Many of you have been coming in to get your wines from us and we want to say thank you! But we also need to say we are sorry. We appreciate you thinking of us for your wine purchases, but sorry the shelves are getting empty! You guys are really enjoying the wines we are bringing in, we can't keep enough in stock!

Fear no more, we are restocking our shelves as quickly as we can and always looking for great wines at great prices. We have some great wines lined up and as soon as they come in we'll let you all know about them.

In the interim, come in and see what we do have in stock, as there are many, many great wines available right now. We are also working on expanding our stock of sparkling wines, as that seems to be a very popular item for many of you.

Our cheese of the month for April 2010 is the Isle of Mull cheddar. "One of our moister cheddars with quite a soft texture and quite wild, farmy, fruity flavors - sometimes with an almost alcoholic tang. In winter, the cheeses are quite bright white in color, in summer a light cream." We usually sell the Isle of Mull for $30/lb, but this month we'll be selling it for $26/lb. as our cheese of the month. On April 1st we'll be cutting into this wheel, no fooling. It will be available through the month of April at that price until it is gone.

We have just secured everything with the creamery at WSU to start bringing in Cougar Gold directly. We will be the ONLY place in town where you can buy "cut and wrap" Cougar Gold, and NOT have to buy an entire can. We will have whole cans available for those who want them, on a pre-order basis. "Winner of several national and international awards. A rich, white cheddar with a smooth, firm texture. Cougar Gold® becomes sharper and more crumbly with age and develops crystals throughout the cheese. This unique cheddar has a depth and intensity most people have never before experienced. Like a fine wine, Cougar Gold® gets better with age. Since its creation in the 1940's, it remains unequaled in comparison. Its creamy, lingering flavor will leave you wanting more. "

The newest addition to our ever increasing line up of charcuterie is Creminelli Fine Meats. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah Cristiano Creminelli has been turning out hand crafted salumi in the Piedmontese tradition since 2007. Most of their meats are made in a small "grab and go" style that is different than all of the other meats we carry.

Creminelli currently produces 8 different salumi: Barolo-The richness of the Barolo lingers in this already robustly flavored artisan salami creating a truly complex, bursting flavor that is difficult to replicate and impossible to forget. Salame al Barolo, as it's known in Italy, is a meat delicacy that comes from Piemonte, the same place that gave birth to Barolo wine, the Slow Food movement

Cacciatore-Salami Cacciatore translates into "hunter's salami". It got this name because it is formed into small pieces of about a quarter pound, each one only three to four inches long, making them a simple and portable snack easily placed in the hunter's shoulder bag. Hunter's would typically cut each salami into three or four thick bite-sized pieces and eat them while on the run. To this day, Salami Cacciatore is served cut vertically in thick slices. The other unique quality of this salami is the use of juniper berry bringing out a suggestion of fruity taste in the meat.

Casalingo-Salami Casalingo or salami di casa translates into "the salami of the house" or "household salami" and is derived from the Italian tradition of each household producing its own salami. The popularization of this version of household salami emerges from the Creminelli's province of Biella thanks in no small part to the Creminelli family, which has been producing it for several generations. It is well known for its simple and natural ingredients. A small quantity of salt, pepper and spice is all that is needed to enhance the remarkable quality of the pork. It does not have a strong, overbearing taste and this is the secret of its success: sweetness and simplicity.

Felino-This salami has its origins in Felino, Italy in the central Emilia Romagna region. To prepare this salami requires specific cuts of pork, making it possible to produce only a few pounds from each pig. The meat is coarsely ground, salted and spiced with an ancient blend that is one of Italy's oldest salami recipes.The Felino blend used by the Creminelli family is a closely held secret, but we can tell you that pepper and nutmeg play a prominent role in creating this salami's subtle yet dazzling flavor.

Piccante-Salami Piccante translates into "spicy salami", known to Americans as pepperoni. This long thin salami, often formed into a horseshoe shape, is made with paprika and hot peppers and comes from the Calabria region of Italy. For this reason it is often called salame calabrese. Its international popularity has led to it being produced in an enormous variety of shapes and at varying levels of quality. As you might imagine, there's a world of difference between a genuine Salame Piccante and the pepperoni you get on fast food pizza.

Sopressata-Salami Sopressata, also called Sopressa Veneta, got its name from the practice of pressing the salami between planks of wood resulting in a straight, flattened shape. The northern Italian version from Vicenza, in the Veneto region, did away with the pressed shape and has become an international favorite. It is also prepared in a small round format called Muletta, named after the unique type of casing used in its preparation. Sopressata is known for having a more robust taste thanks to the generous amount of garlic added. It is produced with the highest quality pork cuts, coarsely ground with salt added. Just before stuffing, additional spices are added including the garlic crushed by hand and dissolved overnight in a generous portion of wine.

Tartufo-The Black Summer Truffles (Tuber aestivum) spring up between June and October in northern Italy. They are found by specially-trained dogs who sniff out their hiding spots where they are then gathered by hand. The local mushroom enthusiasts each have a secret spot or two where they hope to find some of their own truffles from year to year. Creminelli has hidden a few of them away in our Salami Tartufo and you are sure to find them there each time you go looking. Their delicate aroma works magic with the all-natural pork to create the Salami Tartufo.

