News From The Cheese Caves

I failed to mention just how successfully the Tarentaise paired with the various beers at a recent Cheese and Beer event here. While other cheeses sided better with one or two beers, the Tarentaise came through with all of them. When you find that versatility with a broad range of beers (or with a broad range of wines) you might reflect on the qualities that give the cheese those many fine marriages.

Some cheeses may possess is a higher salt content – that saltiness bringing out the thirst, or flattering the “sweet” or fruit in the liquid partner. Though the Tarentaise certainly has its wine favorites, it is not due to an excess of salt.

The acids in cheeses play a role in harmonizing with the acids in the beverages, though the value of this relationship may be less apparent. The Tarentaise happens not be especially acid.

There is also the “size” of flavors in the cheese and the beer. If they are balanced (as in big cheese pairing more successfully with a big beer) this helps make that successful pairing occur. The Tarentaise is no wall-flower but I don’t consider it to be a strong cheese.

Texture plays its role: both the texture of the cheese and the texture of the beverage. These alpine styles of cheeses often meld well with the effervescent beverages.

Probably the single-most important quality that the Tarentaise offers in its success with all those beers is its own balance. The cheese is not excessively salty or acid, nor is excessively sweet or bitter. It does have its own dose of umami (always a plus) but ultimately it is the balanced flavor that gives the Tarentaise its appeal. As my friend Eric Canut (Mr. Cheese of Spain) exclaimed the first time he tasted this cheese: “This is made in the United States?” He thought it was excellent.

Last night I was joined by Ariane Daguin, founder and owner of D’Artagnan, celebrating twenty five years of delivering the world’s finest organic and natural meats to four-star chefs and home gourmets alike. Ariane brought a lovely selection of Foie Gras, each of them delicious. She also recommended some wine types from her native land in southwest France.

I love the wines of that region, as well as the cheeses and the charcuterie. Ariane’s products are all made here but the methods of production are true to her native land. The wines we tasted included a white Bergerac that was made with Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, quite similar to the white Bordeaux that are produced a little to the north. The second wine was a Madiran produced with a blend of Tannat and Cabernet Franc, inky delicious, with good tannins. The final wine was a Jurançon made with a blend of the lesser-known varietals of the region: Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng. This wine reminded me of a fine Sauternes, just a little less viscous with good acidity.

As you might expect, the Jurançon was the clear winner with the Fois Gras, Sauternes and Foie Gras being a popular match. It also proved to be a great wine partner each of the cheeses: Chabichou du Poitou, Fleur du Maquis, Abbaye de Belloc, Le Moulis, Fleuron, and Bleu de Laqueuille.

The first wine paired very well with all the Foie Gras, which may be a bit of a surprise to some. The honey note offered by the Sémillon was held aloft by the acidity in the Sauvignon Blanc, and with the absence of tannins this wine had a youthfulness that did not overwhelm the Foie Gras.

The red Madiran just didn’t find much synergy with any of the Foie Gras, at least for most of our palates. Fortunately we had four nice cheeses to stand up to this robust wine: the Fleur du Maquis, the Abbaye de Belloc, Le Moulis, and the Fleuron.

I noticed that Ariane finished all six of her cheeses; she complimented our team on delivering each of these cheeses precisely at their peaks. It was a delicious and very satisfying evening. We look forward to having her come back again soon, or as soon as her busy schedule permits.

I filled in for my under-the-weather colleague last night, co-teaching Craft Beer & Artisanal Cheese with Elizabeth Lyons of Dogfish Head Brewery.

We tasted five of her brews with seven of our cheeses: Goat Gouda, Beermat, Tarentaise from Vermont, Cantalet, Beaufort, Quicke’s Cheddar, and Valdeón. Of the five brews the overall standout cheese partner was Midas Touch, fortunately available year round.

As Elizabeth described it, the Midas Touch uses a recipe that is the actual oldest-known fermented beverage recipe in the world! It is an ancient Turkish recipe using the original ingredients from the 2700 year old drinking vessels discovered in the tomb of King Midas. Somewhere between wine & mead; it is a smooth, sweet, yet dry ale.

Dogfish has been brewing the Midas Touch for over a decade now and the honeyed melon flavors and aromas provide the bridge to successful matching with that full range of cheeses. It is compared to a cross between a Sauternes and a Champagne. Relatively low in the bitter notes gives the brew broader synergies with the various cheeses.

