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Beth Kuchynka • Jun 14, 2017


We love to assist with all of your gift giving needs! Peruse our distinct collection of cookbooks, kitchen and table accessories, Riedel wine glasses and decanters, and more.

Choose from our collection of fine French Garnier-Thiebaut linens, browse swatch samples and special order your own. Shop our bi-annual trunk shows!

Stop in or call ahead for one of our featured gift baskets, build your own, or have our creative staff help you assemble the perfect combination for your favorite foodie, client, family member, or friend. Can’t decide? Give a gift certificate in any amount.

We specialize in corporate gift giving! And, yes! We ship!


By Beth Kuchynka 31 Oct, 2023
Really there is so much to know.
By Beth Kuchynka 17 Oct, 2022
Fall Wine Extravaganza Join us for an afternoon of delicious wines! Unlike our tastings of the past, this will be more like what we call a "trade" tasting. Each rep will be stationed at a table with 4 of their wines - a mix of chilled whites/roses and reds. You are welcome to mingle, pose questions to the reps, bounce back and forth and taste at your own pace. We'll provide solo cups to encourage you to pace yourself and spit. We'll have staff passing bites of food to pair. We'll be joined by Eric, Jesse and Ken in the Coupeville Rec Hall. This will give us all plenty of room to spread out. There will be discounts offered, lots of conversations had and as much education as you would like. This is a standing, social tasting. Wine club members enjoy discounted ticket pricing as well as deeper discounts on orders at the event. Join one of our wine clubs before the event to take advantage of these extra discounts. You don't want to miss this one! A great opportunity to taste before you buy, restock your wine rack and choose a few special bottles for the upcoming holiday season. Saturday 29 October 3 - 5 Coupeville Rec Hall tickets are required Non-wine Club member Wine Club member
By Beth Kuchynka 06 Jul, 2022
Grande Fior di Latte Pasteurized Cow's milk fresh Mozzarella - Wisconsin - USA It's summer and we want to encourage you to eat your weight in fresh mozzarella. Fresh, whole milk, well made mozzarella that is light and delicate. The touch of tang from cheese cultures, the stretch and melt point perfection are why we love this mozzarella over all others. It truly is the flower of the milk! Stop in the shop and mention this post, we'll give you a sweet discount... From the dairy, Our milk is collected daily from cows at dedicated Grande producer dairy farms that have committed to our Producers Assuring Consumers of Excellence (PACE) program to ensure quality, animal well-being and environmental best practices are in place as well as proper employee management and labor practices. After milking, it is quick cooled and taken directly to our nearby state-of-the-art facilities, where our cheese artisans craft it to bring out that great Grande taste. The story, Grande’s story began in 1891, in the small Sicilian village of Montelepre, Italy, where founder Filippo Candela was then born. It was in this warm, agriculturally rich region where he learned the art of making fine Italian cheese. In 1925, shortly after marrying his wife Provvidenza, Filippo moved from the economic instability of post-war Italy to America in search of better opportunities. Initially purchasing a small dairy farm and orchard, he moved to Wisconsin to pursue his passion for cheese making. Speaking only a few words of English, he met an Italian cheese buyer from the Old World. This meeting sowed the seeds of a new cheese company formed by Filippo and a handful of family and friends. They named it Grande – a fitting name as the Italian word for ‘greatness’ – and its authentic cheeses soon became favorites with Italian immigrant families across the United States. A few ways to enjoy your mozz, Caprese Salad PIZZA! Top grilled vegetables A simple appetizer of Mozz with fresh pesto, your favorite vinegar, your favorite EVOO, the list goes on!
