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Here are the descriptions of cheeses we’ve put on the site so far. This is not complete at all and cheese we already have will be added as time allows. Remember, not all cheeses will be here when you visit.

Beeler Gruyere – An all-time staff favorite, this gruyere takes your standard gruyere and ups the flavor about 300%. Firm and slightly crumbly, it melts in your mouth and right off the bat hits you with it’s caramelly sweetness. The flavor evolves on your taste buds as the salty toffee turns to utter savoriness. The incredibly long finish on this cheese darn near makes it a major bang-for-your-buck contender, as well as a diet cheese! One bite offers so much.

Beeler Raclette – As with any Rolf Beeler cheese, the wheels he ages simply taste better than ones he doesn’t. This Raclette is a positively creamy, delicious treat on it’s own as a snacker. Most raclettes are meant for the eponymous broiler, and this one will be the best you can get, but you have the added bonus of having one of our most pleasing and complex cheeses to eat by the chunky bite.

Beeler Appenzeller – A classic Swiss cheese, great for melting or snacking, is made distinctive by it’s aging process. The wheels are washed in an exclusive solution of brine and herbs as they age for 8 months. Sweet, but not too “swiss-y,” Appenzeller is a versatile cheese that pleases most any palate.

Beeler Emmenthaler – Emmenthaler is the preeminent Swiss cheese, the one with the holes that, visually speaking, has really become the poster child for “cheese” in general. Many Emmenthalers you will find on the market have the distinctive “Swiss” flavor we’ve come to expect, though they can be decidedly one dimensional. Beeler’s Emmenthaler is one of the first we’ve tried with a complex, balanced flavor, while still capturing that nutty, tangy flavor of other Emmenthalers.

Beemster – Aged goudas are one of the most popular cheeses in the world. They combine a well loved combination of sweetness, sharpness, and crystalline texture. They are full flavored without leaning too heavily on the unfamiliar. We like to refer to them as our gateway cheeses, though we never grow out of them. Beemster is a small family company that is putting out some of the most consistently refined aged goudas on the market. This 18 month old beauty is aged just long enough to become nice and firm, but still maintains a touch of the creamy mellowness of a younger gouda.

Delice de Bourgogne - A luscious triple creme, this French beauty is akin to the more popular Saint Andre, but with a little more complexity and, as to be expected with any triple creme, a whole lot of buttery richness. A perfect match with your favorite bubbly.

Roth Kase Gruyere Surchoix - Wisconsin’s Roth Kase makes two gruyeres, their Grand Cru and the Surchoix, this cave aged beauty which has more complexity than almost any gruyere on the market. Sweet, salty, and a nice long finish make this mountain style cow’s milk cheese a tasty snacker, as well as a great cooking cheeses.

Meadow Creek Appalachian - The color on this mild but flavorful Virginia beauty is provided by the Jersey cows’ healthy and hearty diet of grass, and reflects high levels of beta carotene in the milk. The supple texture and mild flavor make this cheese a good snacker, or a tasty addition to a sandwich.

Anoranza - One of a few sheep milk cheeses from Spain and Portugal made with the herb milk thistle as it’s coagulant (and making the cheese vegetarian), Anoranza carries on the distinctive tang and rich mouthfeel of these cheeses, but offers a slightly firmer texture.

Oveja Curado Pico Melero - A firm sheep’s milk cheese along the lines of Manchego, but with a skyrocketing, complex flavor, has quickly become a staff favorite. Quite rare and utterly distinctive, this mouthwatering cheese is a favorite meal all by itself (well, maybe a light cracker and some quince paste doesn’t hurt).

Beecher’s Marco Polo - Beecher’s makes their cheeses for the world to see at Seattle’s famed Pike’s market. Their Flagship Reserve is a delectable clothbound cheddar, and Marco Polo is simply the addition of peppercorns, both black and green. On our short list of favored flavoreds.

Rogue Creamery Caveman Blue - All of Rogue’s blues are delicious. This is their newest to the lineup, and it excels. Imagine the distinctive unctuous creaminess of a roquefort, and add the simple butteriness of cow’s milk and you have Caveman. It’s soft and pliable and has the taste of fresh, warm cream.