Cingale (wild boar)-This delicacy is made with a mixture of field harvested Texas wild boar and all natural Duroc pork belly, and seasoned with wine-soaked cloves and juniper berries. In Florence at the busy Mercato Nuovo sits Il Porcellino, the bronze statue of a wild boar sculpted by Pietro Tacca in 1612. Tradition holds that if you rub the nose of the wild boar statue you ensure your return to Florence. A taste of Creminelli's Wild Boar Salami may transport you there immediately. Wild boar meat is leaner, tangier, and deeper in color making a more exotic product. The flavor profile is stronger and more distinctive and takes on the tones of the boar's wild diet which includes roots, grasses, nuts, and berries. Creminelli's wild boar salami pairs well with fresh figs, dates, walnuts, pistachios, rosemary bread, fried polenta, potatoes and spinach boiled and butter-fried, and Pecorino Toscano, Toma & Brá cheeses.

We continue to provide Walla Walla with THE BEST beer selection around. Let's face it, it takes a lot of beer to make good wine, so why not drink the best beer you can find? We continue to search out new beers and some old ones too. The Saison beers that we love in summer will start rolling in soon. We love the saison style beers when the weather is warm. The dry hoppy finish leaves your palate clean and fresh and wanting another sip.

We will continue to bring in the Trappist Beers that many of you had the pleasure of tasting at the last Gustiamo! event. Our hope is to bring all 6 of the monastery beers that are available in the US to our shelves soon.

We also love LAMBIC and we know there are many of you out there that love it too. We will be bringing in some great true lambics this spring. A true lambic does not have sugar added it to cut the bite that many lambics have. We believe that real beer, like real wine, does not need added sugar to please your palate. We might even have to do a Lambic tasting in fall. . .

Come in soon and we'll show you our favorite beers for any occasion. You can also pull one right out of our refrigerated case and crack it open here in the store!

Spring is officially here and that means Asparagus. And truth be told, this region grows THE BEST asparagus. Walla Walla's asparagus is sweet, tender and it does not have to be trucked from God knows where to get here. As soon as the asparagus is ready we will have it here available for all of you. And we might even do a lunch special with some.

We also will be putting up some more pickles soon as we are almost out! There are only a few containers left in the cold case here. If you have never tried our pickles or pickled green tomatoes, we suggest you ask around. They are some of the best pickles you'll ever eat, or so we've been told. And they are made the old fashioned way, without preservatives and with only natural (real natural not the fake natural) ingredients. Once our next batch is ready we'll send out the news. In the mean time you can grab a container to last you till then.

We continue to make fresh pasta on Sunday and we will be offering sheet pasta for those who want to do it themselves at home, but with out the hassle. If you have a special request and need some for Sunday dinner, then call ahead and we'll set some aside for you.

We also have a special opportunity for those who want to learn to make their own pasta, sign up for our next Gustiamo! in April. We'll show you how to make dough, roll it out and shape and cut. We'll even teach you a few quick sauces to impress your friends and family - keep reading - more on this below!

We continue to make our very special hand-cured, store-brined corned beef for sandwiches to eat in the store (or to go), but we also sell it by the pound. And, if you have not had our corned beef before, ask around... we think it's the best you will ever have!

We also are becoming well known for our hot ham and cheese. We take some fantastic hand raised ham, slice it super thin and pile it on top of cave-aged emmenthaler. We serve it with our house made colesalw and a side of the best dijon mustard you can get. Everyone tells us it is the best they have had. Ahh, shucks.

We have added two more sandwiches to our repitore that you should know about too, a chicken salad sandwich and our first Italian sub. The chicken salad is light on the mayo but big on flavor. We serve it on John's Wheatland Oat Bran bread, slightly toasted with our housemade coleslaw. Our Italian Sub is a mini sub stacked with mortadella, salame cotto, and real fontina cheese. We add our own house made vinagrette to give it just a little tang. We serve this on Walla Walla Bread Company's special Batards they are making exclusively for us.

We know you have a lot of places to consider for lunch, but make sure you stop in here next time you are out for a bite to eat. We think you'll be happy with what you taste!

Yes, it's true! Damon Burke of Salumiere Cesario will be hosting an evening of making your own fresh pasta. You will learn how to make pasta dough from scratch, roll out sheet pasta for making filled pasta and then show you how to turn sheet pasta into fantastic cut pasta. We'll talk through some creative ways to fill your pastas, and we will show you how to cook your filled pasta in broth as done in Italy.

If you are interested, please look out for our official Gustiamo! event notice and be the first to sign up!

Its that time of year again! And, of course! We'll be there! Please join us at Eastern Washington's premiere food and wine event. One $40 ticket includes a wine glass and 10 tokens to trade for tastes from over 50 restaurants and wineries. Art and music round out the feast for your senses. Come see us at our booth, where we will be serving up Korean BBQ-style tamales, charcuterie and artisanal cheese for you to taste! The event takes place in Downtown Walla Walla on April 10 from 1-4 pm.

We continue to work with our local bakers to develop great breads that we think you'll love. Walla Walla Bread Company has already been making Batards for us with their french dough, for those who do not like sourdough (is that possible?). We are working with them to develop a focaccia that we can sell in the store, something that is unique and of course different that what you will find in their bakery. We will be unveiling this soon on Facebook, so if you are not yet a fan of the store, join up now!

Can't wait to see you back in the store! Cheers!

Salumiere Cesario
Damon & Colby Burke