By Beth Kuchynka 01 Jun, 2022
Onetik Bleu Des Basques Pasteurized Sheep - Onetik - Midi-Pyrenees, France It's true! Not all blue cheeses are the same, this couldn't be more true of this personal favorite. Most people who detest blue cheese have only experienced strong, often bitter (cheap) blue cheese. An artisanal blue such as this one is a game changer. It's a delicate, rich, toothsome blue expression. You are encouraged to come try it. Located in a small village at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountans, Macaye Onetik has been making delicious cheese for over 30 years. The goal being to preserve and share the bounty of the Basque heritage. The quality of the milk is the most important process of this cheese. Transhumance - the traditional grazing methods of moving livestock in a seasonal cycle is practiced. Three ancient breeds of sheep traditionally kept by Basque farmers are used. Black-Face Manech [manèche] Red-Face Manech Basco-Bearnaise Made with great skill and care the cheeses are crafted and aged at Onetik. This blue has a natural rind (always the strongest in flavor, eating it is a personal choice) and is aged for 2.5 months. It's creamy paste is lined with fine blue veins that give way to a delicate nutty punch of blue. Not over salted this can sometimes present sweet. We love to enjoy this in place of dessert with a glass of Muscat Beaumes de Venise. We carry other Onetik cheeses but this Blue is a treat. When you see it in the case, don't hesitate in bringing some home with you. It will change the way you feel about blue cheese! "Today marks my 10th year as a cheese maker at Onetik and it's still a pleasure to work with this noble ingredient. Milk collected at the beginning, the middle or the end of the animal's lactation period does not behave the same way. We must employ all our skills during the different steps of cheese making from the delivery of the milk until the cheese is sent to the cellars. The high quality of the milk provided by our farmers is what allows us to prepare our cheese under the best conditions, so they develop aroma and taste, so they sing, you know? Today, our cheese makers set themselves apart from the competition through the meticulous care taken by all of us at Onetik cheese dairy. We each contribute our experience towards one goal: to make our cheeses a showpiece of the Basque Country. There is one important thing I learned at the start of my work: cheese is a living thing, and that's certainly true! In my occupation it's important to remain humble and respect cheese: that's the key." Kayet Gastellu Cheesemaker at Onet
By Beth Kuchynka 09 May, 2022
American Legacy In 1997, we started with a dream shared between two college friends and business partners, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith : To celebrate organic practices and spotlight the craftsmanship of local sustainable agriculture in Marin and Sonoma counties. Today, we’re carrying the torch of the food revolution that started in our backyard. Organic. Farm-to-Table. Delicious, award-winning cheese. The cheese production business is rough. Expensive, time sensitive and licensing to name a few hurdles. Friends Sue and Peggy started in a renovated barn in Northern California, the first operation called Tomales Bay food, with the thought of featuring foods from West Marin. Cowgirl Creamery was launched in 1997. Smith and Conley created a legacy with these specialty cheeses, all made from organic milk and sourced from surrounding dairies committed to farming practices through regenerative agriculture in Northern California’s Sonoma County area. The awards are many over this time – the most recent - Mt Tam triple cream made with cow’s milk sourced from the Straus Family Dairy won a 2021 Good Food Award – we stock this cheese regularly. They produce eight artisanal cheeses plus fresh cottage cheese, fromage blanc and creme fraiche. In 2016 Cowgirl Creamery was sold to Emmi Group, read more here . The result being good thus far, expanded resources and no compromise made in the end product. We are so grateful that these two women pursued their dream and that we get to share these cheeses with you! This month we feature a specialty spring cheese - Pierce Point. It seemed the perfect seasonal cheese to share from this beloved creamery. We hope you enjoy. Limited in the shop this month. Our Pierce Point cheese transports you to the scents and sights of late spring in West Marin on the Northern California Coast. Named for a ranch on the Pt Reyes National Seashore, Pierce Point starts with single-source organic cow's milk from nearby Bivalve Dairy. Each piece is rich with the aromas of the surrounding pastures. The core and paste unite in their journey to deliver all the herbaceousness of our local milk source, accentuated with sprinklings of stunning field flowers, chamomile, calendula, and Thai basil, Pierce Point captures the essence of the season. Read more here .
