New for January 2016!

Now this is one of my favourite things: finding great new things to add to the shelves of the Cheese Shed! For reasons to do with Christmas it's really hard to do this in the last few months of the year; now we're in the calm waters of January, however, there's a bit of space and time. Lovely.

So what have we got for you? Well, no new cheese this time - but plenty of everything else ...

A Whole Lot of Hampers

This really is fun: coming up with new combinations which get us excited. They are new too. Das Bier & Käse Box teams two continental-style cheeses with beers from Germany and Belgium. Morpurgo is based around produce from north Devon - the home of War Horse author Michael Morpurgo - and includes a big bottle of proper farm cider called ... Warhorse.

Another area that's highlighted is Somerset, via the new hamper Avalon. Two boxes - A Quite Night In and Luscious - feature half bottles of either Rioja or Chianti, and finally, Sweet & Mellow lives up to its name with a range of sweet and floral flavours.

Valentine's Day: A First Look

This year's lovers' cheese box features two brand new heart-shaped cheeses we don't think you'll see anywhere else, the chilli-tinged Hot Stuff and the cool white-rinded Rustic Heart. We call it 2 Hearts 4 Valentines Day. See all our suggestions for February 14th here.

Sparkling Wine, European Beers and a Big Bottle Of Cider

Here there are new things wherever you look. Our first sparkling wines include a half bottle of Lallier Grande Réserve Champagne together with Lunetta Prosecco and Rosé Spumante from Italy. Plus, we have two half bottles of red for the first time: Rioja Crianza Ontanon and Villa La Pagliaia Chianti Classico.

To keep the range of beers interesting there's Leffe from Belgium and Das Helle from Germany, while Sharp's Cornish Pilsner is a local take on a central European style. Finally, from Sampford Courtenay Cider comes a big bottle of authentic Devon farm cider: Warhorse.

And Finally ...

Our local (100 yards up the road) chutney supremo, Calre Gault, supplies two new ones, peppery Smoky Tomato Relish and smooth Beetroot & Orange Chutney - whilst her north Devon counterpart, Victoria Cranfield, brings us the utterly lovely Gardener's Relish.