Day 979 : New Cheeses from Vermont Farmstead

Located in Woodstock, Vermont, Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company is one of my favorite Vermont creameries. Why you might ask? Well, to name a few reasons --- for their attachment to community growth and socio-economic stimulation in this corner of the Green Mountain State; their ingenuity and innovation in terms of their cheese production and their end goal of increasing recognition of locally crafted cheeses.

This past weekend in Vermont, I had the opportunity of trying two of their new cheeses -- Sage Windorsdale and their newly released blue cheese.

My first thought of Sage infused cheese was wow, I don't really love sage as a seasoning so how will I like this cheese? It will be too overpowering and just all herbaceous sage-y notes that will take center stage. But no I was completely wrong -- this was delicate and refined - dynamic and developed -- milky, cheese-y, round, nuttiness notes from the Windsordale base went hand in hand with the tangy, bright, herbaceous notes of the sage infusion that comes from dried sage and sage oil. Great with some rosemary crackers or baked into a mac n' cheese perhaps. I can be a big fan of infused cheeses but I never took to the firm herb infused cheeses until this one, what a treat!

And what of their new blue?

Vermont Farmstead starts with the same Windsordale base, a raw cow's milk cheese inspired by the traditional English cheese, Wensleydale. What comes next? The cheesemakers over at Vermont Farmstead blend in some of the Amablu Gorgonzola from Fairbault Cheese in Fairbault, MN. Aged for a minimum of 90 days, this stunning blue is sweet and piquant yet flavorful and forceful. By combining these two cheeses, what one gets is the best of both worlds -- spicy piquant tang and a round warming nutty milkiness. Delicate and devine -- this is a cheese that appeals to those of us who adore blues as well those of us who are timid around a blue cheese. What an exciting new development for Vermont Farmstead! I am so thrilled to see a new dynamic and unique blue coming out of Vermont!

Stay tuned for pairings coming up in the coming days!