WINE CLUB | CHEESE CLUB

ALL CLUB MEMBERS GET TO ENJOY THESE 3 CHEESES:

Delice de Champagne | Champagne, France

Pasteurized cow’s milk
Up first, we have this typical triple crème brie from Champagne. The rule for triple crème is they must be made with added cultured cream to bump up the lipids, making it a minimum of 75% butterfat measured in dry matter — so the solids are measured without consideration of water content. Are you wishing you paid closer attention in biology class? :)
IMPORTANT! This cheese is very ripe (and so delicious), so please enjoy it ASAP.
From this month’s wine club lineup, this cheese pairs well with: 2021 Rezabel Txakoli Rosé

Quicke’s Smoked Cheddar | Devon, England

Pasteurized cow’s milk
This cheddar is smoked with oak staves, imparting a subtle smokiness while not losing an irresistible sweet, fruity, nuttiness. It’s great on a burger, but it also makes for a fantastic addition to your cheese board.
Try it with: 2020 Olivier Riviere Rayos Uva

Colston Basset Stilton | Nottinghamshire, England

Pasteurized cow’s milk
This classic blue cheese is a Neal’s Yard exclusive, meaning it’s been aged in the caves of a world-renowned cheese exporter, reputed for delivering cheese of the utmost quality and standards. Folks, this is the best stilton ever created, and you’ll never succumb to settling for anything less after you taste this. You could melt this on a burger or throw it into your egg salad and you’d be very happy, but it’s so special that we’d recommend putting it on a dessert cheese plate with some milk chocolate.
Try it with: 2020 Bodegas Luzon Verde. Or if you have any dessert wine you’ve been saving for the perfect occasion, well, carpe diem.

6-CHEESE MEMBERS ALSO GET TO ENJOY THESE 3:

Emmental de Savoie | Jura, France

Raw cow’s milk
Lots of people think Emmental is specifically used for cooking, but in Europe, you’ll find this gorgeous cheese on cheese carts and platters all the time. Like other alpine styles, the cows that produce the milk for this fromage undergo a practice called ‘transhumance’, which means they graze on the mountainside pasture through the spring and summer, working their way up to higher altitude in late summer and then come back down to dry off in the fall. These lucky ladies are devouring flowers, wild grasses, alliums, and anything else that grows on a mountain, making the milk organic and rich in aromatics. It’s just delicious
Try it with: 2018 Bodegas Ontañón Akemi Rioja Blanco

Brebis Basque au Piment d’Espelette | French Basque Country

Raw ewe’s milk
This French Basque tomme is laden with local sweet peppers, known as Espelette. You’ll note a slightly wooly note, and a pastoral waft, but the pepper adds an extra element of complexity and texture that doesn’t overwhelm the nuances in the cheese.
Try it with: 2019 Bernabeleva Vinos de Madrid Camino de Navaherreros Tinto or 2019 Viña Zorzal Garnacha Blanca

Queso Ibérico | Spain

Raw sheep and goat’s milk
Last up in our line up is this Spanish beauty that enjoys long-standing history and tradition. The recipe has been around for hundreds of years, and it epitomizes a table cheese in Spain. Mixed-milk cheese, like blends in wines, possess more complexity than if it were sourced from only one milking ruminant, so you’ll note a bit of tang, but also that sweetness and nuttiness that sheep’s milk delivers.
Try it with: 2020 Olivier Riviere Rayos Uva