{"id":32062,"date":"2017-11-10T13:00:53","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T18:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=32062"},"modified":"2021-08-24T16:02:11","modified_gmt":"2021-08-24T20:02:11","slug":"virginia-cheese-lovers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/virginia-cheese-lovers\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia is for (Cheese) Lovers"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Cheese Abounds…<\/h3>\n

\u201cVirginia is for Lovers\u201d. And today the state\u2019s slogan has never rung truer than for lovers of cheese. During the artisan cheesemaking boom of the past decade, some three dozen makers have been handcrafting award-winning cheeses in the Old Dominion state.<\/p>\n

What makes Virginian cheese<\/a> so special? Just like wine, the cheese develops its distinct character from its terroir<\/em>\u2014the sense of place (i.e. environmental conditions) which is distilled and conveyed through flavor.<\/p>\n

Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Mountains, with their fertile soil and mild climate, create an ideal terroir<\/em> for raising dairy. Pure mountain water, clean air, and a diverse array of grass and flora contribute to high-quality milk, which in turn results in complex, noteworthy cheeses.<\/p>\n

For all you curious cheese lovers, here are a few Blue Ridge cheesemakers that are making the most of their idyllic surroundings.<\/p>\n

Meadow Creek Dairy<\/strong><\/a> Galax, Virginia<\/h3>\n
\"virginia\"<\/a>

Cows at Meadow Creek; Mountaineer cheese. <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAs a farmstead producer, we have control over the entire process\u2014from the land to cows to milk quality to cheese,\u201d says Helene Feete who, along with her husband Rick, has been crafting cheese for 19 years on the family\u2019s dairy farm. Committed to sustainable agricultural practices from day one, the pioneering couple has garnered national acclaim for their embrace of terroir and the resulting raw cow\u2019s milk cheese. Both their Appalachian<\/a> and Grayson<\/a> have won blue ribbons from the ACS and, along with their Mountaineer<\/a>, are distributed across the country. This September the Feetes put Virginia truly on the map when their raw-milk cheesemaking<\/a> was recognized at the Slow Food Cheese festival in Italy. <\/p>\n

Caromont Farm<\/strong><\/a> Esmont, Virginia<\/h3>\n
\"virginia\"<\/a>

Goats at Caromont Farm. Photo credit on the left: Justin Ide<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Caromont Farm\u2014known for its goat-cuddling sessions<\/a> that went viral\u2014is overseen by Gail Hobbs-Page and her husband, Daniel Page. It all started when Gail, burnt out after 27 years of cooking, turned to cheesemaking and a dozen or so of Dave Matthew\u2019s<\/a> goats for a change of pace. Fast-forward 10 years and a few stints with the likes of Jasper Hill Farm<\/a>, Gail, along with her small team, now produces about 30,000 pounds of cheese a year. In addition to her flagship ch\u00e9vre, Mount Alto feta, bloomy-rind Chabi, and second place ACS winner Esmontonian, Caromont has just released a new cheese. \u201cWe are calling it Pepato di Esmont. It is an aged, peppercorn studded goat’s milk cheese that we will wash with red wine,\u201d says Caromont\u2019s Sales and Event manager, Isabella Zecchini.<\/p>\n

Our Lady of the Angels Monastery<\/strong><\/a> Crozet, Virginia<\/h3>\n
\"virginia\"<\/a>

Sister Maria. Photo credit: Claire Mellinger<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Cheese can be heavenly, sure, but when it\u2019s made by a group of nuns that go by Our Lady of the Angels, well, that\u2019s a different story! The Trappist monastery, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has been making its Monastery Country Cheese<\/a> since 1990 as a means of self-support. The Dutch-style Gouda starts with milk from local, grass-fed cows and is aged for two months before coated in a bright red wax. Sister Barbara Smickel, the monastery\u2019s business manager and cheesemaker, also adds that the cheese has a special secret ingredient: \u201cThe love and prayer of all the Sisters!\u201d The result is a golden, semi-firm Gouda that is mild with hints of grass and sweet milk\u2014a true Blue Ridge cheese indeed!<\/p>\n

Featured <\/em>image: Meredith McKown Peyton<\/i><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Mountains, with their fertile soil and mild climate, create an ideal terroir for raising dairy. Hence, the special taste of a Virginian cheese.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":32061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26354],"tags":[1715,1710,1757,1713,1315,1714,1326,1711],"coauthors":[1452],"class_list":["post-32062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-appalachian","tag-blue-ridge-mountains","tag-caromont-farm","tag-gail-hobbs-page","tag-meadow-creek-dairy","tag-our-lady-of-angels-monastery","tag-raw-milk-cheese","tag-virginia-cheese"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVirginia is for (Cheese) Lovers - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/virginia-cheese-lovers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virginia is for (Cheese) Lovers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Mountains, with their fertile soil and mild climate, create an ideal terroir for raising dairy. 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