Would you like some cheese with that whine?

I've done the Connecticut wine tour a couple of times on frosty fall days when the harvest is in and the grape leaves have turned beautiful shades of plum, ochre and sand.  Unfortunately the wine has never satisfied me as much as the scenery and the scene.  There are a few wineries that quite nicely replicate the Napa experience of cheese and hors d'oeurves on a deck in the crisp air overlooking the vineyard but while I love the atmosphere and the food, I would rather bring my own California cabernet (a few bottles if you please) to fill my glass and swill on my palate.  I'm assuming this would be gauche to the third degree.  Connecticut wine tastes like a tin can to me - either that or seagulls and salt.  There are some local products that just will not do - wine is one of them - cheese is another.  Reiterating that my crusade for a fresh, local diet is not all or nothing, I refuse to relinquish cheese from the French countryside or table red from Tuscany.  So exactly where does the buck stop?  How do I decide what should be sourced locally and what imports are permissible?  I decide to start with fresh.  Whatever is fresh on my plate should be local - meat, produce, dairy, eggs.  Luxuries can be exotic insofar as they are superior to what I can source locally.  In the waning light of this spring afternoon I reach for the Joseph Phelps- pour a generous ration into my imported crystal goblet and serve a hunk of Danish edam cheese with some local crusty bread.  Sounds like a fair compromise to me - and sit back to peruse the plan of attack on the kitchen wall.  A strategy is starting to form, a scheme even, a recipe if you will of how to finally fit it all in creating a clean meal for each meal without breaking the bank or becoming an all consuming fire that leaves no room in my day for anything but meal planning.  Organize, streamline, do the work, reap the rewards, share what I find. 

 This is my mission, my calling....whew!  this wine packs a punch!;