Rock Star in Kansas City

Sometimes, selling wine can be a drag. There's so much competition and so many reps on the road these days, so you’ve got to try to stand out. I’m not very good at that, as I have a knack for being unable to kiss ass. What I am good at, however, is absolutely completely truly and terrifyingly loving what I do.

It’s a jolt to stumble onto people who appreciate that, and many of those people live, unexpectedly, in Kansas City, Missouri. Without exaggeration, talking wine with folks there is a pleasure because they’re passionate, too. My bud Jason Burton (The LAB) tells me it’s because they can appreciate artisans, and I think that’s part of it. The other part might be that they’re genuinely fun folks who love to have a good time and appreciate really special things.

My opinion of those outstanding KC folks was elevated and cemented thanks to a tasting at Lukas Liquors hosted by Jodi Dyer and Dennis Schaefer. I already have a soft spot for Dennis, because he was the first journalist to write about Riverbench when we first opened four years ago. The rest of the group was just as cool; they asked awesome questions about food pairings (my favorite thing) and who puts the pink wax on our rose (our vineyard manager’s dad, Fred, who deserves a post solely dedicated to him). I don’t think I stopped talking the whole time, but the time flew by because it was just so darn fun.

I think Sean and Michael (QED Wine Purveyors) who sell our wines in KC must only take me to the good places, because every account is friendly, excited about the wine, and supportive. I do think that good people should surround themselves with other good people, as it promotes that positive energy. Seems like that’s what these guys do. They’re the epitome of a small business, a two man sales team who are working hard to spread the story of California’s artisan winemakers. It’s not an easy task, but they do it and they do it well. They treat me rather like a rock star, which is an incredible ego boost, but it’s because they love what we’re doing at Riverbench, and respect the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into it. It’s probably largely because of them that I’ve fallen a bit in love with Kansas City.

So KC, and all the charming and wonderful people there, thank you. Thanks for “getting” it, supporting it, and living it!

Inspired

There's nothing like surrounding yourself with inspiring people to make you feel, well, inspired.

And for the past week, that's exactly what I've done.

I took an exam a few weeks ago, and received feedback from my professor recently. Since the tests are graded blindly, he had written something to the effect of: "I don't know who you are, but please tell me, because you are an outstanding writer." On exam essay questions?! For realz?

Those who know me know I'm terrible at compliments, and this one was no exception and caught me completely off-guard. Sure, I like writing. But only in the past few years have I thought about actually being decent at it.

Which took me to the next thought: I have so many amazing things to say about Riverbench and the wine country lifestyle, and I'm not sharing them because I've always treated this blog like my own personal cheese making complaint platform.

So from here on out, things change. This becomes the official Riverbench blog, containing accounts from my exciting sales trip visits, my "apprenticeship" with winemaker Clarissa Nagy this fall, winery updates and goodies, and, of course, the ongoing saga of being an amateur cheesemaker and beekeeper on the property.

I can't wait to share it. And Dr. W, (along with the others I have just been ignoring for a while) thanks for being my inspiration!

Get Your Goat!

I'm very excited because this weekend I was able to make some goat cheese out of some local raw milk! I've never had to actually pasteurize anything myself; the process involves heating the milk and holding it at a steady temperature for 30 minutes, then rapidly cooling it down so the proteins don't get damaged. Holding milk at this temperature for a long period of time was difficult but I did it! Next, the cheese. Easy...I've made this cheese 1000 times now. Heat, add starter, coagulate, drain. And let me tell you, it's delicious! So creamy white and gorgeous. I can't wait to play around with it some more.

The Swiss Mold Experiment, aka St. Oswald

Back in March, I made my first Swiss cheese using a special bacteria that is supposed to cause the air pockets to form in a traditional Swiss. Again, though, I had humidity issues, so the rind got very dry- so dry that I think it dried out my bacteria before I had a chance to make holes throughout the cheese. The cheese quite honestly was neglected. I was gone, so I just left it sitting in my little cheese fridge. It patiently waited for me to remember it, and I finally did last weekend. I cut it into four pieces, and noticed that the center was a very smooth, creamy looking texture. It actually had yellowed, just like a fine gruyere. I cut off the thick layer of mold and took a taste, and this cheese was sublime, if I do say so myself. I wish the wheel had been larger so that there was more of it, but it’s really really delicious. The taste is salty and nutty and resembles a Swiss cheese but also has a bite to it like an aged pecorino.

It’s funny how in cheesemaking my disasters can often become something really worthwhile. Since you can’t by any stretch call this cheese a Swiss, I dubbed it St. Oswald after our pup who is a little crazy and unappealing from the outside, but has a golden goodness inside.

Paneer is not for sissies

When I first moved to California seven years ago, I cooked for myself all the time. I was dirt poor, so couldn’t really afford to go out to eat often, but I also comforted my lonely self with cooking. I have always associated Indian food with my family, because my mom and sisters and I always went for Indian food together. Since I was little, I’ve adored Indian cuisine. So one night in my tiny little shack of an apartment, I decided to try making my own paneer.
I bought some milk, followed the instructions perfectly, and wound up with…a completely disgusting curdled mess. No lie, this attempt to make cheese was my first utter failure, and all of it ended up going down the drain.
So when I stumbled on a recipe for paneer in my Culture magazine, recently, I saved it, but had my doubts. Bravely, I decided to try it once more. I followed the instructions very carefully- heated the milk and adding the vinegar. Suddenly, the cheese came together, exactly as the recipe described! It was gorgeous. I drained it, pressed it, and tasted some of the best paneer I’ve ever had (and trust me, that’s a LOT of paneer).
What went wrong on my first attempt? I’ll never know, but now I know that this is not only one of the easiest cheeses to make, but one of the most delicious!
PS: We had homemade palak paneer this week, which is my absolute favorite Indian dish of all time. So proud!

My Little Fuzzies

With the humidity thing somewhat under control, I decided to try another mold inoculated cheese last week. This time, I followed a new recipe for St. Maure, but made it with cow’s milk, which produces a cheese I call St. Laure. I had some new molds to use, so ended up with three beautiful little cheeses.

Instead of directly salting the cheeses like I always have, the new book recommended dunking them in a salt solution for 10 minutes. I did this, and they softened a bit but the salt seemed to be more evenly distributed on the surface. After some air drying, they are stowed away in the cheese fridge in their mini-cave bags, and I’m already seeing some white mold on the surface.

I'm still tasting a little bitterness in some of my aging cheeses, even though I changed the rennet. I guess that wasn't the problem. Perhaps it's our water? Yet another obstacle to overcome...

Proud Amateur Cheesemaker!

I decided to warm up to cheesemaking again by starting with a little cow’s milk farm cheese. This is a relatively simple cheese that I’ve made a million times. It forms the nicest little pats that can be eaten within a few weeks or inoculated with a white mold (candidum) and aged a bit longer for a creamier cheese. I made several of these and served one on a cheese tray to some friends who came over- they loved it, even more than the professionally made cheeses I served as well! And I didn’t tell them until AFTER they tried them all that I had made it.

Three little farm cheeses are now in the cheese fridge aging away in their own little “caves.” As you’ve read, I’ve had trouble with humidity in my dry state of California. The book suggested a large Ziploc bag around the cheeses- what a simple fix. I had thought more air needed to circulate so had never tried this myself, but it seems to be working. We tasted on this weekend and there was some bitterness, but perhaps that will phase out with time. We shall see.