OCTOBER 2021 CHEESE CLUB

 
 

 WINE CLUB | CHEESE CLUB

ALL CLUB MEMBERS GET TO ENJOY THESE 3 CHEESES:

Fontal | Lombardy, Italy

Pasteurized cow’s milk
This alpine cheese is munchable, meltable, and very easy to eat. Fontal is charmingly aloof in its flavor intensity, so it won’t typically be the protagonist in a wine coupling. Though it provides a silken mouthfeel and a clean, buttery palette.
From this month’s wine club lineup, this cheese pairs well with: 2015 Domaine Schlumberger Pinot Gris

Tomme de Pays | Auvergne, France

Raw cow’s milk
Situated in the Massif Central, the cows graze in the undulating, fertile, mineral-laden grasslands. The ancient volcanic landscape gives this country-style, natural-rinded fromage a distinct element that can’t be replicated anywhere else and makes for a stellar table cheese.
Try it with: 2018 Nomen Malbec

Red Leicester | Leicestershire, England

Raw cow’s milk
Next, we bring you a British cheddar-esque cheese that’s younger than a typical clothbound cheddar and brings a good chew, foresty, earthy notes, and a gentle tang.
Try it with: 2019 Charles Helfenbein La Syrah

6-CHEESE MEMBERS ALSO GET TO ENJOY THESE 3:

Brebicet | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

Pasteurized ewe’s milk
This bloomy-rinded Frenchie is a soft-ripened cream dream with a pleasant mouthful, bread-like rind, and paté as sweet as custard. If you can’t tell, we’re crushing hard on this one.
Try it with: 2020 Vins el Cep Ot

Campo de Montalban | La Mancha, Spain

Pasteurized cow’s, goat’s, and sheep’s milk
This Iberico-style cheese deserves a spot on your cheese board. It’s an approachable, easy pairing partner with nuttiness, fruitiness, and enough structure to ensure it stands up to wines.
Try it with: 2018 Delas Ventoux

Pecorino Rustico Stagionato | Sardinia, Italy

Raw ewe’s milk
This cheese has been made in Sardinia for, like, ever. With its substantial chew, but you may want to try shaving gentle flecks off your wedge. It’s salty, fresh, and tastes like you’re floating through a breezy, briney island pasture.
Try it with: 2020 Vins el Cep Ot

 
 

AND SOME TIPS TO KEEP YOUR CHEESE HAPPY AT HOME

  • Protect your cheese from drying out by keeping it in your fridge in a lidded container (like tupperware), a plastic baggie, or the crisper drawer.

  • After opening, always use fresh plastic wrap for any cheese you’re not planning to eat within a day, unless it’s being kept in a container (which we recommend).

  • In general, we suggest eating your cheese within a week or so of purchasing. Some cheeses will last longer, but, you know, why wait!

  • Keep bloomy rinds and blues separated when possible. The molds are quite zealous and will grow on any cheese they can latch onto, so just keep them in separate containers and you’ll be fine.

  • A word about mold: If it’s growing on your semi-firm or firm cheeses, just cut it off and eat it! This white and blue mold is just fine — these cheeses lack the water to host the nasty molds. But if mold is growing on your fresh mozzarella, feta, cream cheese, or fresh chèvre, throw it out.  The amount of water in these cheeses provides a great environment for the nasty stuff. If you start to see mold, you can be sure that the filaments are already running throughout the cheese :(

  • For the best flavors, take your cheese out of the fridge for an hour or so before serving. When cheeses are too cold, all their delicious flavors, aromas, and textures get shy. Serve at room temperature to enjoy to the fullest.

This month’s cheese was carefully curated by Seattle’s Resident Cheese Lady, Rachael Lucas, ACS CCP, CCSE. Rachael is a cheese buyer for the Ballinger Thriftway in Shoreline, a fromage writer for tastewashingtontravel.com, and she’s on the Board of Directors for WASCA (Washington State Cheesemaker’s Association).