It’s difficult to choose a favorite cheese shop in Santa Barbara, because the quality of products that are sold in each and every store is superb. Two that rank highly on my list are Metropulos (just down the street from the SB Winery facilities) and C’est Cheese. C’est Cheese hosts monthly tastings that revolve around their cheeses paired with anything from cider to beer to wine. Last week I attended their Honey & Cheese Tasting and learned a great deal more than I ever thought I would know or learn about honey.
If you’re like me, you grew up with one of those plastic bear honey-filled containers in your cabinets. While this always does the trick, it is the artisan honey products that really pull the rug out from under you and impress. We tasted five different honeys paired with different cheeses. As we tasted through the line up we went from lightest and least intense to heavier and dramatic intensity.
Perhaps one of the most interesting things that I learned at this tasting had to do with honeys that are labelled as coming from orange blossoms, or lavendar flowers, etc. I would have always assumed that “orange blossom honey” would have a hint of orange flavor interlaced with the sweet honey. This is not the case because it comes from the nectar of the orange blossom, which tastes very different than the fruit that the plant produces. Now, if the honey is labelled as infused, then it will have flavors that come from the ingredient infusion. ie) orange infused honey would have a citrus flavor.
Below are the pairings that were served (cheeses in the left column, honey in the right):
Le Chevrot Black Sage Flower
Chaource (sha-orse) Lavender Flower
Ossau Iraty (oso eerahtee) Thousand Flower (aka Wildflower)
Pecorino Stagionato Black Truffle Infused Clover Honey
Queso de Valdeon Tupelo Flower
Pair these honey drizzled cheeses with a light white wine, such as a crisp stainless steel fermented chardonnay. Try one of these pairings for dessert or as an apertif at your next dinner party.
Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery
This sounds so interesting. I’m trying to put together an interesting theme for my book release party. It’s a poetry book called Slow Running Honey so I’m really fascinated about a honey tasting party. Are there any other wines you can suggest with these honey/cheese pairings? I’d like to have at least three different wines for a variety.