The Pairing: Good Ole Fashioned New England Fun
This week we’re heading north to the cheese mecca that is the state of Vermont. Specifically, we’re talking about Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company’s Lillé, a better-than-brie style cheese with inspo drawn from the north of France. This special cheese is aged in its very own room and turned weekly to ensure that its delicate rind develops evenly with a soft bloomy texture. Lillé is decadent and delicious, with a pasty core and a creamy body, and features some great earth and mushroom notes when ripe.
Vermont Farmstead Co. Lillé – Vermont’s first Community Owned Artisan Cheese operation tries their hand at bloomy rind beauty- Its edible rind lends a salty bite balancing the delicate nutty butteriness of the paste. We have a lot of cool, complex cheeses in our collection, but sometimes it’s nice to get back to basics and VFCC’s Lillé is just that; a delightful soft cheese that is just so good. The variation in paste texture depending on ripeness makes it a little more fun than your typical brie and its clean, bright flavors make it an all around versatile crowd pleaser. Be sure to let this little morsel come up to room temp before slathering it on any sort of bread/cracker/cheese vehicle you can imagine.
Oyster River Morphos – Old-school New England grit & pre-industrial farming begets bright and glowy pét nat- Since 2007, Brian Smith has been making wines and ciders with native Maine fruit as well as grapes grown around the Northeast, seeing himself more as “nature’s assistant” than “winemaker.” All of his wines are fermented with native yeasts over the course of several months which leads to one of our favorite easy-drinking sparklers of the season. Morphos is a pét nat that is bursting with life. Super dry, and only 10% abv, this is an absolute delight for pre-dinner, post-dinner, or any other time you’re looking for a little something to sip on. Notes of peach skin and grapefruit play well with the briney salinity on the finish. Lillé’s super unctuous, creamy-cakey hybrid paste is a perfect match for Morphos’ light effervescence, cleansing the palate with each sip.
-written by Erin Hepinstall, Cheese Manager