Wine and Cheese: Cru Cellars

The St. Pete Times ran a recent article that suggested Cru Cellars was nothing short of spectacular. We certainly won't argue with that assessment. Cru Cellars is a warm, friendly, and intelligent addition to the wine and cheese scene in South Tampa, or anyplace else in the city for that matter.

The love of my life and I popped in this past Saturday and immediately headed for the wine bar. It was early in the day so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. This allowed proprietors Jen and Torrey to devote their complete attention to us. We felt really special having our own "private tasting", though I am sure that all customers are treated as special guests at Cru Cellars.

Jen, who is a recognized sommelier, presented the wine, cheese, and charcuterie menus to us at the bar. She also recommended various wines to accompany our meat and cheese selections. Jen suggested that we try one of the wine flights, the Whitey Tighty. We were each presented with three white wines which afforded us the opportunity to sample six different wines. All were excellent, but our favorites were the La Craie Vouvray, the Woolstoon Sauvignon Blanc, and the Starry Night Chardonnay.

Photo by Jen

While we sampled the wine Jen dispatched Torrey to the kitchen to prepare our cheese and charcuterie flight. We chose the Kiev Russian Style Salami, Prosciutto de Parma, plus a selection of cow, goat, and sheep cheeses. These flights come with a triple berry jam, caramelized nuts, and baguettes. Of the cheeses, our personal favorites were the buttery Delice de Bourgogne, Sottocenere with Truffles, the Beehive "Barely Buzzed", and the amazing Rogue Smokey Blue. The Prosciutto was heavenly!

To wrap up this wonderful wine and cheese tasting we chose three selections from the dessert menu. The Doce Debbies Truffle with chili pepper was my favorite. I was amazed at how well dark chocolate and chili peppers go together. From the Viktoria Richard's Chocolates collection we enjoyed the Fleur de Sel, and the Chocolate Blueberry. To accompany the sweets, we each had a glass of the superb Trip Point Diamond Dust Cabernet.

Wall painting, digitally enhanced - or, maybe it was the wine

The Cru Cellars is a delightful venue for sampling a wide assortment of wines, cheeses, and a few select beers and ales. We can't say enough about our charming hosts, Jen and Torrey.

Chillin' for the tastin'

The exotic Miller Lite - a concession for Torrey