Certainly, everyone who drinks Bordeaux wine knows of Château Lafite Rothschild, the premier cru classe of the Pauillac region of Bordeaux. If they’re lucky enough, they’ve had it more than once. But a bottle of the 2008 vintage, which is ready to drink now, is $995. The 2009 Carruades de Lafite, the winery’s second label, is $359. What’s a wine lover on a budget to do?

We have a solution below. But first, a bit about the producer.

Starting out in 1868 with Lafite, today Les Domaines Barons de Rothschild is a large wine group. In Bordeaux, the group owns four additional properties in addition to Lafite and Carruades:

 
The company also distributes Château Paradis Casseuil in the Entre-deux-Mers region, and Château Odilon in the Haut-Médoc.
 
Lafite Rothschild owns wineries in areas beyond Bordeaux. In France, these are typically referred to as domaines. This use of “domaine” is also customary in France’s other famed wine-making region, Burgundy.

Why chateau versus domaine? Here’s more about it.

These beyond-Bordeaux wineries of Lafite include:

 
Then there’s Les Légendes, a wine collection we loved at first taste. It has become part of our regular drinking.
 
 
LES LÉGENDES COLLECTION

Three decades ago, the Rothschild family was inspired to create a new wine collection, where each wine would be an excellent expression of its appellation.

The motivation for creating the Les Légends Collection was to ensure that wine lovers everywhere could taste the originality of each Bordeaux appellation at an affordable cost.

And so, Les Légendes range was born.

The wines express the freshness and elegance of Bordeaux, and are very affordable—as little as $15 a bottle. An amazingly low cost, yet they’re made with the same care and attention as the Grands Vins of Lafite Rothschild. These are classy wines.

You don’t need to cellar them: They are ready to drink when they are released (Lafite Rothschild has to be cellared for at least 10 years after release; 15 to 20 years is ideal).

The red wines use grapes purchased from vineyards neighboring Domaines Lafite Rothschild (Les Légendes Pauillac uses actual grapes from Lafite Rothschild vineyards). The white wine grapes are from the Entre-deux-Mers region of Bordeaux.

We were fortunate to taste the red wines in order of complexity. Each wine got better and better—in a lineup where each was excellent (as is the Bordeaux Blanc).
 
Les Légends Red Bordeaux Wines

 
Les Légends White Bordeaux Wine

 
Your task is to find these beautifully balanced wines—and pop the cork without delay! Here’s a store locator.

Here’s more about the portfolio.

We raise a glass to Les Légends!
 
 
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*Château is the French term for a country house or castle, and is most commonly used by the wineries of Bordeaux.

[1] Bordeaux and steak: a classic combination (photo © D&D London).

[2] Les Légendes Collection: five wonderful wines (photo © Taub Family Selections).

[3] Les Légendes St. Emilion: a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc with anise, plums and blackberries, a savory edge of leather and tar and an earthiness that wine people call forest floor.

[4] You don’t need a rack of lamb to enjoy these wines, but it’s a beautiful pairing (photos © Now And Zin).

[1] An “everything” goat cheese log (all photos © Vermont Creamery).

[2] Serve any seasoned cheese log on a cheese board, or as an optional add-on to the salad course. You can buy an everything log ready-to-serve from Vermont Creamery, or season your own plain log.

[3] One of the 8 varieties of seasonings you can use on a log or cheese ball. Here, dried cranberries, sultanas, rosemary, and orange zest (the recipe).

[4] Fresh herb and nut cheese ball

[5] Clover honey-flavored goat cheese, one of Vermont Creamery’s seven goat cheese log varieties.

[6] Smoky pepper jelly-topped goat cheese log, another of Vermont Creamery’s seven goat cheese log varieties.

[7] Thank you, ladies!

If you love goat cheese, this tip’s for you. You can take a plain goat cheese log, roll it in your favorite herbs and spices, and add eye appeal to your cheese board. You can combine your favorite spices and herbs to create, for example, an:

 
No doubt there are more options, but these are the ones we made.

TRIVIA: What countries eat the most cheese? See the top curd lovers below.
 