Chimay Grand Cru - The milder of Chimay’s two washed rind cheeses, Chimay Grand Cru is almost brie-like, but not quite. It maintains a tinge of that pungency we expect from a washed rind cheese, but without the fear factor some people associate with this category of fromage. A great entree into the world of stinkers. Oh yeah, it’s also made by those same monks who bring you the beer of the same name, so try enjoying it with a glass/goblet.

Roquefort Coulet - Roquefort is the original blue cheese, a creamy, heady delicacy made of sheep’s milk and the molds originally discovered growing on rye bread (which had accidentally travelled to the cheese aging in the same cave - amazing that something as wonderful as blue cheese was ever an accident!). Gabriel Coulet brings us the milder of our two Roquefort offerings - just a little less salty and sheepy than the Carles. Perfection with a Sauternes.

La Peral - What a lovely discovery this cheese was for us! We are always happy to find a creamy, mild blue to root for, and this combo cheese (meaning made with more than one type of milk - cow and sheep) is such an easy pleaser. It’s from Asturias in northern Spain and has been around in small family production for 80 years. We’re lucky to have it.

Purple Haze - Cypress Grove Chevre in California makes this nifty little disc of scrumptious, creamy chevre laced with lavender and fennel pollen. An absolute delight and an easy meal with some olives, fruit and baguette.

Point Reyes Blue - This is a classic American-style blue, meaning it’s a raw cow’s milk, foil-wrapped, mild and clean blue that fits somewhere in between creamy and crumbly. The family farm in California that created this cheese in 2000 lured the manager of Maytag Blue to their upstart company, and the resemblance is clear. Fantastic on a steak, burger or in homemade blue cheese dressing. Also nice with a port.

Echo Mountain Blue - Rogue Creamery in Oregon has a full line of delicious blue cheeses, but this is the only one, and one of the few in the world, made with goat’s milk, which is added to cow’s milk. The goat adds a nice little tang to this crumbly and mild blue, which goes great with a hearty beer, perhaps one from the Rogue Brewery up the way.

Rogue River Blue - Winner of the 2009 “Best in Show” at the prestigious American Cheese Society annual conference and competition. This raw cow’s milk blue is one of our all time favorite cheeses, and it is incredibly unique, as well as seasonal - don’t expect to find this gem year round, for it’s only released in the months surrounding the holidays. The cheese is wrapped in grape leaves which have been soaked in local pear Eau de Vie. The liquor infuses the cheese with a heady, pear flavor. Combined with the rich sweetness of sheep’s milk, it is a truly original and sensual cheese.

Rogue Oregon Blue - One of our new favorites for salads, this mild and crumbly blue from Rogue Creamery in Oregon, with flavor notes reminiscent of toasted bread and butter, is a people pleaser, and sure to change the mind of those who might say “I don’t like blue cheese.”

Oregonzola - Rogue Creamery toys with a creamier cow’s milk blue with this nod to Italy’s famous gorgonzola. It’s mild, and more spreadable than their typical crumbly blues.

Pleasant Ridge Reserve - One of our all time favorite cheeses. Mike Gingrich Andy Hatch makes this superior wheel from raw cow’s milk in Wisconsin. It’s based on an Alpine cheese, so think Gruyere, with it’s cooked milky characteristics - sweet, nutty, a little salty, and oh, what a nice long finish. For a truly decadent grilled cheese, try it with some caramelized onions and a bit of grainy mustard on sourdough. It’s the best!

Toma Oropa - This creamy, slightly pungent cow’s milk cousin of taleggio has a nice beefy sweetness to it. It’s made with raw milk and is great for enjoying with a hunk of a good baguette and a pinot grigio.

Abbaye de Belloc – A French Pyrenees sheep’s milk cheese made and aged by Benedictine monks. Dense, supple and fruity with a lightly caramelized flavor that lingers in the mouth, it is a lush cheese, as rich as the surrounding pastures where the red nosed Manech Ewes’ graze.

Alta Robiola Bosina - Italy’s answer to brie. Robiola can come in many forms, but this guy is a creamy soft-ripened number made from a combination of cow’s milk and sheep’s milk. Slightly sweet and super creamy.

