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Gourmet Cheese
"Wine and ___________." Fill in the blank. We are betting that the answer would be "cheese" (no points if you come up with a different answer). For a brief moment when we were contemplating opening Vino Rosso, we thought we shouldn’t carry cheese because of its perishability. A talk with Mike the beer guy at Worden’s Market in Missoula convinced us. Since then we have steadily expanded our cheese selection and now we are as much about cheese as we are about wine. We offer a broad selection of cheeses, many of which are listed below. If you want to know when we get new cheeses, check out our "What’s New" section. Have a favorite cheese? Ask us and maybe we can get it. AMERICAN Humboldt Fog Cheese With a central layer and outer covering of ash, this goat’s milk tome ripens with a soft, white interior. When cut, it is reminiscent of the early morning fog. Humboldt Fog is made by Cypress Grove Chevre, which is owned and operated by mother and daughter team, Mary Keehn and Malorie McCurdy, in Humboldt County, California, among the towering redwood trees. These amazing women have an enviable passion for their work that has been rewarded by national awards, reputation, and a steadily growing business. Crater Lake Blue Crater Lake Blue, the American Cheese Society's 2004 gold medal winner, is a contemporary blue cheese. Robust and sweet with a rich buttery finish, it is best described as a blend of Roquefort and Danish blue cheese recipes. Versatile on a cheese plate or in a special recipe. Its complexity of flavor makes it one of the rare blues that can pair perfectly with both Ruby and Tawny ports. Simply an outstanding cheese, Crater Lake Blue is a terrific example of the craftmanship exhibited by today's American cheesemakers. Point Reyes Original Blue The secret to Pt. Reyes Original Blue™ lies in the unique combination of three factors: Vermont's best-kept secret... Grafton Cheese! This Maple Smoked Cheddar from the Grafton Cheese Factory is bathed in the cool smoke from smoldering hard maple wood for four to six hours. What taste could be more typical of Vermont? The smoke is used to season, not to preserve. It adds a delicious nuance reminiscent of bacon, just as tasty on breakfast menus (great in omelettes) as on cocktail trays. Enjoy cheddar like an old Vermonter - eat your wedge of apple pie for breakfast or brunch crowned with a slice of Grafton cheddar. Maytag Blue Vegetarian, blue cheese of cylindrical shape made from cow's milk. It has been produced since the 1920's when the Maytags founded their family farm producing cheeses. This cheese is not produced in huge volumes as the cheesemakers want to keep the tradition of hand-made cheese and offer only best quality cheese to the customer. Maytag Blue has a crumbly texture and it reveals a very spicy flavor. The period of curing and maturing takes six months. Other cheeses from the production of Maytag Dairy Farm include White Cheddar and Edam. This cheese is used as a table cheese for dressings and salads GRILLED STEAK WITH MAYTAG BLUE CHEESE
Prepare outdoor charcoal grill to medium hot coals. Season steaks with salt, and pepper, and grill steaks over direct coals to desired doneness. In the mean time, mix together the Maytag Blue cheese and butter until soft. Place a dollop of cheese mixture over each steak and let sit in indirect heat for a 15 seconds or until cheese is melted. Garnish with chopped parsley. CIBO Cheese Spreads Naturals is an innovative, all-natural, specialty food company that creates fresh, ready-to-eat pestos, soft-flavored cheese spreads and toppings for retail and foodservice customers. Thier products are "made to order" each week ,ensuring freshness and quality, and are available nationally. Try thier award-winning, all-natural soft flavored cheeses, like thier Basil Roasted Walnut a two-time winner for 'Best Cheese Spread' by the American Cheese Society. BELGIAN Chimay Covered with forests and pastures and crossed by numerous rivers, the countryside of Chimay has always been a livestock-rearing area. And in this case, livestock-rearing yields great cheese! Since 1876, the Trappist monks of Scourmont have known the secrets of making cheeses from fresh milk from their farm and matured in the vaulted cellars of the abbey. Today, Chimay cheese is still made exclusively with local milk. While the Trappist monks of Chimay Abbey have modernized their production equipment, fortunately for us their cheeses have retained their authenticity. Chevray is a wonderful new cheese from Chimay made from 100% goat's milk. Smooth and flavorful, Chevray has a delicate goat cheese flavor that is fantastic on its own, in salads, or melted. ENGLAND English Stilton Cheese Long known as "The King of Cheeses", Blue Stilton is one of a handful of British cheeses granted the status of a "protected designation origin" (PDO) by the European Commission. Only cheese produced in the three counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire and made according to a strict code may be called Stilton. To be called Stilton, a cheese must:
Chicken, Stilton, Apples and Walnuts Pound skinless chicken breast; lay flat; sprinkle with Stilton, add Apple slices and then chopped walnuts. Roll. Wrap with partially cooked bacon. Saute until done. Seven Layer Huntsman Hunstman is an English cheese, consisting of a layer of Stilton cheese between two layers of Double Gloucester cheese. The creamy, forceful Stilton is sandwiched between layers of mellow, satiny Double Gloucester. The result is an excellent flavor combination that is as delicious as it is beautiful. Stilton with Fruit White Stilton, the young, immature cousin to the world famous British blue cheese, is extra creamy and deliciously tangy but somehow unfinished all by itself - much like plain yogurt. Hence the need to introduce a fruit. Available with apricots, lemon, ginger, and six other wicked flavors. Each of these flavorful additions tames the brash White Stilton. After your first bite you will immediately recognize that the combination is a natural fit. The expert cheesemakers have added exactly the right amount of fruit such that the cheese is not overly sweet. Aged for a minimal time period, our family of flavored White Stiltons are fresh tasting products. Owing to their delicious flavors, beautiful presentations and wickedly scrumptious names, they are among the best selling blended cheeses in the U.K.
Sage Derby This is a green veined, semi-hard vegetarian cheese with a delightful, mild sage flavor. The custom of adding sage to Derby cheese began in the seventeenth century, when the herb was widely believed to possess health-giving properties, and gives the cheese another subtle level of flavor. Red Dragon This smooth, firm tasty Cheddar is made with Welsh brown ale and mustard seeds. Red Dragon is a buttery and spicy cheese with plenty of bite, but is not too hot. Not only do the mustard seeds give Red Dragon its marvelous flavor, but also its texture. The brown ale makes the cheese moist and tangy. Red Dragon is aged for 3 months, made from cow’s milk and is vegetarian. Serve as a table cheese or melted on toast with dark ale or try a Shiraz, if you prefer wine. Red Windsor Derby This unique cheese by Clawson is stunning red veined cheddar. The marbled red color is produced by the addition of port and brandy to a pale cream cheddar cheese. Clawson Dairy is one of the UK's most successful and progressive dairies, and is a leading innovator and producer of blended cheese Wallace & Gromit’s Wensleydale A special treat exclusively from Wensleydale Creameries, its Wallace & Gromit’s Wensleydale! Enjoy our cheeky friends' favorite nibble. Real traditional Wensleydale Cheese is a natural food, free from additives and made from fresh milk drawn from cows grazing on the sweet limestone pastures of Wensleydale, an environmentally sensitive area where the use of chemicals is restricted. The cheese is firm, but not dry or hard. It has a mild, yet full, creamy flavor, unique to authentic Wensleydale. And this very special Wensleydale arrives wrapped in a red wax rind with Wallace and Gromit on the label. Royal Windsor Royal Windsor is a British creation, combining three wonderful flavors into one of the most visually striking cheeses the world has ever seen. The base cheese is cheddar, which is marbled with bright red, fruity Elderberry wine. Inside is a layer of veiny Blue Stilton, offering its tangy, distinctive flavor. The taste combination is extraordinary and the presentation will certainly draw many oohs and aahs at your next party. If you like Huntsman (Double Gloucester with Blue Stilton), then you must try Royal Windsor. Double Devon Cream Double Devon Cream is the most versatile type of fresh cream. It can be used in cooking, for pudding or as a pouring cream. It will whip and can even be frozen for up to two months. Double Devon Cream is made in Devon, using only the finest fresh, dairy cream from cows that graze on the green grass of Devon. It contains no preservatives, thickening agents or artificial additives. Before opening, our hermetically