Sartori Gorgonzola Dolcino

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The Lady brought home a wedge of this delightful gorgonzola and The Man and I have enjoyed it three times this week. The first tasting was on warm French bread fresh from the oven and then The Lady used it to make a salad dressing which is featured on our recipe blog. She used the last to make a pasta and chicken dish that had The Man swooning for hours… it was almost embarrassing… but since it was The Man… not really much of a surprise. (Links to the recipes are below.)

Sartori Cheese in Wisconsin makes cheese that is always a hit around the manse. In addition to the Dolcino, they make the most-decorated Parmesan made in America, SarVecchio and one of my favorites, Bellavitano Gold. When The Lady was cooking last night, I caught a glimpse of a few other Sartori cheeses in the fridge… stay tuned… more reviews to come…

This is one creamy cheese; the cheesemaker adds extra cream and carefully ages this gorgonzola to perfection. On the blue scale, this is on the mild side but distinctive enough to satisfy even the most discerning turophiles. It’s smooth and silky; spreads easily on the warm bread. You will never regret adding this gorgonzola to your cheese board.

I give Sartori Gorgonzola Dolcino 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: The possibilities are endless. In three short days, The Lady served this cheese in three ways and each was a hit. The Salad Dressing she made was divine; but the chicken pasta dish she made was truly to die for… seriously… You can also pair this cheese with pairs and red grapes. The Lady served Dolcino on a cheese plate last year and you can read my thoughts by clicking here.

Wine Pairing: The Lady always likes a sweeter wine with her blues like a Port; but with the pasta dish, she chose her new favorite wine, Pinot Noir.

Beer Pairing: How about a Stout?

Source: Pasteurized Cow Milk

FTC Full Disclosure – The cheesemaker/manufacturer sent me their product, hoping I would review the product/cheese.

Select American Cheese Society 2011 Winners

 

One of our favorite cheese memories was hanging with the Cheese Swells last year in Seattle for the 2010 ACS Conference. Fortunately or unfortunately (looking at it from both sides), The Lady spent this year’s ACS Conference time in Denver opening a new Murray’s Cheese at the Glendale King Soopers.

On Friday, the ACS announced its 2011 cheese competition winners and the Pacific Northwest brought home the Best of Show for the second time in the past three years with Rogue River Blue. It was a bittersweet win for David Gremmels and Cary Bryant of Central Point, Oregon’s Rogue Creamery. The American Artisan Cheese World lost its Godfather, Ig Vella, this year and in the early 2000’s Ig sold Rogue Creamery to David and Cary… but only after teaching them to make cheese… Ig was a very wise man in so many ways but to require the men to learn the art was one of his wisest demands…

For a complete list of winners, please click here.

The list below is of partial winners; all of which The Lady and I have reviewed:

Best of Show: Rogue River Blue

2^nd Place (Tie): Carr Valley’s Cave Aged Marisa

 

Winners in their respective categories:

Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese’s Mascarpone (1^st)

Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery’s Mascarpone (3^rd)

Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam (2^nd)

Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery’s Coupole (2^nd)

Cypress Grove’s Humboldt Fog Grande (3^rd)

Beecher’s Flagsheep (3^rd)

Sartori’s Reserve BellaVitano Gold (3^rd)

Tumalo Farm’s Rimrocker (2^nd)

Sartori’s Limited Edition Pastorale Blend (3^rd)

Beehive Cheese Company’s Barely Buzzed (1^st)

Rogue Creamery’s Chocolate Stout Cheddar (3^rd)

Beecher’s Marco Polo Reserve (1^st)

Beecher’s Four Year Flagship (2^nd)

Tillamook County Creamery Association’s Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar (3^rd)

Beecher’s Flagship Reserve (3^rd)

DCI Cheese Company’s Salemville Blue Cheese (2^nd)

DCI Cheese Company’s Black River Gorgonzola (3^rd)

Hook’s Cheese Company’s Little Boy Blue (1^st)… Boy did The Lady and miss it on this one…

Emmi Roth USA’s Gran Queso (2^nd)

BelGioioso’s Cheese’s Sharp Provolone Mandarino (3^rd)

Sartori’s Sarvecchio Parmesan (1^st)

BelGioioso’s Burrata (1^st)

Sartori’s Reserve Black Pepper BellaVitano (1^st)

Beecher’s Smoked Flagship (3^rd)

Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese’s Petit Frere Reserve (3^rd)