By Susan Wenzel 09 May, 2022
 Rosés are Reds and Oranges are…Whites?! Anyone in the know knows bayleaf has a remarkable cache of fine red, white, and rosé wine, but few know much about the luscious orange wines sprinkled inconspicuously around the shop. Orange wines, made from white wine grapes, are an oft overlooked alternative to a savory red which makes them the perfect pairing for strong cheeses, red meat, roasted root veggies, and even curry. Skin is in Maceration is a fancy word for soaking the wine with the grape skins, stems, and seeds to extract color, aroma, and tannins. White wine is exempt from this process which ensures it is typically tannin free and best sipped chilled and fresh. For rosé wine, skin contact is brief, measured in hours, long enough for the red grape skins to impart a hint of tint and a touch of tannins. Orange wine, conversely, is left to soak with the white grape skins for anywhere from several days to many months, resulting in hues from golden straw to deep amber. (Red wine, too, macerates for a similar length of time.) In essence, orange wine is made from white wine grapes in the same manner that red wine is made from red wine grapes. Orange is not the new pink While the preparation process is practically parallel, rosés and oranges are two totally different wines. Rosés, because of their brief soak, are generally light and fresh, and like the aforementioned whites, best schlurped when the weather is hot and the wine is cold. Orange wines are better served cool-ish (think cellar temperature) and are far more thought-provoking than their quaffable cousin. Oranges are a savory sipper with astonishing depth, body, and texture courtesy of the tannins gathered during the lengthier maceration period. Orange you curious? Armed with your newfound knowledge, stop into bayleaf and grab a bottle (or two) of this unique but highly versatile style of wine. (And don’t forget the cheese!)
By Beth Kuchynka 05 May, 2022
Several weeks ago we had a personal tasting with Tim Crowther Sales Team Manager / Supplier Relations & Development of Prime Wine & Spirits. The tasting featured all non-alcoholic beverages. When Tim first approached me I was skeptical to say the least. His personal passion convinced me to try these – we hope you will too. Below Tim speaks to the why n/a is so exciting now. There are multiple, intertwined answers, personal and pragmatic: Building Prime’s non-alcoholic selection has become a passion project for me. I find myself (and many of my friends) looking for no and low-alcohol drinks that give us the same experience and sense of occasion as we’d get from alcoholic drinks, but without the negative effects that come from alcohol. The pleasure I take in alcoholic drinks, wine and beer especially, has not decreased, but my body’s capacity to process them as I grow older is not what it used to be. I’m clearly not alone in this desire, as the level of interest in quality non-alcoholic products shows no sign of slowing. There are so many reasons for people to choose no and low, from a growing interest in health and wellness, to a reset from two pandemic years of high home consumption; from someone recovering from addiction to a pregnant woman wanting to be included in the party with something other than Martinelli’s. There’s a generational change, as drinking habits shift. This category isn’t an afterthought for Prime. Even though the excitement is real, there’s a disconnect between brands and consumers. People don’t even know there are great new options for them, or they don’t know where to find them; out at a bar, they may not even think to ask if there’s something better than the default fruity, sweet non-alcoholic “mocktail” (a word we really must stop using). And where do you look for a non-alcoholic spirit in a grocery store, anyway? Should it be in the wine department or next to the margarita mix? This is one reason specialty and boutique retailers have been at the vanguard: close and trusting relationships with customers that allow for conversations, like the ones bayleaf is having with its customers as it showcases delicious non-alcoholic options this month. We hope you’ll join us.
By Beth Kuchynka 05 Apr, 2022
We are pleased to announce an upcoming event in the shop. Yes, we know its been a while. This is what we are offering - stand up tasting, doors open, perch in the shop, sit outside, stand in the wine room - be where ever you are the most comfortable. We just could not pass up this opportunity. 🍷 Eric Stone hosts ~ A visit from two of Spain's best natural winemakers! Saturday April 9th at 5:30 Ramon Parera, his wife Monti and his partner Jordi Arnan farm 35 ha of vineyards in Alt Penedes, just south of Barcelona and inland about 40 miles from the Mediterranean. After studying to become an enologist, he convinced his father to sell the the family's vineyards in the lower elevations of Penedes and found properties in the lovely Bitlles River valley, with some older plots of indigenous Xarel-lo and Sumoll and a 17th century Catalan farmhouse, Can Comas, to serve as the foundation for Celler Pardas. With subsequent plantings in the mid '90s and the establishment of the winery, Pardas has always farmed organically and practiced low intervention, natural wine making with a skilled hand and respect for the traditions of the lands. This is Ramon's third visit to the Pacific Northwest and second to bayleaf, and after a quick stop at a vintage