Ode to Sancerre

I adore California Chardonnay, and haven’t found a lot of French Chardonnay that I enjoy.  I wish this were not true, because I feel less sophisticated for preferring a big oakey wine to one that is more subtle.  But I live in California, and buttery and oakey wines are very popular here.   While we were in France this summer, I decided to steer away from French Chardonnays, and instead went with a lovely Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre.  When we came home and found ourselves longing for France, we stated looking for Sancerre around here.  You can find fairly decent selections of wine at your local Safeway, and even CVS and Rite-Aid have a gem or two, so it isn’t too hard to find something like a Sancerre, and indeed, I found them at Safeway, Whole Foods, and our locally owned grocery store, Lunardi’s.   Lundardi’s has a Sancerre that they import that I haven’t found anywhere else that pairs SO WELL (at least to my palate) with a French cheese we found, Brillat Saverin. One day in June, we were at shopping for dinner, and thought a little wine and cheese might be in order, and might make us feel a bit less homesick (for vacation that is…vacation sick?).  We were looking for a Camembert, and ended up getting the Brillat Saverin instead.  I had never heard of this cheese, but it was in with the Brie, so we decided to give it a try.   OH my goodness, SO GOOD.  Very similar to Brie, but softer and a little tangy at the end.  Maya didn’t love it, she found it too savory, but I LOVED IT.  I told Ted that if I weren’t already married, I would marry that cheese.  And with the mineral flavor of the Sancerre?  It was a dream.  SO GOOD.

So we’ve been trying Sancerre here and there when we are willing to shell out for it (not as cheap as our local daily type wines, to be sure), and reading a bit about it.  Much like Burgandy, Sancerre is a region of France, in the Loire Valley.  The soil there makes the Sauvignon Blanc taste more of minerals than it does here.  SO GOOD.  Also like Burgandy, or Champagne, only wine grown in the Sancerre region can be called Sancerre.  A few weeks ago, we found ourselves in a new wine store in town, a tiny place that specializes in wines from around the world.  I looked in their French section for a Sancerre, but could not find one.  So I asked the owner of the store, and he showed me three bottles, none of which actually said the word Sancerre, as they were all from that general region, but not specifically from Sancerre.  We tried a Menetou-Salon (above), which is pretty much the same as a Sancerre, but grown a bit down the road.  It was crisp and flinty and oh so good.  We went back a week later and bought another bottle, and it was just as delicious as the first.  The other day I got a third bottle, which we will bring with us to Thanksgiving dinner.

And a (semi) final note is that last night, Ted decided we should go to dinner, as we haven’t been out for a nice dinner in awhile.  We went to our neighboring town to a little French restaurant, and I had a lovely Sancerre with my mushroom risotto.  It was perfect, and I THINK I’ve seen this particular Sancerre at Whole Foods.  About the same price as the Menetou-Salon, maybe a dollar or two less.  Delicious. I so wish I could invite you over for a lovely bottle or two, perhaps with some Brillat Saverin and a mushroom risotto.  As a matter of fact, consider yourself invited.  Any takers?

Note that the links I included are interesting to me, but of course your mileage may vary.  If you were to go looking for the cheese in a shop near you, look around.  I found a big difference in prices…the least expensive being at our local store, and the most expensive being Whole Foods, a difference between a $20 bit of cheese and a $30 bit of cheese.  It’s pre-packaged in France, exactly the same sized bit of amazingly delicious and super creamy cheese.  That’s a big difference in price.  Whole Foods had cheaper wines, though, so it’s best if you are lucky enough to be able to shop around a bit.

Another Note that while Maya did not love the cheese as much as I did, at a Bastille Day/Birthday party we hosted this summer, I served it using a Jacques Pepin recipe for Camembert with honey and pistachios, and the sweetness from the honey made it delicious to her.  It was devoured by everyone.