sealed bottle can sit on the shelf for six months. However, after opening you must refrigerate in order to preserve the remainder for up to two weeksFRANCE Comte Comte (pronounced con-tay) is a cheese made using time honored traditions in the Franche-Comte region of France, in the Jura mountains bordering Switzerland. These plateaus, known for their rugged terrain but lush green fields, categorize Comte as a "mountain" cheese. Comté is not only a world renowned cheese with subtle aromas that titillates the taste buds of gourmets. It is also, and above all, a valuable foodstuff, wholesome, natural and an essential ingredient in achieving a balanced diet The outstanding nutritional quality of Comté is the result of the traditional manner in which it is produced which gives precedence to nature and to the seasons. Brillat Truffe This fromage is as versatile and interesting as its namesake; a perfect example of impeccable French fromagerie. It is produced mainly in the Normandie region of France, from fresh milk of local cows. It falls in the category of triple cream cheese, which means that cream is added to the milk to create a soft, smooth, and utterly decadent pâté. The flavor is gentle and sweet, which complements the uncooked, unpressed pâté fantastically. A bloomy white rind develops around the cheese, protecting the velvety-soft pâté, and a quick aging bestows it with a very mild and subtle flavor, which goes easy even on the most sensitive palates. Brillat Savarin is typically disc-shaped Triple Cream The first layer is soft and smooth and stark white in color, but as you approach the center, Delice’s texture becomes thicker and more consistent, comparable to that of cream cheese. The natural blending of the intensely flavored exterior and that of the more subtle and soft interior makes Délice an unusually delicate cheese. This stellar product makes an elegant and classic addition to a cheese board. It is easy to spread into bite-size toast for a provocatively simple appetizer, and is also sublime when paired with fruit as a dessert cheese plate. Spread on fresh bread, it transforms a simple snack into an opulent feast. Serve with Champagne, a slightly acidic Riesling, or fruity Sauternes. FESTIVE RED AND GREEN TOASTSCelebrate with a bottle of Champagne. 1 French bread baguette, cut into 24 1/2-inch-thick rounds GERMANY Mirabo Walnut Mirabo Walnut, a sophisticated soft ripened cheese, has been mastered by Kaserei Champignon of Bavaria, Germany. Its exclusive blossom shape, with find white mold, gives mirabo its unmistakable appearance. The pate of this cheese is a soft and creamy delight, and the finest crushed walnuts, speckled throughout, produce a wonderfully mild and nutty flavor.
Recipe Directions: Montagnolo Montagnolo is a triple cream soft ripened blue cheese, carefully crafted by the master cheese makers of Kaserei Champignon in the alpine mountain region of Bavaria, Germany. The buttery texture and rich, piquant flavor intensifies as it ripens. This cheese was inspired by delicacies of the Renaissance and a time when cheese making was performed by cottages and families in this region Landhaus Butterkäse Landhaus Butterkäse is a traditional, naturaly German-style cheese that is made with original cultures and follows traditional German production methods. It has a buttery taste and a creamy texture that melts in your mouth. Produced in Landhaus, Germany, this young, semi-soft cow’s milk cheese is a great addition to any cheeseboard, and it has a mild flavor which makes it a perfect table cheese for the pickiest of eaters. Cambozola Cambozola® cheese was created in Germany in the 1970's as the offspring of a marriage between French Camembert and Italian Gorgonzola. The same unique blue mold that gives Gorgonzola its delicious spiciness is added during aging and the wonderful bloomy rind that surrounds its exterior is similar to Camembert's. Much milder than its parents, its rich consistency is achieved by adding cream to the milk. Cambozola® has become one of the most popular creamy blues in America today Hirtendase Hirtenkase is German for "cow shepard's cheese". This authentic mountain cheese is an all natural, hard cheese. It is handmade in the Allgäu mountain region in the South of Germany and aged for 5 months. HOLLAND Old Amsterdam Made in Holland from local pasteurized cow's milk and imported Italian cultures, gold medal winner Old Amsterdam tastes like a young Parmigiano-Reggiano crossed with an Aged Dutch Gouda. It is well-known for its rich, nutty, robust flavor and firm texture, both