Fun With Carbs

Connecticut, I’m sorry I ever doubted your awesomeness. Twenty-four years of life in Massachusetts, with its superior sports teams, world-renowned attractions and lovable regional diction, will do that to you. But I’m on my knees begging for forgiveness now, Nutmeg State.

But if you had just told me you had such great wine…and beer…and cheese…

Unlike past years, we New Englanders have been spoiled rotten by a gorgeous spring. Thanks to steady sunshine and a few days of record-setting temperatures, trees and flowers bloomed two or more weeks in advance. Meaning there’s no better time to get outside and do what you’ve been dreaming of all winter.

Most beer-drinkers mark the start of summer with the release of Sam Adams Summer Ale, but not me. As long as I’m living here in Connecticut, Thomas Hooker Brewery’s Watermelon Ale is going to be my jam. On Friday, I stopped by the Bloomfield Brewery to pick up two growlers of their just-released summer seasonal.

(Read my A La Carte interview with brewery owner Curt Cameron here.)

All gone!

This year, they’ve brewed the beer with pureed real watermelon from Simsbury’s Rosedale Farms.  While it’s missing its slight pink hue (Cameron told me that they’d opted against using artificial coloring) it’s still that same refreshing Jolly Rancher-esque brew I loved so much last summer.

We laid waste to the growlers, along with two of Opa-Opa’s Watermelon Ale, at a barbecue Saturday night. We even garnished our glasses with slices of real melon. Time for refills.

During the day Saturday, I finally got to do something on my local “foodie bucket list”: a trip to Colchester combining stops at Cato Corner Farm and Priam Vineyards.  I’ve been more than a little obsessed with Cato Corner ever since I tried their cheeses at the CT Specialty Food Association competition in February and subsequently spent the next seven or 10 days dreaming about them.

The farm, run by a mother-and-son team, produces cheeses made from raw milk from their 40 cows. The cheeses are aged in an underground cave on the property, creating varieties so unique and delicious that they’re sought after by some of the country’s most prestigious restaurants and shops. The farm was even featured on a recent episode of Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations.”

We stood in line for a while to sample and purchase in the farm’s cheese shop. Seems several other people had the same agenda as us – BYO cheese to Priam Vineyards, just one mile up the road. We were still able to sample the Vivace, Aged Bloomsday and Womanchego. Wedges of the last two, plus my beloved Dairyere, came with us.

At $15-25 per pound, this fromage is not cheap, but that’s what Kraft is for. If I ever come into a spare $100, I’m driving back down to Colchester and splurging. Call high-end cheese my Manolos, if you will.

Things were even busier – and disorganized – at Priam, and it took awhile to get a tasting going. We’d paid for a basic sampling of five wines, but our distracted consultant accidentally poured us a splash of the first wine on the premium tasting menu, a Cayuga.

It turned out to be better than any of the five we tried after that, and we bought a chilled bottle to enjoy on Priam’s beautiful, sun-dappled patio. Happy mistake, or savvy sales tactic? Doesn’t really matter – we savored that dry, fruity wine with that magnificent cheese. Blissful.

Stay tuned for Part II: 85 Main’s Oyster Festival and a visit to Sharpe Hill Vineyard in Pomfret.