttiness.
Belle Pente ‘Belle Pente Vineyard’ chardonnay, Yamhill-Carlton District,
Willamette Valley, Oregon 2008 $37
If you’ve never had a fine chardonnay from Oregon, you owe it to yourself to try this one, from the outstanding producer Belle Pente. The grapes are grown in their estate vineyard, a small, two acre site on a steep slope, located in the Yamhill-Carlton district, home of some of the region’s oldest soils, and grown and vinified with largely organic and biodynamic practices. A combination of site, vine age, careful handling in the gravity-flow winery, restrained use of oak, and an outstanding vintage yield this excellent wine; apple, pear, and hazelnuts, with a nice balance of roundness and crispness.
Brooks pinot noir,
Willamette Valley, Oregon 2011 $27
The makers of Brooks pinot noir draw their fruit from several sites located in different parts of the Willamette Valley, known as one of the greatest regions in the USA for this grape, choosing vineyards with different soils and climates to create a blend reflective of what the valley has to offer. Friendly and approachable, this is a great glass of wine and a wonderful food partner. The nose shows tart red fruit–think raspberries, cherries, and cranberries–and, on the palate, has nice fruit balanced with light minerality and a woodsy touch. Medium-bodied, with bright acidity.
Domaine de Piaugier ‘la Grange de Piaugier’
Côtes du Rhône, France 2011 $15
Piaugier are known for their range of excellent wines in the Southern Rhône Valley, including this great value Rhône blend. Grenache, carignan, cinsaut, and syrah, from mature vines averaging 45 years of age, grown in a range of small plots reflecting the various soil types of the region. The wine is on the serious and dark side for a Côtes du Rhône; deep colour and ripe, spicy aromas introduce a layered and full red with black fruit, stewed plums, pepper, and dried Mediterranean herbs. Lots of wine for the money!
Les Cadrans de Lassègue St. Émilion Grand Cru,
Bordeaux, France 2008 $38
If you’re having lamb for your Easter meal, consider a classic pairing–Bordeaux. Reds from the Right Bank of the Gironde, such as those of St. Émilion, show the robust complexity associated with all good Bordeaux, with the benefit of often drinking well at a younger age than some of their more cabernet sauvignon driven neighbours across the river. The Lassègue property is nicely situated to take advantage of all the important soil types of the appellation, a diverse assortment as the ground slopes down from the St. Émilion crest. The wine is a blend of 60% merlot, 25% cabernet franc, and 15% cabernet sauvignon. A classic combination of dark fruit, licorice, cocoa, and vanilla, with round tannin and a plush depth.
Today’s “Cookbook Thursday with Cheesemonger Patty” featured recipe is “Easter Egg Radish Crostini with Herbed Goat Cheese”. 
The recipe instructs on making herbed goat cheese, but why complicate things? Fleur Verte, our French herb-coated chevre, allows you to skip that step of the recipe, making this an even simpler Easter brunch nosh. 
Patty loves clean, fresh and easy as much as she loves cheese! The featured book is “Roots” and does not feature Kunta Kinte but does have some amazing recipes. Come on down and check out all of our amazing cheeses and great books. 
All of us at 109 would love to see you!