Tumalo Farms’ Classico (1^st)

Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery’s Crottin (3^rd)

Sartori’s Reserve Merlot BellaVitano (3^rd)

Vermont Butter and Cheese Company’s Crème Fraiche (1^st)

Vermont Butter and Cheese Company’s Cultured Butter (3^rd)

LaClare Farms Specialties’ Evalon (1^st)

Uplands Cheese’s Pleasant Ridge Reserve (1^st)

Consider Bardwell Farm’s Rupert (2^nd)

Widmer’s Cheese Cellars’ Washed Rind Traditional Brick (3^rd)

 

The Lady and I have at least 100 more cheeses to review and many of them won awards at this year’s ACS Competition including the following winners:

Tillamook County Creamery’s Monterey Jack; Tillamook County Creamery’s Colby; Carr Valley’s Cocoa Cardona; Carr Valley’s Cave Aged Mellage; Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery’s Cremont (including an ice cream using Cremont); Carr Valley’s Caso Bolo Mellage;Carr Valley’s Billy Blue; Rogue Creamery’s Echo Mountain; Cello Riserva Copper Kettle Parmesan; Sartori’s Reserve Espresso BellaVitano; Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy’s Green Chile Jack; Emmi Roth’s Rofumo; Spring Brook’s Tarentaise; Cypress Grove’s Purple Haze… stay tuned…

 

Up next on the blog (later today): Looking Back… Looking Forward: Cheesemonger’s Weblog Celebrates it’s Third Year Anniversary This Week… that’s a lot of blogging…

What Cheese Nerds Do On Their Days’ Off

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The Lady brought home lots of re-pack labels from Denver and made collages to hang in both our home office and her work office… this is what cheese nerds do in their spare time… cheese, glorious cheese:

Cheeses Awarded the Feline Foodie’s 4 Paws Designation

The Following cheeses and other items reviewed on the blog, all received 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got…)

34° Cracked Pepper Crispbread Crackers

34° Lemon Zest Crispbread Crackers

*34° Natural Crispbread Crackers

*34° Rosemary Crispbread Crackers

*34° Sesame Crispbread Crackers

*34° Whole Grain Crispbread Crackers

Abondance

*Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

*Asiago

*Beecher’s Flagship Crackers

*Beecher’s Hazelnut Crackers

Beecher’s Extra-Aged Flagship

Beecher’s Flagsheep

Beecher’s Raw Flagship

*Beecher’s Flagship Reserve

*Beecher’s No Woman

Beemster Graskaas

*Beemster Mustard

*Beemster Vlaskaas

Beemster Wasabi

*Beemster XO

*BelGioioso American Grana

BelGioioso Burrata

BelGioioso Italico

*BelGioioso Parmesan

BelGioioso Provolone

BelGioioso Tiramisu Mascarpone

*Bellwether Farms’ Carmody

*Black River Gorgonzola

Cahill’s Original Porter Cheese

*Cambozola Black Label

Campo de Montalban

*Cantalet

Carr Valley Cows’ Milk Cheese Plate

Carr Valley Jenny Eye Reserve

Carr Valley Ten-Year Cheddar

*Comte

Consider Bardwell Farm’s Pawlet

Consider Bardwell Farm’s Rupert

*Cotswold Pub Cheese

Cougar Gold (WSU)

Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam

Crave Brothers Fresh Mozzarella

Crave Brothers Mascarpone

Cypress Grove’s Lambchopper

Cypress Grove Midnight Moon

*Denhay Farmstead Cheddar

Epoisses

Fair Oaks Farm Aged Gouda

Fair Oaks Farm Emmenthaler

Fair Oaks Farm Royal Blue

*Ficoco Fig Spread

Fiscalini Farmstead Premium Aged Cheddar

Ford Farm Rugged Mature Cheddar

*Fromager d’Affinois

Fromager d’Affinois with Garlic and Herbs

Golden Age Cheese Super Sharp Cheddar

Golden Glen Creamery Farmstead Butter

Gothberg Farms’ Chevre

Gothberg Farms’ Aged Gouda

Gothberg Farms’ Raw Milk Gouda

Gothberg Farms’ The Woman of LaMancha

Gothberg Farms’ Young Gouda

*Grana Padano

Greens of Glastonbury Organic Mature Cheddar

*Hawthorne Fred Meyer Meat Counter Has Got It Going On

Ilbesa’s Aged Sheep’s Milk Cheese

Ilbesa’s Mature Sheep’s Milk Cheese

*Ilchester Beer Cheese

*Ilchester Smoked Applewood

Istara Chistou

Istara P’tit Pyrenees

*Istara Ossau Iraty

*Kaltbach Le Gruyere

Kerrygold Aged Cheddar

*Kerrygold Butters

*Kerrygold Dubliner

Kerrygold Ivernia

Kerrygold Red Leicester

Kurtwood Farms’ Dinah

Laack’s Eight Year Extra Sharp Cheddar

Lapellah Restaurant

Le Timanoix

*Long Clawson Dairy Lemon Zest Stilton

Mauri Gorgonzola Piccante D.O.C.

