This Week's Tasting: September 11, 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.

The folks at Sweet Grass Dairy believe great cheese comes from fresh grass and happy cows. On their sustainable farm in Thomasville, Georgia they pasture feed their Jersey cows to get the milk which makes the incomparably smooth brie-style, Green Hill. The rind is thin and the paste is creamy and rich - arguably America's best Camembert.

Miette is a blended milk, bloomy rind cheese from Baetje Farms in Missouri. A blend of sheep and goat's milk, it tastes of sweet, rich cream. The texture is dense like cheesecake and it softens beneath its thin rind.

The Wisconsinites at Roth Kase have set out to make a Gruyere that rivals the Swiss classic. Using Swiss copper vats, they make Roth's Private Reserve using cow’s milk from small area dairies. Aged 6-9 months and made only in the spring and summer when the cows are eating green grass, the Reserve has a firm texture, an underlying sweetness, and a nutty, brown-butter richness.

Tomme de Hood is a natural-rinded cheese from the Eagle Mountain dairy in Lapin, Texas. As per French tradition, the tomme is named for the region where it is made: Hood County. Molded in a basket shape, Tomme de Hood is buttery and smooth with tangy, mushroomy flavors.

El Gran Pep is a large format version of an artisan goat cheese from north of Barcelona called Garrotxa. Made in Catalunya using 100% goat's milk, it is rustic, tangy and complex. 

Chrissy Omo of CKC Farms in Blanco, Texas makes a delicate goat's milk blue called Baby Blue. A small round with blueing on the interior and exterior, it softens as it ages to a luxurious creamy texture. Baby Blue production is small, so availability is extremely limited.

Our wine of the week is a Sangue di Giuda from Costarosa in Lombardia, Italy. It is a blend of Barbera, Croatina, Uva Rara, and Ughetta Vespolina and is slightly sparkling with notes of strawberry and black fruits.We taste wine from 10am to 2pm on Saturdays.

Our pairing of the week are Oatcakes from Effie's Homemade in Massachusetts.