While The Tasting House, at 368 Village Lane, is not yet open to the public, their online shop is ready to take holiday orders for pickup or delivery. And there are no supply chain issues here, as proprietor Denise Thornberry ordered plenty of inventory well in advance of shipping delays.
Thornberry says orders for gifts of cheese, chocolate and wine have been steadily coming in.
“We are busily putting together gift baskets for local companies and private parties,” she adds.
The well-stocked shop has gift items galore, including has everything for the cheese connoisseur, including serving boards, utensils, fondue kits and cheese cages for storing fromage safely at room temperature for maximum enjoyment. A selection of French Champagnes is available to accompany holiday cheese boards.
Custom Los Gatos shopping bags and tea towels beckon, including one that reads “Small Town Christmas,” and another that reads, “The place you call home.” For oenophiles there are towels reading, “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, but if the white runs out, I’ll drink red,” and plates that read, “Roses are red, Champagne has bubbles, let’s drink two bottles and forget all our troubles.”
Among Thornberry’s favorite items are Mario Fongo “Il Panato” crackers from Italy, Goulibeur walnut shortbread biscuits from France, Runamok-infused maple syrups specially designed for cheeses, Kelly’s pineapple habanero jelly and a handsome clay tile carved with a dove that can be heated in the oven and then put in a matching basket to keep bread warm.
Other items include imported pastas, olive oils and vinegars, salad bowl sets, cookbooks, wine books, cheese books and condiments like pistachio butter, truffle salt and peach bourbon cardamom jam from the Blackberry Patch. All have pairing suggestions for the cheeses they are meant to complement.
Customized logo chocolates are infused with local riesling and cabernet, and the more than 100 single-origin bean-to-bar chocolates come from around the world, including Vietnam, Nicaragua and Madagascar.
Among the cheeses in the gleaming refrigerated display cabinet are a triple crème bloomy rind from Normandy, a Camembert du Normandy, a Camembert au Calvados and a runny triple creme La Tur made from cow and goat milk. Valencay Pyramide de Tradition is an ash-coated goat cheese made in a pyramid shape with the top chopped off. Legend has it that Napoleon was served this cheese in original pyramid form, and it reminded him of his defeat in Egypt, so he took out his sword and sliced off the top.
Every cheese is identified by country and animal of origin, both on the store’s website and in its cheese case. Domestic offerings include a soft-ripened Rush Creek Reserve Uplands cow’s milk cheese from Wisconsin, available only for a short seasonal window.
The Tasting House also offers monthly cheese and wine clubs. The December Cheese Club is $49 and includes Coeur de Berry, a goat cheese from the Loire, the Brillat-Savarin triple crème from France and Green Dirt Farm’s Dirt Lover, a bloomy rind pasteurized cow cheese from Missouri.
To shop for cheese, wines and chocolates and gifts and arrange pickup at the shop, visit tastinghouse.com. To order custom tasting boxes, email their cheesemonger at Katrina@tastinghouselosgatos.com or call 408-348-1807.
food