Wine & Words

One of our favorite foods from Spain is cheese, or as we say when we order there..."queso" (KAY-so). Since most of Spain is dry and mountainous, most Spanish cheeses are made from the milk of the sheep and goats that can handle the scrubby provender and rugged terrain. The exceptions are in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees, the Atlantic coast ("green Spain") and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. This month, to go with our featured Spanish wines, we have chosen to highlight some of the various styles of cheese to be found in this cheese-loving nation.
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America is a country of immigrants. Our forefathers and mothers brought their food traditions with them. This month we celebrate American cheesmaking with American versions of cheeses from England, France and Italy.

This month we're featuring three classic cheeses from the milk of three different animals who graze in three different countries in Europe.
 
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It's hard to be a "locavore" in downeast North Carolina. Our agricultural production runs more toward commodities like cotton, corn and soybeans than to small, sustainable, well-integrated family farming operations. That's not so, however, in the North Carolina Piedmont, just over 100 miles west of us. That's where we find the Chapel Hill Creamery.
 
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This blue from southeastern France is creamier than Roquefort, owing to the fact that it is made from cow's milk rather than sheep's. The terrain near Auvergne is craggy and desolate, and thus, better suited to raising sheep than cows. Even so, the region manages to produce enough cow's milk to eke out its small annual production of Bleu d'Auvergne. Bleu d'Auvergne is great crumbled on a tossed salad. You should also try a small piece on a slice of apple for a beautiful, healthy midday snack.

* Made from unpasteurized cow's milk.

This extra special delicacy from the Gruyere district of Switzerland is well known as the basic ingredient in fondue. But with its delightfully nutty, spicy, full flavor, it is delicious as a table cheese as well. Upon eating Gruyere, one immediately recognizes the taste of whole milk that is used exclusively in making this grand cheese. We say it is grand because a whole wheel of Gruyere weighs about 80 pounds. In fact, it takes over 100 gallons of milk to make a single wheel of Gruyere!
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Historically, in the world of cheese, the use of black wax was reserved for premium products. For example, in the 1970s, black waxed Gouda was the top of the line. Nowadays, a rainbow of wax colors is used across the quality spectrum. Some of the more traditional producers have maintained the tradition of coding quality by wax color, one of which is England's Tuxford & Tebbutt.
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The world's most famous melting cheese, Raclette is made in the Alps on both sides of the French-Swiss border. The French version is perhaps a bit softer than Swiss Raclette, but the two taste very similar. Raclette has a semi-soft interior dotted with small holes and a rosy inedible rind. Eaten as a table cheese, Raclette has a smooth, creamy taste that is neither too salty nor sharp. However, our French Raclette tends to have a strong, pungent aroma that is not for the timid.
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