It only seems like yesterday that I was writing about National Cheese Lover’s Day. That was back in January and now Easter is already upon us! It’s been a busy few weeks here in Pangbourne with Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day having been and gone. However this week is all about Easter, albeit a slightly different one to to usual. With the lockdown guidelines changing in parts of the UK this week it does mean that more of us can meet our friends and family outside. I for one am definitely looking forward to meeting my 1yr old nephew for the first time next weekend!
As with many businesses this year, we have had to adapt and one of our most successful partnerships has been with Kay, a local wine expert. We have been providing cheese, crackers and tasting notes to accompany wines that Kay has been tasting with clients over Zoom. Cheese and wine is a match made in heaven and it’s been really interesting experimenting with which cheeses work well with which wines. Some matches are easy, Sancerre with goat’s cheese for example but did you know that our local soft cheese Waterloo goes fabulously well with a Portuguese wine made from Antão Vaz grapes? It’s been a great learning experience and I now know more about all the different types of wine available than I thought possible! If you want to know more about the packages that Kay offers you can check out her website here.
Speaking new ventures… we are still planning on opening up our brand new tasting rooms in Pangbourne. The building needs a bit of work to get it into tip top condition but hopefully when the world opens up again we will have some positive news to report. A cheese and wine night is definitely on the cards!
Highlights in the shop this week include a lovely guest blue cheese – Perl Las. This is organic, creamy blue has been showcased in our monthly cheese club boxes and in honour of Wales’ Six Nations win we’ve decided to add it into our counter. Unfortunately it’s only available in store and once it’s gone, it’s gone. We’ve also got a semi-mature Cornish Gouda (which is fabulous by the way) and Golden Cross, a delicious goat’s cheese from Sussex.
On a personal front my running is going from strength to strength and I have recently discovered the joy of cycling on Zwift. Having virtual rides around London or Paris has been great fun.
For those that can’t make it into the shop this week don’t forget that we need your orders by Tuesday night for delivery the same week. There’s still time to place an order for Easter 🙂