Cheese, Chocolate, and Wine

And would you have stopped here? We wouldn't have if we had just seen the sign and the building, which was in similar disrepair. But it was a Rachel Ray day -- we had eaten in two of the Ashland restaurants that she had featured and also enjoyed a glassblowing studio and gallery that she had mentioned so we drove 15 miles or so to see -- this.
The Rogue Creamery (http://www.roguecreamery.com) was not impressive; nothing to view through the glass window into the production area. The clerk told me that cheddar cheese is only made there twice a week and the blue cheese -- which is what we had come for -- was made in another facility and she hadn't even seen it?!

But there were samples to try -- of four of their blue cheese varieties, four cheddars, and four flavored curds. Alan was surprised that he could differentiate between the four types of blue cheese and although we choose different favorites, we both agreed that it was the best blue cheese we've ever had.

Rogue will soon be remodeling their historic building and is building a community of cottage industries with tastings. So far there is a lovely chocolatier (http://www.lilliebellefarms.com/)
across the parking lot and the tasting room for two area wineries next door. Worth a side trip.

Oh, and the follow-up...the artisanal chocolates we purchased were feasted on the first day, there is still cheese in our frig that we have been eating daily, and I didn't buy any wine (my two sips were good though; dessert and other sweeter wines which are a good match for my lack-of-fine-wine-discretionary-taste. In fact one of the wines was called a cuvee -- I liked the taste and I like the word but I assume that it is not for the more discerning; it means a blend and reminds me of a soup of leftovers, delicious nonetheless. Any oenophile can correct me here.)