Terroir and Cheese

The Lady asked that she write this entry about “Terroir” and since, as a superior feline, I find it humorous that there is a need to explain “Terroir”; I told her to go right ahead…

DPI, the distributor that sells us our cheeses, had a seminar recently at the Portland Convention Center. The morning featured four speakers who each spoke about “Terroir” as it pertains to their cheese.

Terroir is French and explores the concept of how various elements of a region contribute to the final agricultural product; in our case, the cheeses of certain regions. Wikipedia has an interesting article about Terroir:

view link

The first speaker of the day was Allison Hooper, owner of Vermont Butter and Cheese and outgoing President of the American Cheese Society. She presented a plate of four goat cheeses and one butter from her creamery (which we sampled) and explained how terroir contributes to the success her cheeses and butters have found in the market.

Second to speak was Lionel Giraud of FROMI Cheese, a true Frenchman in the finest sense of the word. His presentation included several Bries and a Comte – all fine French cheeses. Lionel was also a pleasure because he fancied himself to be a fledgling comedian…I liked him.

Andy Lax from Fresca Italia spoke about Robiolas and we sampled three including a Two-Milk that was the best Robiola I have ever tasted.

The last speaker, and by far the most impressive, was David Gremmels, one of the owners of the Award-Winning Rogue Creamery and the newly elected President of the American Cheese Society. His sample plate included 3 cheddars and 3 Blues.

After the seminar we attended the trade show and I sampled a 5 year old Aged Gouda – oh my!!

As soon as I can consult with Spaulding Gray, he will be posting reviews of some of the cheeses that I sampled at the seminar.