record store or two, he's looking forward to returning to Whidbey and sharing his passion with you. German Blanco, when not climbing mountains in his native Austurias, has three projects, Casa Aurora in Bierzo Alto, Quinta Milu in Ribera del Duero and La Bicicleta Voladora in Rioja. Dedicated to traditional, organic and sustainable viticulture, he works with single vineyard sites in the different areas with an aim to produce villages wines that reflect both his passion as a winemaker and respect for the history of the lands. Working with a variety of vessels including open tanks, amphora and concrete, each wine is a reflection of a time and place, guided by his passion and skill. Our first import of these wines is working its way through the challenge of international logistics and should be here in the next couple of weeks. We've rushed a few bottles to arrive for this weekend and the irrepressible German is looking forward to previewing them at bayleaf during his very first visit to the Pacific Northwest. Tasting includes wines & nosh & discounts on bottles/cases $25 / $20 wine club members
By Beth Kuchynka 02 Mar, 2022
Soft Ripened Ripe, rich, lush and oozy most people love soft ripened cheese. But do you know what it took to get this miraculous cheese to your table? It involves mold. Penicillium Candidum or in the case of La Tur, Geotrichum Candidumto. The cheese is either inoculated in the milk/curd process or directly sprayed on the exterior - both methods work well. This active bacteria make themselves at home and start producing enzymes that eventually grow into the interior of the cheese. The science - By digesting lactate, they make the cheese more acidic at the surface than it is in the core, which prompts calcium phosphate ions, formerly well-ensconced in the cheese's structure, to migrate to the surface. The acidity change and the ion movement cause the cheese's innards to liquify. Feel free to completely geek out and read this . But this article is more user friendly. Each month we'll feature an amazing cheese experience here. This month we are highlighting staff favorite, La Tur. You may still be having a love affair with our house brie - we get it. Here's your opportunity to try another soft ripened cheese that is a definite game changer. We invite you pick up a round (or more, see below) of this delicious cheese for a discount the entire month of March. Let us know your favorite soft cheese pairing/use and we'll enter you into a chance to win $25 worth of free cheese. La Tur This cupcake looking lovely is equal parts cow, goat and sheep milk. Some thing for everyone! The cheese is hand processed from Alta Langa, Piedmont, Italy. The milk is pasteurized at the lowest possible temperature by law to ensure full flavored enzymes are not lost. Lots of complexity going on here. Full, rich fatty flavors of cow's milk, touch of bright notes from the goat and earthy, nuttiness from the sheep can all be found here. Remember this cheese is alive and will continue ripening from the outside in. The thin rind will eventually start slumping off and the center become more and more creamy. There is no bad stage to eat this cheese at - it's all personal preference. Want to really have fun this month? Buy 2 -3 and try them at different stages. Be sure to eat this at room temperature.
By Beth Kuchynka 24 Feb, 2022
Neal's Yard Take Home Tasting Event We are so excited to share these delicious cheeses with you. These cheeses arrive directly from London just for us, ordered specifically with this take home tasting in mind. We've carried cheeses from Neal's Yard for many years. Their dedication to hand selection ensures we at bayleaf only are showing you the very best English cheeses. You may not think of it this way, but artisanal cheese is like fine wine, with each wheel being made and thought of as a "vintage". We rely on outfits like Neal's Yard to provide us with a true expression of the type of cheese, captured at just the right moment - or as we've learned to call them, happy wheels. We are honored to be a part of the stewardship that begins with the farmer. Selection At Neal’s Yard Dairy, our ambition is to sell the British and Irish cheeses we like best. That means identifying interesting, characterful or authentic varieties, but it also means selecting the individual cheeses that we want to sell. Some of our cheesemakers are making the same cheese almost every day, so in any given years, as many as 350 'vintages' may emerge from the dairy, each of which will differ slightly in character. Some will meet our exacting standards, others won’t. Only very rarely would we take more than half of a cheesemaker’s annual output. This means that our standards are never compromised – we want only the cheeses we like the best. Read more here . If you see cheeses on their website you would like us to bring in - let us know, we are curious and we want you to be too! APPLEBYS CHESHIRE KIRKHAMS LANCASHIRE SPARKENHOE RED LEICESTER COLSTON BASSET SHROPSHIRE Tasting includes over 1 lb. total weight of cheese, notes & a guided video link (not live/zoom) as well as discounts on these cheeses. This is a take home tasting event, not at bayleaf. Pick up is March 18th* $43 ~ Limited Event *Now the caveat; it is important to pick up and delve into the kit as soon as you can. We want you to have the freshest experience, pick up is Friday 18th of March
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