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

This is another winter that doesn’t want to end in the Eastern Ontario region. I get a sampling of two cities: my hometown of Ottawa, and almost 200 kilometers away where my boyfriend lives, in Kingston, which is part of the Upper Canada historic region along Lake Ontario.

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A break in the weather offered us the perfect opportunity to go for a spring drive, before the snow was set to start again later in the evening. Leaving from Kingston, our first stop was the Wilton Cheese Factory, about a thirty-minute drive.

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The quaint factory was established in 1867 and has been owned by the Jensen family since 1970. It houses a small store front that overlooks the cheese making facility. Most of the cheeses for sale were made at the factory, with a couple of imports and salamis added for good measure.

I settled on a four- year old cheddar, cheese curds, feta, a medium cheddar and a bat of summer sausage, then we continued for a nice drive through picturesque, small towns along the shores of Lake Ontario.

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To my joy, we passed by some apple orchards and a couple of small vineyards, including a cute one for sale called the Thirty-Three Vines. We didn’t stop to visit but did make plans to return once the weather was warmer.

Having reached the end of the lake shore road that we had been meandering along (hwy 33), we headed back home, our mouths salivating in anticipation of tasting our recent purchases.

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Considering how much we’d bought, I was now presented with a dilemma; how in carnations do I whittle down the selection to single out which cheese to write about? Yeah, I don’t. Obviously, we had to try each and every one.

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Look how amazing this plate looks, and the vibrancy of the orange in the medium cheddar on the right. The flavor had just a slight bite, definitely a flavorful medium, while it’s sister, the four-year old cheddar, had a crumbly texture and a dirty sock-ish bite to it. Definitely a sharper cheese, and a flavor I’m still acclimating to. Paired with a hunk of the summer sausage, the bite was a bit less subdued, but the fact that I didn’t spit it out means that it must be good; someone used to eating old cheddars would definitely love it.

The feta was the best I’ve had to date. The texture was creamy, allowing me to slice it rather than having to crumble it, and the sodium content perfect. Finally, the orange cheese curds had the pre-requisite squeak. One day, I’ll have to put it head to head against the popular St. Albert cheese curd to determine if there’s a winner.

I didn’t have a large selection of wines at my second home in Kingston, but when my boyfriend suggested a white Bodacious, it was the natural choice. With a platter that looked this amazing, Bodacious was the perfect descriptor.

via Judy Volhart

Bo-da-cious: Excellent, admirable, or attractive

The Bodacious is described as “rich, crisp, Fruit-Forward Bold” with “aromas of tropical fruit, citrus and peach.”

Made from a blend of three grapes, it’s a nice sweet wine that comes from…you guessed it…Ontario’s Niagara region. I am bound and determined to find a wine with a whimsical name from outside of Canada for my next article, I promise.

Mild weather, a beautiful Sunday drive, great company, excellent food and wine. Life is good.

Cheers, my friends.
Judy

As we were alone, he swiftly crossed the room and put his hands around my waist. There was no smile on his face as he stood there gazing at me. It was more of a searching look. Searching for what, I wasn’t sure. He leaned forward, gently grazing my lips with his own. “Did we really only meet less than two weeks ago?” he asked. I had wondered the same thing. Officially, yes, it had only been two weeks.

My knees turned to Jell-O as his tongue tangled with mine. The touch was electric and I couldn’t help but let out a contented moan…

—Excerpt from Asiago and The Accomplice (Whine & Cheese Cozy Mystery Series)