SITREP (Situation Report) is defined as "an update to an existing report, issued as conditions change or events begin to unfold." Put simply, it's a method of keeping everyone informed.
Now that that is out of the way on to business. . .
So, the Bergevin Lane tasting went very well. Thank you to all of you who attended. Special thank yous go out to Annette and Amber who came and talked and shared wine and food and fun with all of us. Special thank yous to Tim Rogan and Cisca Van Heezik who shard their company their laughter and their grapes. Had it not been for the four afore mentioned individuals none of this would have been possible. I am told the food was pretty good and matched up OK. I can only hope that my food did not take anything away from the wines, which were wonderful. For those of you that missed the tasting, we still have a few wines left. The Princess Syrah (from Tim and Cisca's vineyard) is still available in limited quantities. We also have the amazing Viognier, if you have not yet tried this wine you are going to hate yourself when it is gone. Seriously. We also have a few bottles left of the 2004 Oiu Deux Syrah which is now sold out at the winery. I do not expect any of these wines to hang around for long.
In other news, our UTZ potato chips have arrived. For those of you that know UTZ we have bags in all sizes, we know how you are with these. For those of you that have not tried UTZ chips, what are you waiting for? UTZ is THE best chip out there. Someone commented to me once that they thought potato chips were a bit downmarket for me. To which I replied "you haven't tasted them yet". The thing that make UTZ great is that the chip tastes like, wait for it, potato! Not salt, not grease, just potato. There are three ingredients to UTZ Potatoes, Oil, Salt. No preservatives, no nothing. Just a great chip. We also have the gourmet medley that comes with three flavours and colours.
Monteillet Fromagerie has been gracing us with a few cheeses recently. We will have in stock this weekend fresh chevre, Cardabelle, Provencal, and we still have at least one Le Roi Noir. Their cheeses are always a treat, and we are happy to have some to share. We are breaking into a Neal's Yard cheddar today Lincolnshire Poacher. This one has been ageing for a while and is sure to be very delicious. We also just received a new wheel of Red Leicester which we will be breaking into soon. Stay tuned here for more details. We also have a great supply of fresh Buffalo Milk Mozzarella!
Lots of fresh produce is in right now including Hermiston Melons, Blackberries, Arugula, many fresh herbs (thyme, marjoram, chives), Fresh Basil, and FIGS! Figs are finally here and they are beautiful. Check in frequently as we get new items in everyday.
Lastly, our outdoor seating has been approved by the city, and construction (barring any unforeseen problems) should begin this next week. We will keep you updated here and might just post pictures too. Once the outdoor patio is in we hope to be able to serve wine and beer soon too. Again we will keep you posted as things progress.
As summer winds down and fall approaches we have many new and exciting plans in the works for Salumiere Cesario. Keep your browser pointed here for the latest news and updates. Cheers.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Bergevin Lane Tasting
So if you haven't yet heard we are doing another Gustiamo event with local girls Annette and Amber of Bergevin Lane Vineyards. We secretly have a thing for the Bergevin Lane ladies, 'cause they make great juice! All kidding aside the wines of Bergevin Lane have really impressed me lately. Not that they weren't doing a fantastic job before, but the wines have become more sophisticated and more striking with out losing that femininity that first drew me to them.
Case in point is the 2007 Viognier. Here is a wine that tastes more like a Condrieu than a new world Viognier. Flavours of citrus and ginger are married with a rich creamy mouth feel. This wine is going to be really exciting to pair and I am working on something really fun and a bit outside the box. I won't say exactly what but if you come to this tasting, come hungry.
The other reason we really wanted to do this tasting is the inaugural release of the Princess Syrah. The grapes for this wine are grown by some dear friends, they are more like family, of ours Tim Rogan and Cisca Van Heezik. They will be on hand as well as the dynamic duo Annette and Amber to answer questions and hopefully (hint, hint) sign bottles for those who choose to purchase wine the night of the event.
We are REALLY excited about this tasting as the wines are fabulous and the company will be too.