Appenzeller -Bathed in a solution of herbs, liquors and/or wines, the cheese is washed frequently and aged for a minimum of 4-5 months until it develops an herbaceous, nutty flavor with a smooth milky finish. It’s wonderful for snacking, and also a delicious cooking cheese, anywhere “Swiss” may be called for. Appenzeller, Ementhaller and Gruyere form the classic Swiss fondue trio.

Ardrahan -From county Cork in Ireland, a washed-rind cow’s milk cheese, it has a flavor accented by an earthiness and hint of mushrooms, while its washed rind offers the same pungent aromas one might expect from Munster or Livarot. The interior is elegantly soft, the light interior paste milky and slightly porous.

Arina Goat Gouda- Arina is a medium-hard, Dutch cheese made from 100% goat’s milk. Distinguished by its surprisingly mild (still nutty and sweet like a cow’s gouda) flavor, it’s a versatile cheese board denizen.

Asiago, Aged - Aged Asiago is firm and slightly spicy, like a slightly softer (though still hard) Parmigiano. Perfect for grating over pasta or green vegetables, or for savoring with a full-bodied, robust red wine.

Asiago, Soft -Cow’s milk cheese from Veneto region of Italy, it is aged less than 6 months and is prized for its creamy yet delicate flavor. Perfect for melting!

Baby Belletoile Brie- A rich triple creme brie from France. More along the lines of a brie than our other triple cremes, the 70% cream factor makes this so buttery, so rich and so delicious, while still having a slightly firmer texture.

Balarina Goat Gouda – An aged goat’s milk gouda from Holland selected for its sweetness and caramelly notes, but also for its unmistakable goatiness. This hard cheese really packs a punch.

Bayley Hazen Blue -Vermont’s Jasper Hill Dairy bases BHB on the recipe for Stilton and it has that earthy and lively blue flavor. Its natural woody rind is a beaut. Perfect with port.

Beaufort – An exquisite raw cow’s milk cheese from France along the lines of a gruyere, it has a firm, creamy texture and fruity sweet flavor. Great for fondue! Pair it with a Cotes du Rhone or Bordeaux.

Beenleigh Blue - Made with sheep’s milk like Roquefort, but sweeter, less salty, and the texture is fudge-like and even flaky. A coastal English delight.

Benning Goat Gouda - Straight outta Holland, a crazy pure white mild cheese that combines the light fresh taste of goat’s milk with the smooth texture of a Gouda for a distinctive yet mild flavor. Aged for 5 weeks. (Pasteurized)

Berkshire Blue - An entirely handmade cheese crafted from whole raw Jersey milk from the Berkshires in Massachusetts, it has a smooth, moist texture and subtle flavors, and it’s a knock-out to boot!

Berkswell – Easily identifiable by its brown, basket-textured rind and flying-saucer shape, this British sheep’s milk cheese is savory and fruity with a compact, often crumbly texture. Flavor-wise it falls somewhere in between Cheddar and Manchego, and is a really wine friendly cheese.

Bica - A semi-soft/semi-firm (somewhere in there) Portugese cheese made with the milk of the big three: Cows, sheep AND goats. You can taste butteriness, the rich grassiness and lemony tang of all three.

Bijou – Vermont Butter & Cheese Company make these small goat’s milk crottins in their microcaves. Delicious on their own, you can also cut a Bijou in half and place rind side up on a baguette. Toast under the broiler for five minutes and serve with a salad. Pure Paris bistro style.

Black Mountain - Black Mountain is a combination of matured Welsh Cheddar, white wine, garlic and herbs, It’s balanced even though garlic’s side of the teeter totter is closer to the ground.

Bleu D’Auvergne- From the Auvergne region in France & made since the middle of the 19th century, it is made in the traditional manner from cow’s milk and features blue veining throughout. A moist, sticky rind conceals a soft paste that possesses a grassy, herbaceous, and (with age) spicy, pungent taste.

Bleu De Laqueille - We saw this at Marie-Anne Cantin in Paris and it was the most beautiful blue in the store. Like Bleu D’Auvergne but made in smaller batches. It’s creamy and sharp with the perfect salty balance.

Bocconcini – The fresh mozzarella from Mozzarella Company formed into bite-sized balls. Drizzle with pesto and serve in a salad.

