(Looking at my photos right now to prep for this post, I’m laughing because the sign says “THIS IS MURRAY’S CHEESE.” Am I the only dork thinking, “THIS! IS! SPARTAAA!!!”? I can’t be…)
I recently had the opportunity to take not one, but two cheese classes at Murray’s. Interestingly enough, I had signed up for a Cheese 101 class with Lizz as soon as the class was first announced (they tend to sell out really quickly) for mid-October, but before that class happened, I received an email from Taylor over at Murray’s, saying she’d read my blog (!!!) – specifically, my wildly disappointed post about cheese class at Artisanal – and that she wondered if I’d be interested in a class at Murray’s*. Ummm, yeah?! We looked through the calendar together, and she helped me pick out a class that I felt was comparable to the class I’d taken at Artisanal, finally settling on The Local Motion, which was a pairing of local cheeses with what I thought were local wines, but when we (that is, DT & I, since I’d asked her to come with me) arrived, it was local beverages and local cheeses – the beverage instructor told us later that it was because it was actually hard to find some of the wines she’d have liked for the cheeses (being local meant that some of them were ONLY available at their respective wineries), and some of them were just fun pairings.
As I mentioned last time, there’s no point for me to tell you all about my tasting notes, since everyone has different reactions to certain cheeses and just varying palates, but I can tell you what we had and what it was paired with!
Our tasting plates held a good variety of cheese, to be paired with a wide variety of beverages.
Lots of empty wine glasses. I just like pictures of things lined up.
A nice touch was the little plate of “pickies” (a word I picked up from my bf’s mother) – little noshables for us to munch on with the cheese or plain – dried cherries, apricots, walnuts, and Marcona almonds (that’s DT’s hand, not mine!). There was also a basket of bread that was constantly being refilled, happily enough, so we didn’t get totally sloshed but also great with many of the cheeses.
As for the cheese & beverage pairings, we had (from the 12’o’clock position on my plate, clockwise):
- Channing Daughters Pinot Grigio with Willow Hill Summer Tomme
- Hermann J. Wiemer Riesling with Vermont Buter & Cheese Company Coupole
- West County Redfield Dry Apple Cider with Goot Essa Mountain Valley Sharp Cheddar
- Hudson Valley Baby Bourbon with Consider Bardwell Dorset
- Bedell Cellars Merlot with Cabot Clothbound Cheddar
- Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence with Jasper Hill Farm Bayley Hazen Blue
A few tasting notes: if you’ve been paying attention to my site, you’ll recognize one of those cheeses. Yes, directly after this class, I went and bought some of that delicious Goot Essa Mountain Valley Sharp Cheddar (along with some dried cherries). It was THAT good. And I took from that pairing that some apples would be good with the cheese, and they were. Also, my favorite quote(s) of the night, from DT, were about the second cheese – the goat cheese – “Tastes like curdled feet. No – like chewing on tinfoil, a mouthful of BLOOD” – it did have a bit of a mercuric aftertaste. And lastly, the Consider Bardwell Dorset has a quote penned next to it, though no name to attribute it to (was it me?) – “Smells like homeless person.”
I just thought I’d share.
Other than that, the class itself! You want to know how I thought it stacked up against Artisanal! Well, to be honest… First, I want to say that the two woman leading the class, Amanda Crawford & Nora Singley, did an excellent job. They were both able to keep our attention, and extremely knowledgeable of the cheeses and beverages, giving us in-depth histories and a bit of “If you like this, you’ll also like—” and a lot of good information, and very accessible, funny, and just made the class fun.
The people in the class may have been a different crowd from that at Artisanal, since none of us got sloshed to the point of no return, although there was no “reception” portion with champagne. I don’t know. Actually, I do know: the crowd at Murray’s was definitely a different crowd. They seemed like they actually wanted to learn about the cheeses and pairings, and try new things (there were a few who were definitely a bit less than familiar with some of the cheeses, including myself & DT), and pay attention. Artisanal’s crowd was more – don’t take this as a sweeping condemnation of a group of people to which most of my friends and I belong, it’s just how I felt – well, young people who seemed to have just gotten off work and decided to take this class for kicks and “unlimited wine pouring”, not really for learning. Which is unfortunate because there were a few people who did want to learn, and the few that were disruptive really made the class hard for the rest of us.
