By By Stan Torgeson / wine columnist
Sept. 18, 2002
As predicted, the Sept. 26 wine and cheese tasting is nearly sold out. Call 482-0930 if you would like to obtain the few spaces remaining. If they are taken, we will create a waiting list.
We would appreciate it if those who have made reservations but not yet sent their checks would please do so. The demand has been such that if you now know you will be unable to attend we would be able to offer the space to someone on the waiting list. Each place reserved is $35.
Lineup of cheese
That said, let's look at the lineup of cheese you will taste. We spent last weekend in New Orleans tasting probably 20 different great samples of the cheese-maker's art before selecting seven for the tasting. What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
First, truly because of popular demand, we will repeat three cheeses from the March tasting. One is the Explorateur, probably the most popular cheese at that tasting. It is a triple cream cheese from France that contains a minimum of 75 percent butterfat. Butter itself is 80 percent butterfat so this is a very rich cheese.
We are also bringing back the St. Andre, another stunning triple cream cheese from France. It received high accolades in March as it should. Enriched with pure sweet cream, its flavor is rich and buttery. It, like the Explorateur, is a soft cheese that spreads easily.
The third repeat is the Carles Roquefort, undoubtedly the finest blue veined cheese I have ever tasted. The veins are actually bluish-green and the resulting product has a deep, full, spicy flavor unparalleled in my experience. The Carles Roquefort is made in France, then aged in caves near the Spanish border.
Spanish cheese
New to our tasting will be three cheeses from Spain and one from Italy. Two are made near the Pyrenees Mountains and both are quite rare.
First is the Ossau-Iraty. Ossau is a river and a valley in Bearn. This cheese is made only from late December when the ewes have just begun giving birth to their lambs, until mid-July when they are once again impregnated by the rams and both milking and cheese-making cease.
It is made in small village cooperatives called fruitieres. Finely cut curd is pressed in plastic molds which are vertically stacked to press the curd and expel the whey. Following a two-hour brine bath, the cheeses are placed in caves or cold rooms where they will initially be turned and hand-rubbed with salt, then later rubbed at varying intervals with a brine-soaked cloth over a period of about four months.
It is an extraordinary, almost taffy-like mouthful. The flavor is indescribable. My wife and I loved it and agreed we simply had to serve it at this tasting.
Also from the area of the Pyrenees Mountains is another sheep's milk cheese called Idiazabal. Idiazabal is one of Spain's most well-crafted, highest quality cheeses. The shepherds who make it have a habit of storing this cheese in the stone chimneys of their cramped mountain huts.
The smoke aromas in the chimney permeates the interior of the cheese gently but unmistakably, resulting in an effect that is both balsam and smoky. It is aged two to four months.
The third cheese from Spain is called Drunken Goat. It is a specialty cheese and the "drunken" part refers to the process of making the cheese. As the casing develops, the entire cheese is soaked in Doble Pasta wine for 48 to 72 hours.
All Spanish foods involving wine soaks are referred to as "borracho" or "drunken." The casing turns a violet color, though the cheese's flavor is not colored by the alcohol nor is there any alcohol content in the cheese. The result however, is a semisoft cheese which is aged about 75 days and has a sweet, smooth flavor. Incidentally Doble Pasta is a fortified red wine that is part of Spain's history. Wine presses near Jerez dating to the 8th century B.C. have been found.
Italian cheese
Last, but in my opinion, certainly not least is Italy's Parmigiano Reggiano. Most Americans think all Parmesan cheese comes ground up in round containers with Kraft on the label and is to be used only for sprinkling on pasta. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The region in Italy in which Parmigiano-Reggiano is made is strictly delineated and its production is as closely guarded as are wine appellations. By law it can only be made between April 15 and Nov. 11. This practice ensures that the milk comes from cattle pastured on the zone's fresh grass, rather than on silage or fodder from other locations.
Wheels of this cheeses are required to weigh at least 66 pounds. The cheese must be aged for no less than 14 months, but most are aged for about two years at which time they can fetch a higher price. It is a hard cheese with enormous flavor that will actually melt in your mouth.
So there you have the lineup. All will be paired with appropriate wines, but for this tasting the wines are not the stars. The cheese is and the only question is which will shine the brightest for you.