the result of it being perfectly matured for over twelve months. Excellent in salads, shredded over soups or chili, and on sandwiches, hot or cold, Old Amsterdam is perfect with a glass of fine wine or port. IRELAND Dubliner Irish Cheese Dublner Irish Cheese has a unique distinctive rounded flavor, achieved by combining a secret recipe and the skills of the Kerrygold master cheese maker .The cheese is typically matured over 12 months during which time it is checked by experienced cheese graders to ensure that it has a consistently high flavor profile. Suitable for vegetarians, it can be used on a cheese board, in sandwiches and in a range of recipes. Dubliner is particularly delicious as an apperitif cheese served cut into cubes or sliced. Asparagus and Dubliner Irish Cheese Gratin Vintage Irish Cheddar Kerrygold, the Irish cheese crafters that produce Blarney and Dubliner, make a spectacular, limited production two-year aged Vintage Cheddar. Encased in black wax to differentiate it from less-aged Cheddars, this special cheddar is the result of a careful grading process such that only the best are allowed to bear the "Vintage" label. This connoisseur's cheddar, notable for its rich, rounded flavor and firm, smooth body, deserves a place on the cheese board alongside your choice of the world's other great cheeses. Cahill's Farm Cheddar Located in County Limerick and recognized as the originator of fine Irish cheese, Marion Cahill of Cahill's Farm has developed an interesting range of flavored cheddars. Using a base of tangy Irish cheddar, she has experimented with a variety of flavors and has come up with some very popular combinations. We offer two types of Cahill's Farm Cheddar: Elderberry and Porter. ITALIAN Parmesan Reggiano Parmesan Reggiano is one of the world’s greatest cheeses. Other cheeses get sharper as they age; Parmesan Reggiano becomes mellower. Its unique texture is at once granular and creamy. Most familiar grated over pasta or folded into risotto or polenta, it is also magnificent broken into bite-sized chunks for eating. Its nutty, buttery flavor is magic with wine. Although many countries make something called Parmesan, nothing is quite like true Parmesan Reggiano from Reggio Emilia, Italia. A great and simple Dipping Oil:
Fresco Pecorino Toscano Until recently, the name Pecorino Toscano could be given to any cheese made in Tuscany with any amount of sheep's milk. The name is now reserved for 100% sheep's milk cheese made only between September and June. Tuscan pecorini are usually smaller and milder than other sheep's milk cheeses. Pecorino Fresco is aged merely 20 to 30 days. It is mild, sweet and melt-in-your-mouth smooth with just a hint of saltiness. For a quick and delicious meal, cube some pecorino fresco into a double boiler; melt at a low temperature and toss immediately with cooked pasta and fresh black pepper. Or try drizzled with any of Daniele Devalle's honeys and served as a dessert course. Also terrific paired with fresh fava beans straight out of the pod. Pecorino Toscano Stagionato This sheep's milk cheese is made according to the same exacting standards as the less-mature 'fresco' version, but the extra aging produces a firmer Pecorino with greater complexity and richer flavor. ('Stagionato' means aged.) Nutty, hearty, but not overly sheep-y or sharp tasting like some Pecorini, this is a formidable table cheese that pairs well with big Tuscan reds (wines.) This stagionato Pecorino Toscano may certainly be enjoyed unto itself, however, as a snack, in an antipasto, or shaved on salads. Try this cheese as a dessert course by drizzling chestnut honey over it with a little freshly-ground black pepper. Italian Fontina This cheese has enough flavors on its own to summarize the characteristics of the entire region of Italy called Valle d'Aosta. Fontina is dense, smooth and slightly elastic. The straw-colored interior, with its small, round holes, has a delicate nuttiness with a hint of mild honey. This supple cheese's flavor hints of pristine forest floors, then shifts to a lovely yet powerful lingering scent of wild mushrooms. Wild Mushroom Fontina Pizza
