Editor’s Note: Asiago and the Accomplice (Whine & Cheese Cozy Mystery Series) by Judy Volhart is now available. Click here to order your copy.

It was one of those days; the kind where everything goes wrong, you’re not in good spirits (a combination of melancholy and irritation), you work hard all day and then come home to your upstairs neighbors being even louder than usual. To escape them, you leave and run errands without having had supper yet. And buy everything in sight.

So I ended up with six bottles of wine and three varieties of cheese to choose from, as well as a fancy big bat of wine-infused salami and a luscious crunchy baguette. Oh, how to choose?

I finally decided on a bottle of Relax that comes in a soothing blue bottle, for that reason alone. This is a German White Riesling wine, described as having a fruity bouquet with intense apple and peach flavors and hints of citrus. I was quite pleased with my unsophisticated palate as it definitely tasted juicy apples.

Since my baguette was fresh, I had selected the herbed Goat cheese, which spread nicely on the bread, like a very thick cream cheese that had been slathered in herbs. It’s not a strong cheese, but it does leave a slightly sour taste on the tongue. I’ve had this cheese before so I was playing it safe, unlike last week’s extra old cheddar.

I got lucky because the wine toned down the slightly sour taste of the goat cheese, and therefore I was happy with the pairing. (Side note: it also tasted good with jellybeans. You won’t hear that from any fancy wine snob.)

The salami, called Salametti Marsala, by Fantino & Mondello (I think made in Quebec) did not disappoint. Not overly greasy, nor overly salty, the slightly smoky flavor was mild and satisfying with a nice chew to it since I’d cut fairly thick slices.

Doesn’t this look mouth- watering?!

So, my day may have held its challenges, but after a nibble like this…yeah, it ended well.

Cheers, my friends,
Judy

I pushed the door open with my good wrist. As my eyes slowly adjusted to the change in lighting, I froze and for the second time in only minutes, my bags crashed to the floor as I screamed and bolted back outside. I peed a little.

My mind raced, trying to assimilate what I had seen. I actually wasn’t quite sure. In fact, I was probably being jittery for no reason. I peered back inside cautiously, blinking furiously in an effort to make my eyes adjust from the bright snow outside to the darkness within…

—Excerpt from Asiago and The Accomplice (Whine & Cheese Cozy Mystery Series) by Judy Volhart. Click here to order your copy.