Thinking back on the year in cheese puts me in an uneasy mood, to be honest. Independent cheese shops are struggling or shuttering. Importers are grappling with tariffs and paralyzing uncertainty. Retail cheese prices are giving me heartburn, and I worry that consumers will start trading down or just doing without. On the other hand…great cheese continues to deliver so much pleasure and value, a ready-to-eat shareable artisan food that elevates everyday meals. Here are a few—not all new, but new to me—that made the biggest impression this year.
Read moreConnoisseur’s Swiss
Now here’s a find: 36-month-old alpage Sbrinz from Gourmino, the celebrated Swiss affineur. The word “alpage” should get your attention. It means the cheese was made in the Alps during the brief summer grass season, not in a valley dairy with winter milk. Only 5 percent of Sbrinz production is alpage. In this case, the producer is a loner who lives on Alp Chüeneren year-round and makes his Sbrinz with raw milk from his brother’s herd. “I love the seclusion,” says cheesemaker Andreas Gut.
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