Boerenkaas – Soft younger gouda from Holland, made with raw milk and sometimes called just farmhouse or farmer’s cheese. Soft and mellow and scrumptious.

Bra Tenero - From the Piedmont region of Italy, Bra Tenero is a fairly young cow’s milk cheese that can be used in place of mozzarella in recipes, or simply enjoyed on it’s own. It’s flavor is mild and milky and the texture is pliable and thick.

Brebiou - A pleasant, light, well balanced single cream sheep’s milk cheese from Fumel, France. Unlike most soft ripened sheep’s milk cheeses, Brebiou has a pure creamy sweet flavor with a clean short finish.

Brie Notre Dame - Our mildest brie, and an easy crowd pleaser. The relatively firm texture of this brie means it can hold up well in recipes, but it still holds the supple creaminess that we all expect from the soft-ripened classic.

Brillat-Savarin - Possibly the most decadent cheese in the case, this triple creme is positively sinful. Cream is added three times in the cheese making process and one taste leaves little doubt of that. Full buttery luxury, wonderful with bubbly.

Bucheron - A tangy, mild, ripened goat cheese very popular in France. The paste is crumbly, but immediately melts in your mouth. The creamy interior of the rind offers a slightly more kicky goatiness. Pair this cheese with a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir.

Cabecou- One of the smallest French cheeses, weighing in at only an ounce per piece, these are flat little discs of French goat cheese (with black peppercorns) wrapped in chestnut leaves soaked in brandy. Try with a white wine from the Loire Valley, or a red Bordeaux. Very tasty and pretty.

Bulgarian Feta- Feta Cheese originated on the Balkan Peninsula in a region called Trakia, which is current day Southern Bulgaria. And many consider Bulgarian Feta the best. Fresh, creamy with an undercurrent of saltiness.

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar – Cabot Creamery’s special limited production project, this cheddar is shipped to tiny Jasper Hill Dairy for it’s 12-month aging. This fantastic cheese is caramelly and sharp, and is perhaps the finest American cheddar.

Cabrales Blue Cheese - One customer called this a “raw primeval delight”. This is by far the strongest cheese in our case, if not the world! An artisanal farmhouse blue cheese from the town of Cabrales and environs in Northwest Spain, it’s made primarily from cow’s milk, with goat and sheep’s milk added. The cheese is aged in natural caves where it develops a strong, rich piquant flavor and a crumbly but creamy smooth texture. It cures naturally from the outside inward, producing a distinct aroma and smooth texture.

Caciocavallo - Literally “Cheese on Horseback,” this is a Provolone type cheese, chewy, and dense but a little more snackable than it’s saltier cousin.

Caerphilly- A white and crumbly Welsh cow’s milk cheese, it has a fresh, milky flavor with just a touch of tanginess.

Carmody - Made from Jersey cow milk, Bellwether Farms makes this naturally gold cheese with a creamy yet crumbly texture and a full but light, lemony flavor. A consistent blue ribbon winner at the L.A. County Fair.

Carmody Reserve- Raw jersey milk and extra aging produce an astoundingly deep flavor to this semi-hard cheese from Bellwether Farms. The Jersey milk brings a buttery note, becoming more caramel as it ages, which produces a flavor that’s an intriguing mix of fine cheddar and aged gouda.

Cantal- This cow’s milk cheese from Auvergne, France is yogurty, moist and creamy, but delightfully sharp. It is similar to British Cheddars but softer, milkier and sweeter.

Cashel Blue- This cow’s milk cheese from County Tipperary, Ireland is a mild, creamy, semi-soft blue. The caramel and cedar flavors are incredibly well balanced.

Charlie Cheese- Part Lancashire/part Red Leicester and naturally mild flavored. And it smiles at you!

Chef’s Chevre - A tub of Laura Chenel’s classic mild and tasty, fresh and soft goat cheese.

Cheshire – Appleby’s is a golden orange cheese with a crumbly texture and a light flavor; dry like the best white wines. Crumble on a baguette slice and broil til it bubbles. Try with a hearty beer.