Neal’s Yard Stichelton

*Old Amsterdam

Om Nom Nom Food Cart

*Parmigiano-Reggiano

*Parrano

Parrano Robusto

Pasture Pride Guusto

Pasture Pride Juusto

Piave

Portland’s Cheese Bar

President’s Comte

*Rembrandt

*Ricotta Salata

Robiola Three Latte

*Rogue Creamery Blue Crumbles

Rogue Creamery Caveman Blue

*Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue

*Rogue Creamery Oregonzola

*Rogue Creamery Rogue River Blue

Roth-Kase Bleu Affinee

Roth-Kase BrauKase

Roth-Kase ButterKase

*Roth-Kase GrandCru Gruyere

*Roth-Kase GranQueso

Roth-Kase Natural Smoked Gouda

*Roth-Kase Petite Swiss

*Saint Agur

*Saint Andre

*Salemville SmokeHaus Blue Cheese

Sally Jackson Raw Sheep Milk Cheese

Sartori Bellavitano Gold

Sartori Bellavitano Gold with Pepper

Sartori Foods’ Cheese Plate

Sartori Foods’ SarVecchio

Saxon Homestead Saxony

Sesmark Original Sesame Thins

Sweet Grass Dairy’s Thomasville Tomme

Tillamook 100^th Anniversary Three-Year Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar

Tillamook Cheese Plate

Tillamook Cheese Curds

Tillamook Habanero

Tillamook Horseradish

Tillamook Ice Creams

Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar

*Tsunami Sushi at Hawthorne’s Fred Meyer

Upland’s Pleasant Ridge Reserve

Vella Dry Jack

Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery Bijou

*Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery Crème Fraiche

Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery Cultured Butter

*Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery Mascarpone

Villajos Artisan Manchego

Widmer Cellars Aged Brick

Willapa Farms Two-Faced Blue

*Indicates Cheese is carried on The Lady’s kiosk or Cheese Island

World Cheese Awards 2010 – Select USA Winners

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Congratulations to the USA Winners. I am pleased to call many of them friends as well, which makes their winning all the sweeter for me… for them… not so much (being friends with me…)

 Class: 5001 Soft goats’ milk cheese plain – fresh

5001 12 – Fresh Chèvre – Cypress Grove Chèvre Inc. – Gold

 Class: 5002 Soft goats’ milk cheese plain – mould-ripened

5002 32 – Yellow Buck Chevre 24oz – Marin French Cheese Company – Silver

5002 09 – Camembert – Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy – Bronze

5002 22 – ^ **Humboldt Fog – Cypress Grove Chèvre Inc. – Bronze

 Class: 5003 Semi-hard goats’ milk cheese plain

5003 22 – Manchester – Consider Bardwell Farm – Gold

5003 19 – ^Midnight Moon – Cypress Grove Chèvre Inc. – Bronze

 Class: 5004 Hard goats’ milk cheese plain

5004 31 – Bandaged Billy – Carr Valley Cheese Co. Inc. – Gold

 Class: 5005 Goats’ milk cheese with additives

5005 18 – Vermont Creamy Goat Cheese with Roasted Red Peppers – Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery – Bronze

 Class: 5006 Goats’ milk cheese blue

5006 04 – Mountain Top Bleu, soft ripened. – Firefly Farms – Gold

 Class: 5102 Semi-hard ewes’ milk cheese plain

5102 15 – Lamb Chopper – Cypress Grove Chèvre Inc. – Silver

 Class: 5106 Hard ewes’ milk cheese plain

5106 37 – Cave Aged Marisa – Carr Valley Cheese Co. Inc. – Silver

5106 39 – Native Sheep – Carr Valley Cheese Co. Inc. – Silver

Class: 5206 Mature block creamery Cheddar made between 01/08/2009 and 23/11/2009

5206 13 Prairie Breeze Milton Creamery LLC Gold

 Class: 5209 Extra Mature Traditional Cheddar made between 24/11/2009 and 30/03/2009

