By Colleen Levine, local cheese blogger at Cheese and Champagne | October 16, 2013
No celebration is complete without a cheese board, so I’m happy to be here to recommend some cheese pairings for Virginia Cider Week. Cider is a food-friendly beverage that is far less fussy to pair with cheeses than wine. Without wine’s harsher tannins to get in the way, just about any style of cheese will be right at home on your cheese board. And when you’re popping open a bottle of Virginia cider, there are a wealth of farmstead cheeses from our region to savor with it. I tested the following trio with ciders from Albemarle CiderWorks, but other Virginia ciders will have similar pairing success.
The effervescence of cider, much like a sparkling wine, cuts through the richness of a soft, bloomy cheese. Crottin d’Albemarle, a bloomy-rind goat cheese from Virginia’s Caromont Farm, is complemented by an off-dry cider like Albemarle CiderWork’s Ragged Mountain. And as their names imply, both cheese and cider hail from Albemarle County, making this pairing a terroirist’s dream.
A firm and nutty cheese, like Calvander from Chapel Hill Creamery, North Carolina, is always appropriate for fall, and the slight sweetness will be matched in a dry cider. The buttery, grassy Appalachian from Meadow Creek Dairy would also be a good choice for the middle-ground spot on the board.
When we think of apples, cheddar often comes to mind first. The fruity Talbots Reserve cheddar from Chapel’s Country Creamery — Maryland’s first raw milk cheese — has bright pineapple notes similar to those in Albemarle’s Royal Pippin.
If you’re feeling adventurous, seek out a cheese washed in cider, like Lorenzo from Meadowood Farms in central New York. A smoked cheddar, or even a smoked chevre like that from Goat Lady Dairy, NC, would add another flavor dimension and be especially fitting enjoyed around a fire pit on a chilly late autumn evening.
When pairing cheese and ciders, it helps to match the two in intensity and to save the sweeter ciders for your stronger cheeses — as you work your way from mild to strong cheeses, sip from each of two different cider glasses and see how the interaction changes your impressions of the cheese. Above all, don’t be afraid to experiment.
Colleen Levine is a cheese advocate based in Northern Virginia and co-founder of the blog CheeseandChampagne.com. Find her on twitter or facebook to share your cheese and cider success stories.