If we were still living in Montreal, there is no doubt in my mind that last Saturday would have found us at Dieu De Ciel (our favorite local pub, known for excellent beer and a killer cheese tray) at 3pm on the dot (when they opened). The weather was gorgeous, and we had been out running errands and grocery shopping all morning–it was just the sort of day that called for a pint and a few good cheeses for lunch. Sadly though, we were a long ways away from a pub with both an adequate beer selection and a decent cheese plate (probably Alibi’s in Vancouver is the closest one).

While the closest I could come with the beer was a bottle of St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout (a Quebec microbrewery imported from Vancouver), I did manage to assemble a darn fine cheese tray, if I do say so myself.

This one consisted of organic apples from the produce box, the remains of a baguette from the night before, crackers, salami (from the amazing Italian deli on Commercial ave. in Vancouver), the last of a chunk of Cambizola (Camembert+Gorgonzola) that had been idling in the fridge and was more *Gorgonzola* than Camembert at this point, a nice sharp cheddar, an amazing goat cheese gouda that the grocery store was sampling and I couldn’t pass up, and a spot of chutney from London. Its quite remarkable what you can find idling in the fridge sometimes.

The wine was not idling in the fridge. The wine was a long-awaited visit to Purple, a tres posh wine bar in downtown Seattle. What keeps me coming back there despite the poshness and the prices is their samplers: 4 2.5 oz. glasses of wine for $17 (which wouldn’t be that exciting, except that allows you to try 4 different wines at once and compare and contrast them–which is my favorite part). Anyways here’s what we tried:

I tried “The Farm” (these ones were supposed to be earthy, flowery etc.):
-Domaine Roc de Chateauvieux (France)
-Planeta (Italy)
-Alcance Carminiere (Chile) — I love Carminieres. They taste like dark chocolate
-Chateau la Coustarelle (France)–This one, I kid you not, tasted like flowers, it was a little odd at first, but it grew on me

Dan tried “Vive Le France” :
-Jean-paul brun “terres-dorees” (Beaujolais)
-Domaines sarrail (vin de pays de la cite de carcassonne)
-Chateau Franc grand-dieu (st. emillion grand cru)
-Les Moirets (cotes du Rhone)

Then we shared “The Bullfighter” (Spanish reds):
-gotin “del risc” mencia–This one, IIRC, was pretty light, but it may just have been that it followed the flowery one
-san isidro cepas del zorro “dos ano” monastrell
-comcerc ‘old vines’ garnacha (carinena) — delicious
-atalaya

My favorites were without a doubt the first batch. The earthy, pungent, floralness of them was delicious, and different from the type of wines I usually drink (rich Cabs or full fruity Shiraz). Had we not already stuffed ourselves with cheese at lunch, I would have definitely ordered a good creamy soft-ripened French cheese to go with it–but there’s only so much cheese one can eat in a day (even when one has lived in Montreal).