Call us at the store if you are interested in reserving your spot for this memorable event. The event will be on Thursday 14 August from 7 to 9 p.m. at the store. Reservations are required for this event and we will be limited the number of guests to 30.
Case in point is the 2007 Viognier. Here is a wine that tastes more like a Condrieu than a new world Viognier. Flavours of citrus and ginger are married with a rich creamy mouth feel. This wine is going to be really exciting to pair and I am working on something really fun and a bit outside the box. I won't say exactly what but if you come to this tasting, come hungry.
The other reason we really wanted to do this tasting is the inaugural release of the Princess Syrah. The grapes for this wine are grown by some dear friends, they are more like family, of ours Tim Rogan and Cisca Van Heezik. They will be on hand as well as the dynamic duo Annette and Amber to answer questions and hopefully (hint, hint) sign bottles for those who choose to purchase wine the night of the event.
We are REALLY excited about this tasting as the wines are fabulous and the company will be too.
Call us at the store if you are interested in reserving your spot for this memorable event. The event will be on Thursday 14 August from 7 to 9 p.m. at the store. Reservations are required for this event and we will be limited the number of guests to 30.
What's in Store. . .
So as promised I am updating what we have actually received from our latest order(s). Biellese is back in stock, in spades! We did not receive any of the Hot Sopressata or Basque salame as these were still curing when our order shipped. We should be receiving them soon, however. Right now we currently have the following Biellese products:
Salame Biellese
Sweet Sopressata
Rosette de Lyon
Finochetta (small size fennel salame)
Petite Jesu
Finnochiono (large size fennel salame same size as Petite Jesu)
Coppa
Bresaola
Mortadella
Culatello
We have also received new Fra Mani:
Sopressata (YES! Back in stock after many months)
Toscano
Gentille
Nostrano
Salame Rossa (a cotto or cooked salame)
Mortadella (no pistachios in this one)
Chorizo or Salumetto Picante - this is the new size that I have been talking about.
We are also fully stocked on Salumi products too.
Prosciutto di Parma is back in stock just in time for the melons!
We have lots of new olives these just need to be tried.
There are many other fantastic items but too many to list here.
On the cheese front; we just cracked open the Appenzeller yesterday and it is wonderful. Fruity, nutty and very flavourful. We have a good supply of aged Gouda right now this is the 5yr old super caramel and butterscotch one. MMMMM. Fleur de Maquis is back although going fast...
There really is a lot in store right now including some new wine accessories and new wines too.
And finally to all of you addicts out there the chocolate almonds are back now too. Although I am having a hard time keeping the staff away from them. Quality control checks seem to be happening every hour. . .
Salame Biellese
Sweet Sopressata
Rosette de Lyon
Finochetta (small size fennel salame)
Petite Jesu
Finnochiono (large size fennel salame same size as Petite Jesu)
Coppa
Bresaola
Mortadella
Culatello
We have also received new Fra Mani:
Sopressata (YES! Back in stock after many months)
Toscano
Gentille
Nostrano
Salame Rossa (a cotto or cooked salame)
Mortadella (no pistachios in this one)
Chorizo or Salumetto Picante - this is the new size that I have been talking about.
We are also fully stocked on Salumi products too.
Prosciutto di Parma is back in stock just in time for the melons!
We have lots of new olives these just need to be tried.
There are many other fantastic items but too many to list here.
On the cheese front; we just cracked open the Appenzeller yesterday and it is wonderful. Fruity, nutty and very flavourful. We have a good supply of aged Gouda right now this is the 5yr old super caramel and butterscotch one. MMMMM. Fleur de Maquis is back although going fast...
There really is a lot in store right now including some new wine accessories and new wines too.
And finally to all of you addicts out there the chocolate almonds are back now too. Although I am having a hard time keeping the staff away from them. Quality control checks seem to be happening every hour. . .
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The good, the bad, and the ugly. . .news.
We received our order from the east coast on Monday evening. We are stocked full of olives and olive oil, sweet and hot paprika, fig cakes, orange cakes, lemon cakes, saffron, sherry vinegar and even cava vinegar. We also have artichoke hearts from Spain and piquillo peppers. Marcona almonds and the wildly addictive chocolate almonds too.