HOWEVER… I found the same general problem with Murray’s class as with Artisanal. I want to know why each cheese was chosen for each wine (or vice versa, however the case may be). I want to learn how to create my own pairings, but after taking both classes, I’m beginning to think that in fact, it’s just something that comes with experience, trial & error, and just a lot of trying things to see how they go. Thinking upon flavors within the cheese and figuring out what could enhance it best. It’s something I’m starting to get into, to be honest, and have had some success with it already.
ON THE OTHER HAND…
Just over a week later found me back at Murray’s for class with Lizz. We’d confessed our not-extensive-knowledge of cheese to each other and subsequently quickly signed up for Cheese 101 at legendary Murray’s, figuring we’d learn a bit, eat a bit, and enjoy.
From the 12’o’clock position, we had:
- Valencay
- Brillat Savarin
- Meadow Creek Dairy Grayson
- Nisa
- Cabot Clothbound Cheddar
- Dark chocolate
- Stilton
The two little cups on the top left of the picture contained a little drizzle of honey and some tomato jam. Oh my gosh, if the tomato jam is in stock when you’re there, you have to pick this up, it’s amazing. It’s tomato… but super duper sweet. DELICIOUS. The lavender honey wasn’t anything to sneeze at, either…
Once again, little nibbly things to complement the cheeses were provided, along with bread and wine, all of which were replenished regularly (and still, no one got thrashed drunk).
This time our instructor was Jessica Kesselman, and again, very knowledgeable, in an easy going way. Our class did not get rowdy (despite one of the attendee’s incessantly irritating questions that bordered on “I just want to hear myself talk”, and despite the constantly refilled wine glasses). She encouraged us to try each cheese with whatever struck our fancy – though she did say that she’d chosen the chocolate, the jam and the honey each for specific cheeses, she emphasized just mixing and matching to see what went well with what else and working from there.
I think this class was a great primer for novice cheese lovers (I like cheese a lot, but I don’t – or rather, didn’t – know much about it at all before taking classes). Jessica was thorough about each cheese’s history and origins, and talked briefly about raw milk vs. pasteurized, about the different regions from which various cheeses came, and was extremely approachable with everything.
Also included in our class handouts were a few pages of information about cheese that, in conjunction with the class, really solidify everything we learned and adds to it even more, including cheese categories, common descriptors, how to compose your own cheese service, and even some notes on pairing wines with various cheeses (finally!). I have saved this for my own future reference.
For both classes, I also really appreciated that the instructors stuck around and invited us to chat with them if we had any questions, and actually stayed behind, talking about cheese. They were all clearly not just knowledgeable about the cheeses, but passionate about what they do and eager to share with whomever would like to learn. (Also of note: in the Cheese 101 class, there was a little girl of about 10 or so there with her mother. They accomodated her easily and gave her a lightly sweetened soda instead of wine. She was incredibly interested in learning – a bit shy when prompted with questions about her thoughts on a cheese, but I could see her paying rapt attention to the instructor, which amazed me.)
Overall, I thought the classes were fun, informative, well conducted, and the instructors were so passionate and knowledgeable, you couldn’t help but get into the material (both literally and figuratively) with them. I never felt like they were trying to sell to me, either – just passionate about what they were sharing with us and why they liked certain things.
I would definitely recommend classes at Murray’s Cheese. In fact, I will probably (hint, hint!) purchase gift certificates to classes for a few of my budding cheese fiend friends for Christmas…
(Also, if you work in the area – lucky! – I see they sell sandwiches, soups, and other assorted goodies that would make a fine lunch for anyone… ahhh…)
*Full disclosure: I paid for both of these classes with my own money – I know the phrasing above sounds like otherwise, but I assure you, I did not take either class for free.
Anonymous says
i dont know who said homeless person, but it wasn’t me.
SkippyMom says
I am so envious. Yummy. I would rather know what goes with what – I can hardly pair wine with meat/fish at this point, hee!
This post makes me want to go back and make the grilled cheese and apple sandwich…mmmm.
I think that may be my first bento for the kidlets. [not grilled, but they will so get the point]
I have never had stilton – what would you compare it to? I always wondered and yes, yes I do LIVE in a cave. ;D
Jen says
So cheese really *is* becoming the new wine!
And ‘pickies’ is a good term, but I really like your ‘noshables’ just as much. 🙂
Lizz says
I really enjoyed this class! I can’t wait for my next one. After reading this I realized I left my notes at the classroom. d0h!!
Slovebunny says
Oh I so LOVE cheese!
I was so disappointed once I seen where this place was located.