Yes it’s true, we started celebrating our fifth anniversary last month and the celebrations continue.  In order to celebrate we have some fantastic sales, raffles, and events happening in the store and around the Bay Area.

Raffles can be a drag if you have to jump through hoops in order to win the prize.  Realistically who has the time for such hoops?  We don’t so we’ve made it pretty simple.  

Gouda Raffle

You can buy a ticket for $5(get it, 5 is the magic number) and you get a chance at winning 5lbs. of cheese.  Or you buy $10 worth of cheese and be entered in the raffle and then you don’t run the risk of having to hold onto a little ticket.

Taste of Spain Raffle

Having been lucky enough to watch the World Cup from beginning to end and witnessing Spain win we decided to create this raffle.  Spend $20 on any of our beloved Spanish products in the store and automatically get entered to win a gift certificate at one of our favorite Spanish restaurants in San Francisco, B44.  Easy Peasy.

Wine Sale

Yes we are a cheese shop that sells wine.  We are pretty picky in our wine selection, making sure that we only carry wines that we know will pair with the cheeses we have in stock at the time.  That said we bring in small amounts from different wineries from around the globe that we think are extra special and when they’re gone we move onto new ones.  So it’s good that we like throwing a party for our birthday because we are offering some pretty good deals for our special wines. 

First, buy 5 bottles and get 15% off order.   Second, get two for the price of one.  Third, get 20% off any last bottles or orphans.

So with that I hope to see all of you in our store or hear from you at some point.  More to come for sure as I don’t plan on stopping the celebration anytime soon.

Tonight, like many nights I  spent an evening eating a great Italian meal with friends.  This time we had a good friend in our company who is a professional magician.  Yes, I said it.  Not musician, which is common in Sonoma County, in fact the hillsides are teaming with professional musicians.  A magician, the art of illusion is what Chris Korn does best.  And he performed for us as well as the rest of the restaurant where we dined, Diavola Pizzeria in Geyserville, California(which if you’ve never been to is a must, not just for the food which is fantastic but the one street town where the restaurant is located).

We, a compilation of winemakers, vineyard managers, cheese mongers(yours truly), artists, chefs and yes, musicians find ourselves sitting at long tables  all over Sonoma County sharing stories, bringing in bottles of wine, taking pictures(we admit to post on Facebook or Twitter) and dining on such things as grilled bread slathered in burrata with local olive oil, roasted beet salad with frisee and tangerines and bone marrow.  It is a good way to begin your week if by Monday evening you’ve already eaten some rich creamy Burrata followed by bone marrow.

We didn’t stop there we had three types of pizzas and baked rigatoni, cheese in every dish.    I could talk about the cheeses and break down every dish, but that’s not really the point and it’s not fair to you.  The point is that we got to not only partake in this meal and watch Chris perform but we were all vitally aware of how lucky we were at that moment when the room quieted and the magic began.  And I know I felt pretty lucky to be a part of it.

I remember breaking the news to my friends in San Francisco that I was leaving the city for this little town in Sonoma County.  Half my friends thought I was completely nuts to leave a food mecca such as San Francisco to go hang in the “sticks” and the other half rebelled a bit, stammered and some even cried.  I boldly took off for the wine country not knowing what lay ahead.  I became  the “cheese lady” and slowly I was accepted into the community and eventually a new circle of friends emerged.  Now, five years later and I can’t imagine being anywhere else.  What a liberating feeling to know you are right where you belong.

It’s February and time is flying but I wanted to let you know about a couple of new items that we have in stock at the store and also some of our really good deals.  First the new treats:

Misfortune Cookies from my friends Russ and Jason who are famous for coming up with our favorite line of lollipops.  Fortune cookies with a more realistic approach to the fortune and cookies are made in a bakery in Austin so they are actually quite tasty.  They are for sell for $10 and you get about 11 or 12 in a box.

Our next item is our dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Zin Restaurant.  Jeff Mall makes the peanut butter( I gotta say I am not a big crunchy peanut butter fan, but now I am).  The peanut butter is enrobed in bittersweet chocolate and topped with fleur de sel.  Well we got them in for Valentine’s Day and I think we have eaten more than we’ve sold.  That might not be true, they are a hit among our friends at Les Mars Hotel and at Restaurant Scopa.  A puck is $3 bucks.

Now for our sale items we have some price reductions for products that we always will carry.

We have Zin Restaurant Roasted Anaheim Chiles for $6/lb  and Let’s Be Frank for $4

We are selling our Fiorello’s Gelato Slices: buy 12 slices you get one free.  Each slice costs $2 each which a steal!!  And if you buy it from you favorite monger the more they sell then they get something too.  It’s a party for everyone.  Flavors include Strawberry Gelato over white chocolate cheesecake, Mocha Almond Fudge gelato over chocolate cheesecake and Tony Spumoni which is a classic Fiorello’s flavor: almond gelato, pistachio gelato and chocolate cheesecake.  You won’t be let down and if you haven’t tried Fiorello’s gelato  then you must come in and get some!

Also we have vintage silverware for $5 a piece and once they are all polished and pretty they would make a great hostess gift or if you have a child going off to college and getting independent they will always need at least one fork.

Price Reductions on Lehua Hawaiian Honey, French Honey that can be used many ways besides cheese and La Panzanella Croccantini which we are now selling for $5.75.

Come in and meet some of our new friends and family members who are helping us during these tough times to keep us going.

Thanks for listening,

Doralice & the gang