Chevre Noir by Tournevent – A true mature, firm goat cheddar aged over 12 months, this multi award-winning cheese has an exquisite, fine and deep flavor with a smooth, buttery texture. Serve cool with fruits and nuts accompanied by a Port or premium beer.

Chimay a la Biere - From the Belgian Trappist monks who bring you the delicious beer by the same name comes this washed rind cheese. I bet you can’t guess what they use to wash the rind... You’re right. BEER! Slightly firmer than a brie, and only mildly stinky and pungent compared to some other washed rind cheeses, this cow’s milk cheese is a great accompaniment to it’s natural beverage partner.

Ciao Angelo - An aged Dutch gouda from Holland that also takes some inspiration from the Italian classic Parmigiano-Reggiano (hence the Italian sounding name), this caramelly and hard cheese has little crystalline bits of milk protein throughout to give it a desired crunch.

Comte – French, very similar to Swiss Gruyere but a little more buttery and caramel-y tasting. Fabulous melted, make a Croque Monsier and drink a Cotes du Rhone.

Comte (Aged) -Wonderful French cow’s milk cheese (just across the border from Swiss cousin Gruyere) and has a nutty, sweet taste with complex musty, mushroomy flavor notes. Aged 15 glorious months.

Coolea - An Irish cow’s milk cheese that consists of a smooth, Gouda-like texture with rich, sweet, caramel flavors.

Cotswold – Take pretty Double Gloucester and add onions and chives to make the epitome of old English taste.

Coulommiers - A Brie-type cheese made around the French village of Coulommiers, the soft cheese has hints of truffles and garlic in each taste. Mmmmm.

Crater Lake Blue -The American Cheese Society’s 2004 gold medal winner is a contemporary blue cheese. It’s robust and sweet with a rich buttery finish, and is a favorite for salads due to its crumbly texture.

Cream Cheese, Fresh - It’s pretty hard to go back to the ole foil wrapped standard after tasting this gem. Gina Marie doesn’t use gum or preservatives in its cream cheese. Ergo, it’s actually creamy and perfect for recipes or on your bagel.

Crozier Blue – An Irish farmhouse sheep’s milk blue cheese that is almost as rich as Roquefort but pleasingly milder. Sweet, spreadable and unique.

Delft Blue – Resembling a Delftware china pattern, this Dutch cow’s blue is buttery and mild without the salty tang of other blues. A beauty for a party and enjoyed by all!

Don Mariano - Spain gives us another intense pleasure. This cheese is made from raw goat’s milk and is rind-washed while aging. The aroma is heady, the texture is creamy and the flavor is full, but not aggressive.

Double Cream Gouda- Creamy, mellow, painstakingly prepared, treated and aged, that’s how the Dutch make it. Known as Room Kaas in the Netherlands.

Double Gloucester – Produced in England, this cheese is a close but milder relative of cheddar, with a beautiful orange hue. It’s crumbly and creamy with a pleasant milky flavor and a nice melting ability. Great cheese for kids, too!

Edel De Cleron - Modeled after France’s oozing Vacherin Mont D’Or, and called “a flat-out triumph” by America’s premier cheesemonger Steven Jenkins, it has a luscious, amped-up-brie richness.

Emmenthaler - What you think of when you think Swiss cheese: Large holes, sweet flavor, ideal for melting.

Epoisses - A favorite of fans of strong-smelling cheese, the classic cow’s milk cheese has been made in the small town of Epoisses since the late 1700s. In order to develop the dark orange rind, Epoisses is washed with brine for several weeks then finished with wine or brandy. The result is a spoonable, silky, succulent paste.

Ewephoria - A sweet and nutty sheeps milk cheese, in the gouda style, that has been aged for one year. Kinda tastes like candy! Super with grapes for dessert.

Feta, French - Valbreso makes a sheep’s milk feta that has a wonderfully rich and creamy taste, with a mildly salty and tangy edge.

Fiore Sardo - This Sardinian pecorino, made with the island’s flavor-rich sheep’s Milk, is aged for nearly a year, and has smoky, sharp and salty notes.

Fleur Du Maquis - One of the few Corsican cheeses imported into this country, this supple round is made with the milk of the Lacaune ewes and rubbed in rosemary, fennel seeds, and juniper berries. Gorgeous!

