The Joy of Cheese Presents a Sheepy September

September 2009 is a bitch of month to try and schedule events. Labor Day is very very late, and Rosh Hashanah is somewhat early. That leaves a teensy tiny little window to schedule tastings. But every problem is an opportunity, so we're going to focus the entirety of our tasting themes on sheep cheese this month. Everyone knows Manchego, Roquefort, and Pecorino, but there's so much more to the story. We'll tell it in three separate events.
September 15 at 6:30 at Nectar Wine Bar: The 8 Best Sheep Cheeses in New York City
The 8 on the 8th series returns from summer hiatus with a survey course of great sheep cheeses from France, Italy and Spain (of course) as well as those from less renown ports like New Jersey, Portugal and England. Tickets are $25 and you pay for your wine as you go. There will be a flight of wines chosen by Jai Jai Greenfield, owner of Nectar Wine Bar. Nectar Wine Bar is at 2235 Frederick Douglass Blvd (121st St.) . Advance tix are available at Brown Paper Tickets, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/79470
September 17 at 7 at d.b.a Brooklyn: Cheeses of Spain & Portugal, Beers from ???
Okay, not all the cheeses here will be from sheep's milk but most of them will be. The Iberian peninsula is a fantastic epicenter of sheep cheese production and we will investigate some cornerstone cheeses and several exotic ones as well. Ray Deter will present six beers to chosen to match our six cheeses. There will also be fruit, a mystery cheese and program notes. Tickets are $20 (it's a one hour tasting) and available via Brown Paper Tickets, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/79469
September 22 at 7 at Stella: Not Cheap Cheese, Sheep Cheese!
One of the most underrated--okay Frank Bruni, overlooked--aspects of sheep's milk cheese is its companionability with a wide variety of wines. This will be our focus at the next Stella tasting. We will present nine extraordinary sheep's milk cheeses with four superb wines. I'll talk about the cheese and Peter Jamros will detail the deep dark secrets of the wine. Tickets are $40 (it's a two hour event) and available via Brown Paper Tickets, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/79468

For more information, contact me at thejoyofcheese@gmail.com.

-MJ

The August Events

August 11 at 7 at 10 Degrees, 121 St. Marks Place in the East Village

More Good Cheese for Hard Times, the latest in our exploration of inexpensive hand crafted cheese. We will sample and discuss 10 cheeses made on small farms run $25/pound or less. In it the process, we will go over how cheese is made, where to shop, and good pairing strategies. In addition, there will be fruit, a mystery cheese, and dark chocolate. The tasting will run from 7 until around 8ish. Tickets are $25 but you pay for your drinks separately, though it's 2-4-1 happy hour at the bar till 8. Advance tix are available at Brown Paper Tickets, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/76508

August 18 at 7 at d.b.a Brooklyn, 113 N. 7th St.,
Cheese and Beer, a summertime potpourri. I'm going to pick six cheeses (well seven including the mystery cheese) and Ray Deter, the owner of d.b.a., will pick six beers to match. It's a recipe for a very happy hour. The tasting runs till about 8. Tickets are $20 and available at Brown Paper Tickets, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/76511

For more information contact me at thejoyofcheese@gmail.com

-MJ

The July events part one

Lots of events in lots of places!

July 7 at 7 at 10 Degrees, 121 St. Mark's Place, (bet 1st Ave and Avenue A)
The Joy of Cheese Presents Good Cheese for Hard Times vol. 2. Great cheese need not cost a great amount of money. We will present the second in our three part series of cheeses that cost $25 per pound or less with a focus on the soft cheeses in that price range. Tickets are $25 and you pay for your beverages as you go. Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets, https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/70923

July 16 at 7 at Stella, 213 Front St. (bet Peck Slip and Beekman)
The Joy of Cheese Presents The Stella Seven: Francophile's Delight. It's durn near impossible to think about Cheese without France coming to mind. Francophile's Delight will offer nine affineur aged French Cheeses and four wines to match. I'll discuss the cheeses in terms of their geography, production style and flavor. Peter Jamros will reveal the deep dark secrets of the wine. Everyone will leave with smiles on their faces and Paris on their minds. Tickets are $40 and available via Brown Paper Tickets, https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/70918

July 21 at 7 at d.b.a. Brooklyn, 113 N. 7th St. (bet Berry and Wythe)
The Joy of Cheese Presents The JoC dba six pack. In the second of our series on cheeses and beers we will focus on the glories of French Farmhouse Ales. These lovely dense and refreshing beverages pair beautifully with cheese and to prove we will focus on six of each. In addition, weather permitting, the tasting will take place in the outdoor patio area of the bar.
Tickets are a mere $20 and available from Brown Paper Tickets, https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/70926

For more info, find me at thejoyofcheese AT gmail.