What did not get here was the Biellese items. Our box got overlooked and will be out next week. To make matters worse the hot sopressata and the basque were not ready yet and did not make it into our box. Our friends at Biellese are trying to figure out how to get product to us quickly and cost effectively. In the mean time we are really happy with what did come in especially the cheese. We have Beaufort, Comte Ft. Lucotte, Fleur de Maquis, the 5yr aged Gouda, Chimay Grand Cru cheese (really great with beer) and Maytag blue. We will be posting what we received from Biellese when it actually gets here. Stay tuned.
What did not get here was the Biellese items. Our box got overlooked and will be out next week. To make matters worse the hot sopressata and the basque were not ready yet and did not make it into our box. Our friends at Biellese are trying to figure out how to get product to us quickly and cost effectively. In the mean time we are really happy with what did come in especially the cheese. We have Beaufort, Comte Ft. Lucotte, Fleur de Maquis, the 5yr aged Gouda, Chimay Grand Cru cheese (really great with beer) and Maytag blue. We will be posting what we received from Biellese when it actually gets here. Stay tuned.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Loaded Up!
Happy Monday everyone! Well, we are receiving our order this evening from the east coast. This brings to us Salumeria Biellese and their wonderful charcuterie as well as some great cheese from Europe. We will also be receiving our first shipment in a really long time of Miguel& Valentino. Miguel & Valentino were on our shelves when we first opened and we have missed them dearly. Our previous distributor for this was not able to deliver consistently and at the quality level I expect. So we have been working long and hard with M&V to find a way to get it to us. And here you go. I will post a list of everything that came in on Tuesday or Wednesday so that all of you can get first crack at it Thursday. There are some items that will go quickly so keep checking here and if you want something specific call us. Cheers.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Shades of things to come
As I write this news of Anheuser Busch being bought by InBev is breaking. Now I am no fan of AB's "beer", but it is an American company and they have been here for a long time. Not only that, but AB does give back to their community in numerous and often unseen ways. But InBev is a behemoth from Belgium. Of course everyone is thinking "hey, I like Belgian beer" but there is much more to this than meets the eye. You need to be able to see in to the future a bit to see how this is going to hurt us all.
Prices for grain are at an all time high. The price for hops has tripled and even quadrupled just in the last year. This means that brewers either put in less hops (read less flavor) in their beer or they raise the price (read less people buying it). As less people buy it they are faced with lagging inventory. This is where the small brewers get squeezed. They either minimize their profits to nil to stay in business, or they sell or go under. But who would buy a business like this? Who could buy a business like this? The behemoth can and will.
InBev is the largest beverage company in the world. They are the Wal-Mart of beverages which means they can affect prices. They can buy a large share of the worlds grain and hops and force prices upwards. The small guys either raise prices or cut quality or go under.
We will soon see the attrition in the ranks of small local brewers, not just here in Walla Walla but across the nation and even across the world. Your favorite brew will become more expensive then will disappear. This will begin to happen with other items as well. Corn is now being made into bio fuel. This will drive up the price of ear corn, tortillas and tortilla chips, popcorn, and even soda (high fructose corn syrup). Wheat prices are skyrocketing too. The price of pasta is at an all time high, the price of bread is beginning to go up. Cereals will soon start this upward climb. Can you imagine paying an extra dollar or more for your wheaties?
So what can be done? You can boycott all of InBev's products (Beck's, Stella Artois, Hoegarten (ever wonder why we don't carry it?),Bass, Bohemia, Boddington's, Fransiskaner, Kokanee, Labatts, Spaten, St. Pauli Girl) these are only a FEW. You can boycott Wal-mart, but since they are opening new stores in China it won't make any difference.
The real solution is to buy local. Really local. Encourage your local brewer to buy the local grains. Encourage your local farmers to sell their grain locally. Here in Walla Walla we grow wheat. All kinds. Why couldn't we be milling at least a portion of that wheat here in town and supplying local bakers and brewers with that grain? Support your local businesses. Don't get your produce at Costco or Wal-Mart. Go to your local green grocer or even better your local farmer.
