Pinot Pairings
International Cheese Selections
Perlagrigia (aka Sottocenere)
From Venice, Italy, this cow's milk cheese is aged for one month and contains shavings of black truffle. After being washed, it is rubbed with olive oil, natural truffle flavor and dry spices. Sottocenere literally means "under ash," as this semiÜsoft cheese is covered in ash to preserve the flavors. The ash ingredients include truffle powder, nutmeg, cloves, coriander, cinnamon, licorice, and fennel.
Piave Vecchia
This cheese is named for the river Piave, whose source is found in the province of Belluno, Italy. Milk is collected from cows that graze along the riverbank, then the curd is cooked and the cheese is aged until it is hard. This cheese has an intense, full-bodied flavor that increases with age and makes this cheese unique.
Epoisses
The milk for this cheese comes from cows that have grazed for three months in the meadows of Burgundy. Epoisses is first washed with salty water and then stored in a humid cellar. After one month, it is washed again with a mix of rainwater and the spirit Marc de Bourgogne. The texture can be very runny-it might be wise to serve this sinful cheese with a spoon. Its aroma is powerful and a wonderful prelude to the flavor.
Toma Del Maccagno
Produced on the mountains of Biella and Valsesia in Italy, this is a typical mountain cheese made with cow's raw whole milk and aged for one to two months. It has a distinct fragrance of pasture and pleasant floral aromas.
Brin d'Amour
The artisan cheese is made on the island of Corsica and is covered by a natural rind of rosemary, thyme, coriander seeds and savory, aromatic herbs that are found in the brambly underbrush on the island. Brin d'Amour is an unpasteurized sheep's milk cheese, aged for one to three months. There is a beautiful contrast between the creamy texture and the crunch of the herb crust. The flavors are rich, creamy-curd with a briny tang and a salty, herb-drenched finish.