The Midas Touch may not be the type of brew that you might have on its own, yet its success with all these cheeses bodes well. Among those cheeses we tasted last night my favorites were the Beermat (though not everyone seemed to understand that whopping dose of umami it carried; Elizabeth recognized it, which proably led to her to point out the relative importance of the aromatics in the pairings; it is what “seals-the-deal” is what I like to say) Thistle Hill’s Tarentaise (which wowed everybody) and a Valdeón which was one of the best of these that I can recall tasting in years, not too aggressive, creamy and moist, with a refreshing goat milk tang underneath the buttery cow milk.

We look forward to having Elizabeth bring some of her outstanding ales again, along with her delightful dry wit and savoir faire. In the meantime we have our own Candela M. Prol, Certified Beer Educator, teaming up with Brand Speciailist Dennis Flynn from Stone Brewing, Friday, October 22nd for a cheese and beer jam session – Oktoberfest and Autumn Beers with Stone Brewing Company.

The first time that I tasted a Fladä I recall having one of those cheese epiphanies. I certainly expected it to be a good cheese, since it was one of those cheese crafted by one of my favorite cheese makers from Switzerland – Josef Barmettler – yet little did I know what thrills were in store for me underneath its leathery rind. Cutting back the top of the cheese and folding it over revealed a milky pool of voluptuous fermented milk inside.

This is relatively new cheese but it appears very much to be a type of an ancient cheese – the widely loved Vacherin Mont d’Or. The Fladä comes in the same type of chipped wooden box. The rind looks very similar, except without the spruce bark encircling it, and the thick liquid paste is pretty much the same. The differences are more apparent when you smell the cheese, then when you taste it the sparks begin to fly. Except that the Fladä has a sublime flavor quality that is unmatched in the type Vacherin Mont d’Or we see here today – a heat-treated version that pales in comparison, a nice cheese though one that lacks depth, as well as a comparable shelf-life.

I recall a time when the FDA held a shipment of Fladä back for testing. Of course the cheeses passed but by the time they were released to us they looked a bit dreary. Nonetheless, after the FDA told me that they were good to go (despite that elongated aging) I tasted one to see for myself. It was certainly further along and the aroma it had acquired was a bit daunting but it was delicious nonetheless.

A “beauty” shot of the Fladä is one of the first in my latest book – Mastering Cheese – and people often mistake it for the better known Vacherin Mont d’Or. That’s okay by me; I just want to make sure that people don’t underestimate the superior quality of the Fladä, knowing that the other cheese has a fraction of the aroma and flavor and then assuming that this is the same sort of cheese.

The Fladä is such a great cheese on its own that a wine partner might seem to be superfluous. Not even a baguette, just give me a spoon. This is one of those cheeses I fantasize about diving into. Several of the varietals with which it has paired well include Sauvignon Blanc (surprisingly) both stainless fermented and Fumés, Viogniers, Gewürztraminers, Chenin Blancs from drier to sweeter, as well as red Priorats and Zinfandels.

We have two beer and cheese classes coming up in October; the second one on the 22nd will feature several brews from Stone Brewing Company in California. Joining our own Beer Expert Candela Prol we will have Dennis Flynn from Stone Brewing. Yesterday we tasted several cheeses with a wide range of their beers to help plan for the event.

I wouldn’t have thought to begin our tasting with a Smoked Porter, a beer type that is on the full-flavored side. Fortunately with this one the smoking is subtle and the alcohol content is moderately low. The reason we began with this one is because the hops are not as dominant as they are in most of the other ales in their line-up.

The first cheese that we tried was Coupole, and it was a lovely match for the Smoked Porter, a good starting point for a range of cheeses, fresh and creamy with a delicate tang in the finish. The chocolate and coffee-like flavors in the beer complemented the Coupole. I was reminded of a superior mocha.

Other standouts with the Smoked Porter included the Azeitão, the Tome Fermier d’Alsace, and the Quicke’s Cheddar. The star pairing was the Schaf Reblochon. We only have a limited amount of this rare cheese but it is one of my favorites, even without the Smoked Porter.

The full name of this D.O.P. Portuguese cheese is Queijo Amarelo da Beira Baixa, which means: Yellow cheese from the lower Beira. Like many old-world cheeses’ names this one is simply named for the place where it is made, along with a note about its color. Most of the cheeses of Portugal are made with sheep milk, the Amarelo is produced with a mix of goat and sheep, not necessarily 50/50. The milk is coagulated with traditional rennet, unlike most of the other Portuguese cheeses whose milks are coagulated with Cardoon Thistle.

The yellow color comes from the blending of the two milks. The goat milk gives it a lighter color while the sheep milk gives a sandy golden hue. Together these milks come out a little yellowish. More important than the color, the flavor and aroma of the cheese is especially unique. There are certainly other cheeses that are produced with a mix of sheep and goat milk, but not many. This blending of these two milks is what gives this cheese its pairing potential with many wine types. Essentially you get the best of both worlds.

