This Week's Tasting: February 13th, 2017

Every week at Dairymaids we select six cheeses to include in our free cheese tasting. Whenever we are open, we are tasting cheese. We stock over 150 cheeses, so if these 6 don’t please you, we will find you the cheeses that do.

This week's cheese are:

A small, bloomy-rinded cheese from Vermont, Weybridge is light and tangy with an earthy note at the finish. The Scholtens make Weybridge with the organic milk from their Dutch Belted cows, a heritage breed. From their dairy, Weybridge travels to nearby Jasper Hill Cellars for ripening.

Castelrosso is an ancient style of cheese is made by lactic fermentation. Similar to Castelmagno, it ripens from the outside in producing a smooth cream layer beneath its natural rind. The Rosso family has been making it in Piemonte since 1894. The unique, flaky texture is thanks in part from the acidic Red Cow's milk they use.

Hook's Creamery's 5 Year Cheddar is colored a deep orange with annatto. Sharp and tangy, it's a perfect melter.

On their sustainable farm in Georgia, the folks at Sweet Grass Dairy pasture feed their Jersey cows to get the milk which makes this unpasteurized Thomasville Tomme.  A semi-soft cheese it has a smooth, buttery texture and a mild, even flavor.

Patterned after the traditional Swiss melting cheese, St. David's Raclette from Eagle Mountain Cheese in Lipan, Texas is perfect both for melting or for eating out of hand. Made with high quality raw cow's milk, St. David's tastes of sweet cream inflected with a hint of pungency and nuttiness.

Bellamy Blue is a fudgy raw milk blue from northern Tennessee. The rind is hand-rubbed with Alderwood smoked sea salt and dipped in black wax that keeps the paste smooth and creamy. The smoke flavor is subtle; it gives the cheese a savory profile.

Our wine of the week is a Tempranillo from Fall Creek Vineyards in Tow, Texas. This bold Tempranillo is smoky with notes of wild raspberry and strawberry. 

Our pairing this week is a Red Haven Peach Preserve from American Spoon in Michigan.