Evenly spread crust with shredded Fontina cheese. Distribute mixed wild mushrooms and leeks on top of cheese. Bake by sight at 375-400[degrees]F until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Drizzle with truffle oil, cut into quarters and serve immediately. Asiago Fresco Asiago originated in the village of Asiago in northern Veneto, where it has been made for centuries. This sweet and tangy semisoft cow's milk cheese has a slightly salty aftertaste. It is firm in texture, easy to cut and pairs wonderfully with salami and crusty bread. Try sliced or cubed into salads and sliced or melted onto sandwiches. SPAIN Manchego Manchego is Spain's most famous cheese. Produced in La Mancha in Central Spain, Manchego is made from 100% sheep's milk. The abundance of wild herbs on Central Spain's grazing lands gives Manchego a special taste and aroma. Its flavor is zesty and exuberant while its texture is firm but not dry. Manchego can be recognized by the zigzag pattern etched into its rind. This is created by the rippled surface of the press used in the manufacture of the cheese. Underneath the inedible rind, the interior is ivory colored with few small holes. Taste Manchego for the first time and you will be surprised at how long the wonderful flavor lingers on your palate. It is an experience you will be drawn back to again and again. Drunken Goat From the village of Jumilla in the Murcia region of Spain, Drunken Goat is a semi-soft artisan goat cheese with a smooth violet rind which has been soaked in Doble Pasta wine for 48-72 hrs. Aged about 75 days, it has a sweet, smooth flavor. This is a very difficult cheese to find. Roncal Roncal comes from the rich sheep's milk of the legendary Lacha and Aragonesa breeds of oveja sheep. Depending on the season, these herds graze in the high Pyrenees or the Bardena area of Navarra, the province that was the setting for Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises." Roncal, made in one of seven villages in the Valle de Roncal, has nutty and piquant flavors with a firm, chewable texture. Somewhat similar to Pecorino Toscano and Manchego, Roncal has its own unique, mouth-watering character and pairs well with many types of wine. Try this cheese with Tempranillo. Idiazabal (edee a thaw bal) This handmade, unpasteurized sheep's milk cheese comes from the Spanish Pyrenees. Idiazabal is naturally smoked with a hard but edible orange-brown rind. In the old days, Basque shepherds lived in small mountain huts and had no space to store and age their cheeses other than inside their stone chimneys. As it turned out, people enjoyed the smoky flavor that the cheese acquired from aging inside the chimneys, and Idiazabal spread throughout Spain. Today, Idiazabal is produced in more modern facilities, but the process is still all-natural. The cheese is as delicious as ever, and the quality is more consistent. We love its perfumy bouquet and rich, buttery flavor and enthusiastically recommend Idiazabal as one of Spain's greatest cheeses. Garrotxa This goat's milk cheese was once produced solely in the Garrotxa area of Catalonia. This is the area of Pyrenees region of Spain that is furthest to the East, lying right on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Garrotxa has a white interior with a very creamy texture that is surrounded by a natural mold rind. It has an unusual but mild flavor with a light acidity and a hint of hazelnuts. It melts very smoothly, but we like to eat it out of hand. It is sure to become a new Spanish favorite Valdeon Blue Queso Cabrales is a natural cheese made in the artisan tradition by rural dairy farmers. This cheese can be made of pure cow's milk, but, depending on availability, can also be blended with some goat and/or sheep's milk as well. All the milk used in its production must come exclusively from herds raised in a small zone of production in northern Spain. Cabrales is aged from two to six months in natural caves in the mountains nearby. In these caves, the relative humidity is 90% and the temperature varies between 45º and 55ºF. These conditions favor the development of penicillium molds, yielding veins of blue-greenish color. Cabrales is sharp and tangy, and even more so when made with mixed milks. Like Gorgonzola and Roquefort, it is a famous blue cheese whose name is often copied by inferior wannabees. SWITZERLAND Emmenthal This cheese is produced in the central cantons of Switzerland. It is a traditional, unpasteurized, hard cheese made from cow's milk. It's hard, thin rind is covered by paper with producer's name on it. The aroma is sweet with tones of fresh-cut hay. The flavor is very fruity, not without a tone of acidity. Emmenthal has walnut-sized holes. It is considered to be one of the most difficult cheeses to be produced because of its complicated hole-forming fermentation process. The cheese tastes delicious with a glass of wine, for example Jura Blanc.
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Mirabo Walnut Baked Mini Filo Tartlets 