Best of the cheese

- Silverstone's previous recommendations

- to accompany this month's white wine.

Cave Aged Gruyere

Imported from Switzerland, this cow's milk cheese has a brown pebble colored rind, with a creamy beige interior. The granular texture transforms the cheese into a smooth creamy taste sensation, with hints of fruits and nuts.

Note: Be sure to buy your cheese from the "fresh cheese" counter, and have it cut fresh in the store. Also avoid buying more than you need for a couple of days, since the freshness deteriorates after long term storage in the fridge.

Cheese research and selection by Phillip Silverstone and Scott Selkowitz of International Food Distributors Inc.

Cheese questions?: ifd@netcarrier.com

October 2000

A trip to the moon used to be the farthest place I dreamt about visiting. Then some bloke called Neil Armstrong beat me to it, and I lost interest. When I got older I wanted to fly on the Concorde, and I saved enough mileage points to achieve that dream. And then life became dull and boring - no more ambitions left to fulfill...until I discovered the underrated Sauvignon Blanc grape (formerly of Bordeaux, France) metamorphosing in the far flung reaches of New Zealand - as distant as the moon and as exciting as a supersonic pond hopper!

The House of Nobilo is situated in Huapai, North West of Auckland. Nobilos' Sauvignon Blanc grapes were grown in Marlborough, which is perched at the top of the South Island. The winemakers didn't want to lose the natural fruit flavours of the grapes, so they cold fermented the wine, which essentially keeps those natural flavours in tact. And the Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand should be given the same respect as a 700 pound sumo wrestler- don't mess with it! Leave it alone in it's development and it will dazzle you with it's

powerful performance.

The bouquet of this wine is text book, NZ Sauvignon: a fruit bowl of perfume, filled with gooseberry and passion fruit. The taste will knock you off your feet, but not before filling your mouth with some sensational flavours of melon and gooseberry and even a little apple. After a glass of this wine, a trip to the moon or travelling at twice the speed of sound seem..well..pretty pedestrian.

Region Marlborough, New Zealand

Grapes Sauvignon Blanc

Technical Juice underwent prolonged cold fermentation. Ferment was stopped to retain some residual sugar, blended, cold stabilised and sterile filtered into bottle.

Price in USA $10.29 (approx)

Best of the White Bunch