 5209 03 – BWC Extra – Fiscalini Cheese Company – Silver

 5209 07 – Cave Aged Clothbound Cheddar – Grafton Village Cheese Co. – Bronze

 Class: 5210 Extra Mature creamery Cheddar made between 24/11/2009 and 30/03/2009

 5210 32 – Private Stock Cheddar – Cabot Creamery Cooperative – Silver

 Class: 5232 Gouda – made after 01/12/09

 5232 11 – Marieke Gouda Super – Holland’s Family Cheese – Silver

 Class: 5234 Any very hard cheese not in any other class

 5234 04 – ^ **American Grana (r) – Bel Gioioso Cheese Inc. – Silver

 5234 11 – ^Sartori Reserve SarVecchio Parmesan – Sartori Food Corporation – Silver

 Class: 5235 Any hard pressed cheese not in any other class

 5235 13 – San Joaquin Gold – Fiscalini Cheese Company – Bronze

 Class: 5236 Any semi-hard cheese not in any other class

 5236 75 – Spring Brook Farm Tarentaise – Farms For City Kids Foundation – Super Gold

 5236 74 – Toma – Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company – Silver

 5236 23 – ^Asiago – Bel Gioioso Cheese Inc. – Bronze

 Class: 5302 Cottage cheese American style chunky

 5302 03 – Vermont Style Cottage Cheese – Cabot Creamery Cooperative – Silver

 Class: 5304 Ricotta

 5304 14 – Whole-milk Ricotta – Bellwether Farms – Bronze

 Class: 5305 Mascarpone

 5305 07 – Mascarpone – Sorrento Lactalis – Bronze

 5305 08 – Bella Gento Mascarpone – Sorrento Lactalis – Bronze

 Class: 5306 Quark plain or with additives

 5306 02 – Vermont Quark – Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery – Bronze

 5306 05 – Quark Blackberry 8oz – Marin French Cheese Company – Bronze

 Class: 5307 Mozzarella, fresh, cows’ milk in balls (large or small)

 5307 21 – Sliced Fresh Mozzarella (12oz) – Sorrento Lactalis – Gold

 5307 24 – **Galbani Fresh Mozzarella (8oz) – Sorrento Lactalis – Silver

 5307 06 – Fresh Mozzarella – Bel Gioioso Cheese Inc. – Bronze

 5307 07 – Mozzarella 16oz ball – Lactalis American Group – Bronze

 5307 22 – Ciliengini Fresh Mozzarella (3oz) – Sorrento Lactalis – Bronze

 Class: 5308 Mozzarella, block, slices or string

 5308 04 – Mozzarella – whole milk high moisture – Sorrento Lactalis – Bronze

 Class: 5311 Brie made from pasteurized milk

 5311 13 – Rouge et Noir Triple Créme Brie 8oz – Marin French Cheese Company – Gold

 5311 11 – Rouge et Noir Original Brie 8oz – Marin French Cheese Company – Bronze

5311 14 – French Gold 24oz – Marin French Cheese Company – Bronze

5311 15 – Rouge et Noir Original Brie 5lb – Marin French Cheese Company – Bronze

 Class: 5313 Camembert made from pasteurized milk

5313 12 – Le Petit Camembert 4oz – Marin French Cheese Company – Silver

 Class: 5314 Any other mould ripened, soft or unpressed cows’ milk cheese – plain

5314 13 – Green Hill – Sweet Grass Dairy – Silver

 Class: 5317 Rind washed cheese not in any other class

5317 24 – Schlosskranz-Herz – Marin French Cheese Company – Gold

 Class: 5318 Smoked cheese – soft/semi soft

5318 04 – Smoked Mozzarella – Lactalis American Group – Bronze

Class: 5403 Gorgonzola

5403 03 – Montforte Gorgonzola Wheel – Arthur Schuman Inc. – Bronze

5403 05 – ^ **Black River Gorgonzola – DCI Cheese Company – Bronze

 Class: 5404 Blue vein cheese any variety, uncut, natural rind

5404 23 – Le Petit Bleu 4oz – Marin French Cheese Company – Silver

 Class: 5501 Cheese made with the milk of more than one animal

5501 27 – Mélange Brie – Marin French Cheese Company – Gold

5501 39 – ^Ménage – Carr Valley Cheese Co. Inc. – Silver

5501 42 – Cave Aged Mellage – Carr Valley Cheese Co. Inc. – Silver

 Class: 5503 Semi-hard cheese produced on farm or dairy with a total output not exceeding a weekly average of 2t.

