There are some foods which I could never eat again and not really miss that much. Life would be truly bleak, however, if I could never indulge again in cheese or chocolate. There is no indication at this point, however, that such a dire situation looms anywhere on the horizon. Today, in fact, I enjoyed the bliss of one event which brought these two gifts of the gods together literally under one roof. Add in the presence as well of several local wineries and their products, and I was one happy girl. The nearby community of Central Point, Ore., hosted today’s Oregon Cheese Guild‘s fifth annual Oregon Cheese Festival. Central Point is home to three adjoining businesses which were the site of the event: the Rogue Creamery, Madrone Mountain Winery and Lillie Belle Farms Chocolates. While the focus was the varied and delicious goat, cow and sheep cheeses crafted by 10 Oregon producers, they were happy to share the spotlight with others who all share a similar commitment to sustainably and often organically providing quality goods to consumers. Present were eight wineries, a microbrewery, a ciderworks, a soda maker, a couple of bakeries and a grist mill, a vendor of wild salmon and another of smoked meats, and those chocolatiers.  We spent an enjoyable couple of hours visiting the various booths and sampling all sorts of wonderful goods. I’ve never been a big fan of jerky, but the elk and buffalo jerky from Gary West Smoked Meats were moist and tasty with a nice balance of spices. There were several great, fresh breads to try that we alternated with tastes from a number of wineries (most offered syrahs, merlots and cabs) and, of course, the cheeses. Most of those producers are small, family-run operations that have been making cheeses for a decade or less, while Tillamook is a 100-year-old farmer-owned co-op offering a host of dairy products, and Rogue Creamery has been producing cheese for over 70 years and won international acclaim for its blue cheese. The varieties ranged from raw-milk to pasteurized, aged and fresh, soft to hard. It was difficult to narrow our options down to about a half-dozen choices to share with friends at an upcoming winetasting we’ll be attending, but the research was sure enjoyable! We finished off a very pleasant afternoon with a return visit to Lillie Belle’s exquisite chocolates. They offer an overwhelming variety of hand-dipped and handmade goodies, and with their amazing technique of chocolate painting, many are works of art which are as beautiful as they are delectable.  As we left, figuratively if not literally smacking our lips and rubbing our tummies, I thanked my lucky stars again that I have the good fortune to live in an area blessed with an embarassment of such delicious riches. Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader