NYC Cheese & Wine Week arrives in the Big Apple this week for its 5th edition, March 7th to the 16th. This tasty event, created by Jean-François Hesse, founder of Essential PR, brings a terrific line-up of tastings and events at restaurants and other venues throughout the city.

At a recent press event, Hesse expressed how thrilled he is that Cheese & Wine Week is back after a two year hiatus due to the pandemic.

“In 2015 I was on summer vacation in the south of France,” said Hesse, “and I had an idea to create a cheese day in Paris, and it was a huge success. Thanks to the success of the 2016 Paris event, I decided to take the show on the road to New York, but because everything is bigger in New York, it became a cheese week. And the Paris event has gotten bigger too, with the 5th edition being held over 9 days beginning November 12th of this year.”

This year, the wine sponsor is Savoie, a region nestled under the Alps on the French side of Lake Geneva, close to Jura. Here you will find crisp and tasty mountain wines—the kind that goes perfectly with cheese. As an alpine, cool climate area, Savoie’s leading grapes are white varieties, Altesse and Jacquère being the most important, along with Mondeuse Blanche, Roussanne, Chardonnay and several others.

“Cool, crystalline and refreshing as a mountain stream,” is how Eric Asimov describes Savoie whites in The New York Times. “The best of them,” he says, “without fail, made me feel as if I were in breezy meadows among the foothills, under the distant glowering crags of the Alps themselves. This transportive quality is a powerful feature of Savoie whites.”

While the region’s calling card is white wine, there is also a standout red variety, Mondeuse, which makes aromatic and peppery wines with strong tannins. Additionally, Gamay and Pinot Noir are grown in Savoie and produce considerably lighter styles than their counterparts in Beaujolais and Burgundy.

During NY Cheese & Wine Week, you will find outstanding Savoie wines, such as those from Domaine Berthollier, Domaine Richel, Maison Jean Perrier et Fils, Domaine Eugène Carrel, Maison Cavaillé, and Les Fils de René Quénard, on menus all over the Big Apple.

**Savoie winemakers proudly showing off Their wines.**

As for cheese, New Yorkers and visitors will have a chance to treat themselves to many of the most coveted French and neighboring European cheeses not often found in the US—from flavorful blues and creamy bries, to mountain cow’s and sheep’s milk cheeses. This year’s participating cheese sponsors include La Fromagerie Germain, Emmi, Savencia Fromage, Fromi and Fromagerie Henri Hutin.

Check out the following restaurants, shops and wine bars participating in NY Cheese & Wine Week. Call in advance to check for availability. Bon Appétit!

Amelie Wine Bar, 566 Amsterdam Ave. (646) 422-7167), & 22 W. 8th St. Wine: Richel Savoie Blanc 2020 Cheese: Tomme de Savoie

AOC East, 1590 1st Ave. (646-998-4220). Wine: Richel Savoie Blanc 2020 and Richel Mondeuse Paradoxe 2017 with an assortment of cheeses.

Bacchus Bistro & Wine Bar, (718-852-1572). 409-411 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn. Three cheeses: St-Andre, Roquefort, Saint Agur Blue. Cheese plate $24, with wines of Savoie pairing add $24.

Balthazar, 80 Spring St. (212-965-1414). Wine by the glass: Savoie Blanc Viallet 2020

Chambers Street Wines, 148 Chambers St. (212-227-1434). Wines of Domaine Berthollier will be featured.

Corkscrew Wines Brooklyn, 489 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn. (718-230-9463). Wine: Richel Savoie Apremont la Combelle white by the glass $19.

De Gustibus Cooking School at Macy's 8th Floor, (212-239-1652). Cheeses and Wines of Savoie tasting class on March 12th from 1 pm to 3:30 pm with wine expert Anthony Giglio.

Felix, 340 West Broadway. (212-431-0021). On March 11th, a dinner featuring cheeses and wines of Savoie. Felix will be serving, at the bar, a choice of 3 cheeses plus a glass of red or white wine from Savoie. $20

FIAF, 22 East 60th St. (212-355-6100). Molière is in the Park: March 10th. Wines of Savoie tasting after the show.

Intercontinental New York Barclay, (212-755-5900). Wines of Savoie, paired with a cheese plate: Gruyere, Emmentaler, Tête de Moine Roquefort, with honeycomb and cranberry and raisin bread. Cheese Dish: Grilled raclette sourdough sandwich with onion compote. Special event: March 11th, from 5 pm to 6 pm: Tasting with a cheese plate and all the winemakers from Savoie Wine, $30.00 per person.

Le District, 225 Liberty St. (212-981-8588). Cheese station.

Murray’ s Cheese, 254 Bleeker St., (212-243-3289, ext. 223), and Murray's Cheese Grand Central, (929-286-1816). Cheeses: Rogue River, Caveman Blue, Berthaut Epoisses, Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog, Murray’s Cave Aged Gruyere, Roquefort Papillon, Cypress Grove Little Giant, Rogue River Smokey Blue, Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue and Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue. Cheese + Wine Week board: Humboldt Fog, Gruyere, Roquefort. 3-cheese tasting board and 3-wine flight which will include Richel Mondeuse Paradoxe 2017, with jams and slices of baguette, $45.

Murray's Cheese and MC Bar, Queens, (347-990-2130). NYC Cheese + Wine week board: Humboldt Fog, Gruyere, Roquefort. 3-cheese tasting board and 3-wine flight which will include Richel Mondeuse Paradoxe 2017 with jams and slices of baguette, $45.

Nougatine at Jean-Georges, 1 Central Park West, (212-299-3900). Savoie Cheeses: Saint Andre, Appenzeller, Brie Belle Etoile, Langres. Featured wine of Savoie: Denis & Didier Berthollier Chignin 2020.

O Cabanon, 245 W 29th St. (646-669-7879). Cheese plate and Savoie wines all week, and a party on March 10th. Cheeses: Blue Cheese Sald & Wallnuts, Brie a la Truffe, Roasted Pork with Comte, Tartiflette Epoisse, Special Cheese Board, Brie CheeseBurger. Wines of Savoie: Domaine Jean Perrier et fils Crémant , Domaine Jean Perrier et fils Abymes, Maison Richel Mondeuse , Maison Philippe Viallet Savoie rouge.

Zabar’s, 2245 Broadway, (212-787-2000). Cheese: Gruyere, St. Andre and specials on Papillon Roquefort and St. Agur.