5503 17 – Pawlet – Consider Bardwell Farm – Silver

5503 08 – Promontory – Beehive Cheese Company – Bronze

5503 09 – Full Moon – Beehive Cheese Company – Bronze

5503 18 – Butternut – Willow Hill Farm – Bronze

 Class: 5504 Soft cheese produced on farm or dairy with a total output not exceeding a weekly average of 2 tonnes.

5504 12 – Dorset – Consider Bardwell Farm – Silver

 Class: 5509 New Cheese – hard or semi-hard. Open to any new cheese first marketed after 01/10/09

5509 19 – Aged Fontina – Sartori Food Corporation – Bronze

 Class: 5511 New Cheese – with additives. Open to any new cheese first marketed after 01/10/09

 5511 07 – Cinnamon BellaVitano – Sartori Food Corporation – Gold

 ^ – Reviewed on Blog

** – Sold at The Lady’s Cheese Kiosk and/or Island

Spaulding Gray, The Feline Foodie, Reports From His ACS 2010 Cheese Bunker… Report #2

So I’m sitting here in the Cheese Bunker hidden somewhere in the suburbs of Seattle and The Lady is hanging out with the “Cheese Swells” at the Seattle “No Pets” Sheraton… something is definitely wrong with this cheese picture…

The Lady and The Man just returned from the New Members and First Time Attendees Reception hosted by our friends, Sartori Foods and The Lady is dropping cheese names like there’s no tomorrow… however, you can bet, she’ll be dropping more names tomorrow… yada, yada, yada…

She ran into our buddy Gaetano Auricchio and the BelGioioso Cheese Swells at Pike Place Market today on her way to the home of my most favorite-of-all-time cheese, No Woman. The fine cheesemakers at Beechers were… well, they were making cheese…  to make matters worse, she came back to the “Cheese Bunker” with the scent of No Woman on her clothes (but not a wedge to be found anywhere on her)… at least she took a couple of pictures but then I discovered she had left the cord I need to download the pix to the computer… she had one item on her “things to do for Spaulding Gray” list… and she forgot… sheesh… I do all the heavy lifting and she hangs with the “cheese swells”…

After Pike Place Market, she and The Man stopped in The Daily Grill and had a late lunch while waiting to pick up The Lady’s creds at Cheese-a-Topia at the Seattle “No Pets” Sheraton…

The Man likes to hang with The Lady… well, that I can understand… I like hanging with her as well… he sat in the lobby of the Seattle “No Pets” Sheraton while The Lady went to the reception. All the new members and first time attendees were invited and the ACS Board of Directors (aka The Really Big Cheese Swells) welcomed everyone. Sartori Foods hosted the event and had many of their terrific cheeses for everyone to enjoy.

They played Board of Directors Bingo: little-known facts about members of the board were on a bingo card and as you chatted with them you had to find out various bits of trivia. The most interesting for The Lady was that our friend, Tim Smith from Kroger, was a ballet dancer and danced with the Boston Ballet… from ballet to cheese… talk about a renaissance man… I did a little research and discovered his interpretation of the Prince Florstan pas de trois in Sleeping Beauty is still legend.

On deck tomorrow… Cheesemongers’ Merchandising Competition; Terroir in America; Last Stop: Cheese Shop; Getting Inside the Retail Mine and Meet the Cheesemaker… boy do I have my work cut out for me tomorrow reporting on all these seminars… until then, I remain your humble Feline Foodie reporting from the “Cheese Bunker” hidden somewhere in the suburbs of Seattle…

Sartori Foods’ Cheese Plate

Sartori Foods was one of the cheesemakers The Lady visited last month and she created a cheese plate using some of their product line.

She divided the cheeses into groups as follows:

Asiago:

We have previously reviewed the Rosemary and Olive Oil Asiago.

Extra Aged Asiago. One of the first things you notice about this cheese is how beautiful it is: an incredible gorgeous ivory pate that is creamy and finishes nutty and savory on the palate. Sartori uses a double-aging process to make this savory cheese.

