CHEESE BOX 13
Happy Birthday! It is a year since we delivered our first boxes of wonderful NZ artisan cheese. We are all about supporting our artisan cheesemakers by bringing great cheese to the people, and we are super pleased to share that The Cheese Wheel community has grown at a faster rate each month.
Lots of that is due to you spreading the word, so thanks very much! Give yourself a pat on the back too because we are now making a difference to how much our smaller cheesemakers are selling. Please enjoy our little gift this month.
ROBIELINO – FROM KINGSMEADE CHEESE
Kingsmeade suggest you treat this very delicate fresh cheese with some honey or balsamic vinegar, but we have found it’s just as good just smeared on some fresh crusty white bread. It really is the taste of spring and keep an eye on it or someone else will eat it before you blink. Keeping the spring theme going, maybe match it with a Beaujolais or another light red, or a NZ saison.
Region: Wairarapa. Type of milk: cow.
FONTAL – FROM VIAVIO
This is the second time we have featured this deceptively-aromatic and buttery cheese.
For more recent members of our cheese-loving community, ‘Fontal’ Is a portmanteau of Fontina (an Italian Swiss raw milk cheese) and Emmental (a Swiss medium hard cheese). This mashup is a semi-hard washed rind that is great to eat and even better to melt over some spring mushrooms. Grab a red from the north east of Italy, or a NZ Red IPA..
Region: Nelson. Type of milk: cow.
ELLADALE – FROM THE MOODY COW
Wensleydale cheese was made famous by Wallace and Gromit of course. This Yorkshire style Is usually pale white, dense, firm but sometimes flaky with a sweet flavour balanced with acidity. Elladale is true to the style with a buttermilk flavour and a honey aftertaste. See if you notice the aroma of fresh mown hay!
Try it with a big Marlborough Pinot Noir or an amber ale..
Region: Malborough. Type of milk: cow.
BLUE – FROM LITTLE RIVER ESTATE
This is an exceptionally balanced blue, creamy and rich with spicy notes. It’s made by a French cheesemaker in Upper Moutere using A2 cows’ milk. Keep it in Nelson and dig out a Waimea Estates or another local Riesling, or find one of our absolute favourite beers, a Hop Federation Red IPA.
Region: Nelson. Type of milk: cow.