 
HOW TO SEASON GOAT CHEESE LOGS

The ingredients are simple: goat cheese log(s) and seasonings of choice.

To make the everything bagel goat cheese log, you can purchase everything bagel seasoning, or mix your own from black and white sesame seeds, dried minced garlic and onion, poppy seeds, and fine sea salt.

1. PLACE a few tablespoons of seasonings on a flat plate or a piece of wax paper or parchment.

2. ROLL the goat cheese log in the seasoning to cover the entire log. As necessary, press the seasoning into the log. If you need more coverage, place more seasoning on the plate and continue to roll.

3. WRAP the log in wax paper or parchment and twist the ends to seal. Refrigerate until ready to use.
 
 
VERMONT CREAMERY GOAT CHEESE

One of our favorite American cheese companies, Vermont Creamery has been making exquisite fresh and aged goat cheeses, cultured butter, and other dairy products (crème fraîche, mascarpone, sour cream, quark).

They are truly wonderful products. One item in the line, goat cheese logs, are available in:

 
Each of these is absolutely delicious, and we can eat an entire 4-ounce portion for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

That’s how much we love goat cheese and Vermont Creamery goat cheeses in particular.

See them all, plus a store locator, at VermontCreamery.com.

While we prefer Vermont Creamery’s moister, creamier, artisan goat cheese logs, you can purchase less expensive mass-produced logs at Trader Joe’s, Aldi and other markets, and roll your own.
 
 
CHEESE TRIVIA: WHAT COUNTRY EATS THE MOST CHEESE?

Our immediate reaction was “France,” but we were surprised at these statistics:

National Cappuccino Day is November 8th. We’ve already had two cups of it, and wish we’d already made this no-bake cappuccino cheesecake. The recipe is by Heather Baird of Sprinkle Bakes, developed by Go Bold With Butter, a great recipe website where everything is tested and dee-licious.

This cheesecake is light, creamy, and not overly sweet. And, let us repeat: It’s no-bake!

The recipe is egg-free; the filling is set with gelatin.

The instant espresso powder in the recipe gives the cheesecake a more pronounced coffee flavor. If you can’t get hold of it, you can substitute instant coffee granules.

There are more cappuccino recipes below.
 
 
RECIPE: NO-BAKE CAPPUCCINO CHEESECAKE

Prep time is 30 minutes, cook time is 30 minutes.
 
Ingredients For The Crust

 
For the Filling

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the crust. Stir together the shortbread crumbs and melted butter until the crumbs resemble wet sand. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

2. POUR the milk into a small saucepan and sprinkle the powdered gelatin evenly over the surface. Let stand for 2 minutes. Place the pan over low heat and cook while stirring just until the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

3. BEAT the cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment at medium speed until smooth. Beat in the sour cream, sugar and vanilla until well mixed; gradually beat in the gelatin mixture.

4. COMBINE the instant espresso powder with 1-1/2 tablespoons of hot water; stir until dissolved. Gradually add the coffee mixture into the cheesecake batter.

5. REMOVE the pan from the refrigerator. Spoon the batter over the crust and spread evenly. Cover and chill until set, about 4 hours. To serve, loosen the cheesecake from the sides of springform pan using a small knife or an offset spatula. Remove the springform collar (sides).

6. PIPE or spread whipped cream over the top of the cheesecake and sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired. However, if you will not be serving all of the cheesecake within a couple of hours, consider stabilized whipped cream, which will not collapse. Whipped cream can be piped on top of the cheesecake in a spiral using a piping bag and a plain 1/2-inch decorator tip, or you can swirl it on using an offset spatula.

7. STORE the cheesecake in the refrigerator.

 
 
MORE CAPPUCCINO RECIPES

 
 
> THE HISTORY OF CAPPUCCINO

> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ESPRESSO DRINKS

[1] Cappuccino cheesecake (photos £1 and #2 © Heather Baird | Go Bold With Butter).

[2] This is a no-bake cheesecake!

[3] Enjoy a slice with a hot or iced cappuccino (photo © The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf).

[4] A frozen cappuccino soufflé. Here’s the recipe (photo © Etoile | Chandon).