AB's buy out may not be the end of civilization but it might just be the start.
Prices for grain are at an all time high. The price for hops has tripled and even quadrupled just in the last year. This means that brewers either put in less hops (read less flavor) in their beer or they raise the price (read less people buying it). As less people buy it they are faced with lagging inventory. This is where the small brewers get squeezed. They either minimize their profits to nil to stay in business, or they sell or go under. But who would buy a business like this? Who could buy a business like this? The behemoth can and will.
InBev is the largest beverage company in the world. They are the Wal-Mart of beverages which means they can affect prices. They can buy a large share of the worlds grain and hops and force prices upwards. The small guys either raise prices or cut quality or go under.
We will soon see the attrition in the ranks of small local brewers, not just here in Walla Walla but across the nation and even across the world. Your favorite brew will become more expensive then will disappear. This will begin to happen with other items as well. Corn is now being made into bio fuel. This will drive up the price of ear corn, tortillas and tortilla chips, popcorn, and even soda (high fructose corn syrup). Wheat prices are skyrocketing too. The price of pasta is at an all time high, the price of bread is beginning to go up. Cereals will soon start this upward climb. Can you imagine paying an extra dollar or more for your wheaties?
So what can be done? You can boycott all of InBev's products (Beck's, Stella Artois, Hoegarten (ever wonder why we don't carry it?),Bass, Bohemia, Boddington's, Fransiskaner, Kokanee, Labatts, Spaten, St. Pauli Girl) these are only a FEW. You can boycott Wal-mart, but since they are opening new stores in China it won't make any difference.
The real solution is to buy local. Really local. Encourage your local brewer to buy the local grains. Encourage your local farmers to sell their grain locally. Here in Walla Walla we grow wheat. All kinds. Why couldn't we be milling at least a portion of that wheat here in town and supplying local bakers and brewers with that grain? Support your local businesses. Don't get your produce at Costco or Wal-Mart. Go to your local green grocer or even better your local farmer.
AB's buy out may not be the end of civilization but it might just be the start.
Bagging!
It's time to bag. If you are pregnant, or faint of heart you should navigate away from this page now. All warnings have been given, so if you are still here there is now no excuse as to what to expect. This is the part where I go off on a tangent about something that most people would consider insignificant or a minor nuisance at most, but I consider a serious annoyance. But, you'd been expecting that right?
What the heck is a gourmand? You think you know? Let's review:
From Webster's
Gor"mand\, n. [F. gourmand; cf. Prov. F. gourmer to sip, to lap, gourmacher to eat improperly, F. gourme mumps, glanders, Icel. gormr mud, mire, Prov. E. gorm to smear, daub; all perh. akin to E. gore blood, filth. Cf. Gourmand.] A greedy or ravenous eater
I know some want to think that it means gourmet, but alas no. I do not ever want to be considered a GOURMAND. It sounds disgusting. There also seems to be an elitist connotation to it. Like they think that they are better than the rest of us. People it is just food. Food is not art, nor a birthright, nor a condition of status-at least it shouldn't be. If some one tells you that they are a GOURMAND then tell them what it really means and tell them to come down off their high horse. It's just food. Cheers.
What the heck is a gourmand? You think you know? Let's review:
From Webster's
Gor"mand\, n. [F. gourmand; cf. Prov. F. gourmer to sip, to lap, gourmacher to eat improperly, F. gourme mumps, glanders, Icel. gormr mud, mire, Prov. E. gorm to smear, daub; all perh. akin to E. gore blood, filth. Cf. Gourmand.] A greedy or ravenous eater
I know some want to think that it means gourmet, but alas no. I do not ever want to be considered a GOURMAND. It sounds disgusting. There also seems to be an elitist connotation to it. Like they think that they are better than the rest of us. People it is just food. Food is not art, nor a birthright, nor a condition of status-at least it shouldn't be. If some one tells you that they are a GOURMAND then tell them what it really means and tell them to come down off their high horse. It's just food. Cheers.
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