This fun episode covers the two basic food groups in wine country; cheese and charcuterie! Co-host Jean-Charles Boisset and I talk about the wonderful craft cheeses and meats made fresh in the area. The wines we taste today include the 2016 DeLoach Vineyards Estate Chardonnay and 2015 DeLoach Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir, both from Boisset’s certified organic and Biodynamic Russian River Estate, which pair perfectly with our cheese and meat selections.

This episode is made possible by Oakville Grocery, part of Boisset Collection, a portfolio of wineries and lifestyle destinations with strong historical and family roots.

To shed light on the cheeses of Sky Hill Napa Farms, we talk with Will McCosker, whose family founded the goat cheese farm when he was a child. McCosker reminisces about their first pet goat, Oscar McCosker, and how the farm got its start. He talks about the varieties of goat cheeses Sky Hill produces, from fresh to flavored chèvre, and goat feta cheese. The milk for all varieties comes from their goat herd, which has grown to over 500 animals. We hear from Assistant Cheesemaker Patrick McKeon, who takes us through the cheesemaking process. McKeon talks about farmstead cheese, a term that refers to the milk used in production originating from a single farm and herd—parallel to estate wine that originates from a single vineyard property.

Moving from cheese to meat, we sit down with Pete Seghesio of Journeyman Meat Co. in Healdsburg to learn more about his hand-crafted and cured meats. After extensive travels in Italy, Seghesio designed his  meat market to replicate some of the most striking shops near Rome. Borrowing European techniques, he ferments his meats at low temperatures, each in individual fermentation rooms, allowing more flavor development. He also ages the meats twice as long as typical American meats. Seghesio recently entered into a joint project with Oakville Grocery to craft heritage salumi using Boisset’s finest wines from esteemed vineyards like DeLoach and Buena Vista Winery.

Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more shows in the coming weeks. Please share across your social media channels and subscribe to get each new episode directly in your podcast feed. You can find Napa Sonoma magazine on newsstands, subscribe here, or read the digital edition online.