Photos by Nicole Marino Photography

It was a night to remember...and culture was there:
On January 20, 2010, celebrated cheesemakers from the Bay Area in California and various regions of France held a terroir tasting exchange at the Oxbow Cheese & Wine Merchant in downtown Napa. Informally dubbed “The Smackdown” by the food fanatics attending, both French and California cheesemakers flexed their flavor advantage with a wide range of products for guests to compare and contrast, accompanied by an assortment of wines from Napa’s Ancien Winery or various French Burgundies. In the end, everyone came out a winner.