For those wines that generally pair well with cheeses made with goat or sheep milk, these usually work exceptionally well. Recently we tasted the Amarelo in a Cheese & Wine 101 with three Italian wines: a Pinot Bianco, a Nero d’Avola, and a Primitivo. Though it worked pretty well with the Pinot Bianco, the two reds were exceptional matches. The pairing with the reds was one of those matches where either the cheese or the wine is enhanced, or both are.

One of the other qualities that we appreciate about the Amarelo is its long shelf-life. Another point in its favor is the wide diversity of nutrients it offers.

There was a time when I thought that this primordial type of cheese – Fleur du Maquis – would be only at its best in the summer months. I refer to this cheese as “primordial” partly because it is made with sheep milk, but also because it is a fresh style of cheese (the first types of cheeses). The Fleur du Maquis also has a way of offering easy versatility with many wine types.

I have noticed that this cheese has been arriving in fine form throughout the year pretty much; I don’t have to wait for summer to have it. It could be partly because it is from Corsica (whose winters are not quite so extreme) but it could be partly because there’s plenty of sheep milk there anyway, now that they cannot send the excess milk to help produce Roquefort. It’s been that way for several years now. Sheep milk is one milk type that can tolerate freezing and can then be used later to make cheese. If the milk harvest is a good one, and the milk is not destined to Roquefort production, this provides a good supply of high quality milk to make lovely Fleur du Maquis year round.

As I was contemplating a wine partner for the Fleur du Maquis I looked over my cheese and wine pairing catalogue. I recalled that it performed well with many wine types, from Albariño to Zinfandel, but one varietal stood out – the noble Riesling. As much as I enjoy a good Riesling it is not one of my go-to wines. Because I have had the good fortune to taste some of the finest expressions of Rieslings, it does make it a little difficult to settle for a lesser one. Reading across the several pairing scores I found Rieslings popping up several times, and some of those Rieslings were a bit ordinary. As we always hope to find: the cheese can enhance a wine.

Sometimes referred to as a Sommelier’s varietal, the Riesling does show versatility with many foods. Not that is always offers that “marriage-made-in-heaven” experience with all cheeses, but it is almost always better than “just-okay.” I see the Rieslings popping up frequently with the wash-rind cheeses, especially those that are made with cow milk. To find an altogether different type of cheese partner you might try the Fleur du Maquis. Both the cheese and the wines made with Riesling are available and delightful throughout the year.

There was a time when I thought it might not hurt to skip a year’s conference of the American Cheese Society. It has always been a pleasure to spend a few days with other cheese people; there just weren’t enough new cheeses, or improvements of existing cheeses, coming along. The breakout sessions usually included some that were especially worthwhile but there was not enough new material being discussed.

However, the seminars seem to be getting better each year; they appear to getting down to the microscopic level of examination. Some of the standout sessions this year included: Understanding the Value & Implications of Terroir in America, Health Benefits & the Psychology of Cheese, Advanced Sensory Flavor Characteristics & Chemistry in Bandage Wrapped Cheddar, and Transhumance – Moving Livestock in Tune with the Seasons.

I also had the privilege of serving as an Aesthetic Judge this year. The competition set a record for the number of entries – 1,462 – nearly twice as many cheeses as five years ago! The quality of the cheeses is improving too. As I have said before, the excitement in the cheese world today is happening right here.

My judging partner – Dr. Mark Johnson – dairy scientist from Wisconsin – tasted over 50 cheeses in our categories on the first day judging. We evaluated nearly 60 the second day, then later that afternoon all thirty judges were asked to sample the one hundred First Place winners among the 110 categories (some of the categories did not have any cheeses that rated high enough for a First Place score) to select a “Best-in-Show,” a runner-up, and second runner-up. In all we tasted about 210 cheeses over those two days. Bliss. Later that evening I went to dinner with some of my cheese friends; after our main course we had another seven cheeses.

Among the 100 Blue Ribbon winners there were a number that I thought were outstanding, each of these worthy of a “Best-in-Show” prize. That was the tough part. That top honor went to Uplands Pleasant Ridge Reserve, the third time that Mike and Carol Gingrich’s cheese has won it.

We send our congratulations to all of the winners. Many of those winning cheese makers are represented in our line here at Artisanal: the Uplands Pleasant Ridge, Putnam’s Tarentaise, several cheeses from Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, a couple from Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, Nettle Meadow, Meadow Creek, Tumalo Farms, a number from Rogue Creamery, the Mozzarella Company, Capriole, Coach, Westfield Farm, Fiscalini Cheese Co., Grafton, and Consider Bardwell, among others.