Florette - This French soft ripened goat’s milk brie is unique and characterized by subtle, delicate flavors with a slight goat cheese aroma. The texture is satisfyingly creamy and spreadable. This is a must for any goat cheese lover!

Fol Epi - A Swiss style cheese from France dusted with toasted wheat flour contributing to the flavor. Compared to other Swiss-style cheeses, it’s sweeter, more fruity, and more pliable. A perfect sandwich cheese, hot or cold - just assertive enough to stand up to the other ingredients.

Fontina Valle D’osta - One of the world’s great cheeses, ours comes from the Italian mountain region of Valle D’Aosta. It’s made from raw cow’s milk and tastes of fruit, nuts and grass. One of our favorite cheeses for cooking, and especially great on a mushroomy pizza. Also yummy on it’s own with Pinot Noir.

Fourme D’Ambert - Named for the wooden molds in which it is traditionally formed, this blue from the Auvergne region is one of France’s classic cheeses, and a really great all-around performer from the blue category. Made from raw milk and traditional rennet, Fourme d’Ambert is creamy, balanced, not too salty, and with a complex yet approachable taste.

Fromage De Meaux - Outside Paris in the Ile-De-France, cows graze on lush pastures. Lucky us, they provide the milk for this U.S. legal brie which is rich, mushroomy, full flavored and luscious. Delicious with a French pinot noir.

Fromager D’Affinois - If you like rich and creamy, say FRO-MAH-ZHAY DAFFY-NWAH! Our best selling soft-ripened cheese, and it’s easy to understand why. The flavor is subdued but distinctive, and the texture is unctuous. The unusual production method used takes out excess water from the milk, leaving lots of nutrients intact and making this creamier and richer than Brie.

Fromager Des Clarines- Made from Mountain milk, this smooth, very creamy cheese is a must to serve as close to room temperature as possible, as to release its fresh white truffle butter flavors. Serve it from the box and scoop away!

Garroxta - (gah-ROTCH-ah) This goat!s milk cheese is produced in the Catalonia region in northern Spain. It has a semi-soft and compact texture and is coated with a noticeable velvety, blue-grey mold. The flavor is milky and delicate with a hint of nuttiness and a clean, smooth finish.

Gaperon - A mild and soft French cow's milk cheese enhanced by garlic and cracked black pepper, the flavor has often been compared to salami.

Gorgonzola Dolce - The classic, creamy Italian blue, Gorgonzola is Lombardy!s most famous cheese. Dolce is the mildest Gorgonzola. As the name implies, it is sweet, soft, creamy, and aromatic.

Gouda w/ Nettle - A young soft creamy gouda spiked with nettle, the bushy green known for its thorns (don!t worry they don!t sting!). The cheese offers a fresh herby flavor akin to dill and thyme.

Grafton Classic Reserve Cheddar - From the hillsides of Vermont, the Classic Reserve is aged for 2 years and develops a deliciously sharp, yet creamy, flavor. This is typically our favorite everyday cheddar.

Grafton Maple Smoked Cheddar - Grafto'!s 1 year old cheddar is left over maple embers for a slightly sweet and sharp, but definitely smoky flavor.

Grana Padano - This is an Italian cow!s milk grating cheese from the Po River valley akin to Parmiggiano- Reggiano, but slightly sweeter and a tad softer. This is Italy!s best selling cheese.

Gratte-Paille (pron. Grott Pie) - Cheesemonger extraordinaire Steven Jenkins termed this little guy the “greatest double-creme of all.” It!s made by Robert Rouzaire, a real leader in making delicious soft cheeses acceptable for importaion to the US. The excellent thing about Gratte- Paille is its complex flavor. A lot of triple creams and double creams have just a butter flavor. Gratte-Paille has a real earthiness to it that is intoxicating.

Gravenstein Gold - Redwood Hill Farm in California makes this lively goat cheese, washed in an apple cider while aging which imparts a pungent smell and full complex apple-y flavor.

Grayson - From Virginia!s Meadow Creek, this raw milk artisanal cheese takes a cue from Taleggio. It!s a washed rind cow's milk cheese so it has that pungent, rich bite, but it finishes smooth as butter. Best to enjoy this one with a beer.