Have a beer, and upcoming tastings

It's only recently come to light, but beer and cheese are more compatible together than wine and cheese. The reasons for this are complex and have to do with the hops and sweetness of beer balancing out the complexities of cheese. Still not convinced? Come to The Joy of Cheese/d.b.a Six Pack, a new series at d.b.a Brooklyn, 113 North 7th St. in Williamsburg (a block and half west of the first L stop into Brooklyn, Bedford Avenue). This summer we will offer hour long tastings that feature six cheeses and three beers. There will be program notes, dark chocolate, fruit, and plenty of discussion about both cheese, beer and their pairings. Admission is $20 and space is limited so act now!
Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets.

Sneak preview of July
July 7 at 10 Degrees: Good Cheese for Hard Times vol. 2

July 15 at Nectar Wine Bar: The 8 Best Vermont Cheeses in NYC
July 16 at Stella: The Stella Seven presents Francophiles Delight
July 21 at dba Brooklyn: Cheeses and I.P.A.'s

-MJ

Late May and early June Tastings

After five tastings in eight days, I'm going to use the weeks leading up to Memorial Day to catch my breath and get ready to launch into our summer series. Here's the lowdown

May 28 at 7 at Stella, 213 Front St (between Beekman and Peck Slip or just north of the South Street Seaport, due east of the Fulton/B'way Nassau stop of the 2,3,4,5,A,C,J,and M trains), the third edition of the Stella Seven will focus on Italian Cheeses. No, not any ole Italian cheese, but rare Italian cheeses, Foglia Di Noce, Cinerino, and several that are just starting to make it to these shores. In addition to nine cheeses (seven plus two mysteries), there will be four wines presented and discussed by Peter Jamros (former Wine Director of Babbo and Otto), and of course there will be fruit, dark chocolate and program notes. Tickets are $40 and available via www.brownpapertickets.com (use Stella as a search criteria) by May 8.

June 2 at 7, the Joy of Cheese returns to its home base, 10 Degrees, 121 St. Mark's Place (between First Avenue and Avenue A) for the start of a new series, Good Cheese for Hard Times, 10 cheeses all under $25/pound. Admission to the event is $25 and you pay for your drinks as you go. Tickets will be on sale at www.brownpapertickets.com after May 8, use 10 Degrees as a search criteria.

June 8 at 6:30 at Nectar Wine Bar, 2235 Frederick Douglass Blvd, (121st St.), we will present the next edition of our 8 on the 8th series, The 8 Best Cheeses of the American West. The tasting will feature great obscure cheeses of California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. In addition there will be a suggested flight of wines from Jai Jai Greenfield owner of Nectar Wine Bar and Harlem Vintage. Tickets are $25 and available after May 8 at www.brownpapertickets.com (yep, use Nectar Wine Bar as a search critieria).

For more information hit me at thejoyofcheese@gmail.com

-MJ

The Joy of Cheese partial April sked

April is coming together slowly at The Joy of Cheese.

However......there will be cheese!

April 8 at 6:30 at Nectar Wine Bar, 2235 Frederick Douglass Blvd (121st. St.), we will explore The 8 Best Italian Cheeses in New York City. Tickets are $25 and you pay for your wine as you go. Advance tickets are at brown paper tickets dot com. Use Nectar Wine Bar as the search criteria.

April 29 at 7 at The 92nd St. Y, I am team teaching a wine and cheese pairing class. We will investigate 8-10 wines and 8-10 cheeses and discuss. Tickets are $50 and advance sales are at the 92StY.org box office.

April 30 at 7 at Stella, 213 Front St. near the South St. Seaport, we will hold the second edition of the Stella 7, Nine cheeses four wines $40. More information on that soon.

More information in general? E-me at thejoyofcheese on gmail.

More March Cheese Tasting Madness

March 11, The Joy of Cheese launches a new series, The Stella Seven, at Stella, 213 Front Street. The venue is near the South St. Seaport, a five minute walk from the Fulton St/B'way Nassau stop of the A, C, J, M, 2, 3, 4, and 5 trains. The tastings will take place in a separate salon room accessible via the bar.
Our first tasting there will focus on cheeses of Spain and Portugal. As part of the $40 admission ($45 at the door), there will be sample sizes of four absurdly good Iberian wines served and discussed by Peter Jamros from Regal Wines. Of course in addition to the seven cheeses, there will also be two mystery cheeses, fruit, dark chocolate, and of course program notes.
You can buy tickets in advance at Brown Paper Tickets, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/57728

For more information, try me at The Joy of Cheese aT Gmail.

-MJ