Basil and Olive Oil Asiago. Sartori takes their Asiago and hand-rubs it with basil and olive oil. The finish is perfect for a cheese plate and for crumbling over pasta tossed simply in EVOO. This version is aged for six months while the extra-aged is at least nine months old before release.

Bellavitano Reserve:

As reviewed here last winter, Bellavitano Gold is a favorite around the manse. This is a cheese that starts out with Parmesan notes and ends with light fruity notes.

In addition to the Gold Reserve, Sartori has figured out several ways to perfect perfection:

Raspberry Bellavitano which The Lady used in the cheesecake she made for The Man and father’s Day. This cheese has been rubbed with Raspberry Tart Ale from the New Glarus Brewery (the raspberries are from Oregon). This is one damned fine cheese for a plate and desserts.

Merlot Bellavitano: Another winner using Bellavitano Gold and soaking it in Merlot which is The Lady’s favorite red wine – a double winner around the manse. The merlot adds just the right finish and makes for a beautiful looking cheese as well.

Under the watchful eye of Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker, Larry Steckbauer, Sartori has taken the Bellavitano Gold and bathed it in balsamic vinegar making a sweet coating that cries out for drizzling with a little EVOO and then dying and going to heaven… oh wait, when you eat this cheese, you are already in heaven… Balsamic Bellavitano was added to their line of award-winning cheeses this past January of 2010.

Another new and fabulous cheese to the Sartori Family is Pastorale Blend, their first mixed milk cheese which is a combination of cow and sheep milks. This wheel is bathed with paprika to produce an eye-popping cheese that would make a great centerpiece of any cheese display. And the combination of milks makes for a wonderful finish; the sheep comes through and the cow smoothes it out.

The last cheese on the plate was Dolcino Gorgonzola; an amazingly creamy blue cheese because Sartori added extra cream to enhance the flavor and appeal of this cheese.

I give this Sartori Cheese Plate 4 Paws out of 4 Paws; there’s not a cheese here that is not superb. My hat’s off to Larry, Jim and everyone that puts their hearts and souls into making Sartori cheeses so fine.

Serving Suggestions: Because I reviewed so many cheeses here, I suggest you visit both the Sartori Food website for serving suggestions and recipes.

For Beer and Wine Pairing, visit the Cheese Cupid – their pairings are the best.

Awards: More than 50 in the last 3 years – these folks have got it going on…

Sartori Raspberry Bellavitano Cheesecake

The Lady adapted a cheesecake recipe and used Sartori’s Raspberry Bellavitano Cheese for a delicious new take on the cheesecake.

The recipe is available by clicking here.

Sartori Foods’ SarVecchio – America’s Most Decorated Parmesan

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The Man and I caught a lucky break; The Lady brought home a wedge of Sartori Foods’ SarVecchio. She tasted it when she visited the Sartori Foods’ Plymouth headquarters on our recent Wisconsin trip (one more time I was left on the bus…). When it appeared at the manse, The Man and I were quite pleased.

SarVecchio is aged at least twenty months and is mellow with caramel and nutty flavors and has lots of those crunchy crystals that drive The Man and the Feline Foodie (that would be me) to distraction.

This is amazing Parmesan.  This cheese is made under the supervision of Master Cheesemaker, Larry Steckbauer; cheese hats off to Mr. Steckbauer!!

I’m pretty sure the fine cheesemakers of Parma have this cheese on their radar and are more than just a bit worried. They are probably annoyed that an American cheese company would have the nerve to make Parmesan of such high quality.

Trust me; Parmesan doesn’t get any better than this.

The Lady has only one disappointment regarding SarVecchio and that is that she doesn’t currently sell it at her cheese kiosk – it would be such a distinguished, Wisconsin-made and American-Icon cheese to sell. Perhaps that will change in the near future. It certainly has the vote from The Man and the Feline Foodie.

I give Sartori Reserve SarVecchio 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got – but I am willing to grow an extra paw for this cheese…)

Serving Suggestions: We enjoyed it with grapes and Dare Vinta Crackers on our cheese plate. This cheese would pair well with walnuts and dark chocolate as well. The Lady plans to use the remainder (if The Man and I don’t raid the fridge before she gets the chance) in a couple of pasta dishes she has planned on her next days off… stay tuned…

Wine Pairing: A nice Northern Italian red such as Barolo or Barbera.

Beer Pairings: Dark Ale or Sweet Cider.

Awards: No less than 25 over the past few years making it the most decorated Parmesan made in the United States.

Source: Pasteurized Cow Milk