Gres des Vosges (pron. gray duh vojh) - A washed rind cow!s milk cheese from Alsace, France. It!s smooth, slightly salty and luxurious. And it has a fern leaf on top! Could it be prettier?

Gruyere - Switzerland's classic melting cheese, Gruyere could be considered by many to be a desert-island cheese because it's so complex and diverse. Wonderful on it!s own with a wide variety of wines or beers, unstoppable in recipes, and essential for a classic fondue. It!s a firm cheese, but it has just enough give to have a creamy mouth feel upon chewing. The flavor is enhanced by it!s production method, tasting of cooked cream - sweet and caramelly, but salty and nutty too. This cheese has it all.

Harlech - From the maker of Red Dragon comes this Welsh Cheddar (”Harlech” were Middle Age Welsh warriors, how wicked is that?). Intense horseradish flavor in every bite. Hearty and creamy.

Heini’s yogurt cheese - Next to bowlers, the Amish!s best export. A cheese made with yogurt means it!s naturally nice, creamy and lactose free.

Heini’s yogurt cheese with jalapenos - The creamy yogurt cheese gets zesty with liberally applied peppers - spicy but not over the top.

Hoch Ybrig (pron. hockey brigg) - This mountain cheese is made from cow's milk in Canton Schwyz, Switzerland during summer months. It is in the Alpage family of cheeses, developing its unique character from being washed in white wine brine. The cheese has a slightly granular texture and a wonderful, full nuttiness. It is excellent in a fondue or accompanied by chutney or mostarda on a hunk of baguette.

Rahmkase From the maker of well-aged Adelegger, comes a cheese from the other end of the spectrum. Cheesemaker Evelyn Wilde produces Rahmkase, a “cream cheese”, meaning it has a full fat content of 50%. Aged and washed for a few months, the rind is thin and pink hued and the interior very creamy, but still firm enough to slice easily. It is made from the same thermalized cow’s milk from a group of seven small organic farmers nearby. The farms use only silage-free feed during the winter months. At warmer times of the year the cows roam the pastures with their horns held high.

Humboldt Fog - Cypress Grove's signature cheese is named for Humboldt County's morning fog. A line of vegetable ash runs through the center, emulating the French classic Morbier. The mild, creamy cheese is light and mildly goaty, developing in complexity with age. The wheels are coated with a layer of ash and a white rind similar in style to a brie.

Idiazabal (pron. ee-dee-ah-THA-ball) - From the Basque country, this manchego style sheep’s milk cheese is lighly smoked for 10 days, leaving a sweet, nutty cheese that is only slightly smoky in flavor. It’s nicely balanced, rich and very approachable, a natural fit with a nicely aged and robust Spanish red.

Irish Sharp Cheddar – Cheddar was born in England, but it got a pronounced sharpness when it moved over to Ireland. Great Cheddar flavor with a bite!

Katy’s White Lavender - This light and summery young ewe’s milk cheese is coated in fresh Yorkshire lavender flowers which impart a delicately perfumed aroma. The texture is along the lines of feta, though it’s not salty or briney. It's a delicate tast of summer.

Keen’s Cheddar – Keen’s is a classic full-flavored English Cheddar, in fact some argue it is the greatest of all English cheddars. In typical fashion, this cheese has the earthy undertones that really make English cheddar stand apart from it’s American counterparts.

Kerrygold Dubliner - Like a cheddar, but different (secret recipe) the cheese is typically matured over 12 months and contains naturally occurring calcium lactate crystals which appear as small white particles in the cheese. A versatile cheese, suitable for vegetarians, good for melting, grating or some good old fashioned snacking.

Lamb Chopper - Born to be mild, this fantastic sheep’s milk gouda cheese imported by the Cypress Grove Chevre folks is buttery in color and flavor with a long, complex finish. The texture is smooth and soft-firm, an enchanting table or cooking cheese.

Leerdammer - A baby Swiss cheese (but actually Dutch) with a sweet and mildly nutty flavor, a deep golden color and is a classic on a cracker or melted on a Reuben sandwich. It will also compliment fresh fruit or enhance a green salad.

Leyden - This is a gouda-like cheese from the Netherlands. It’s spicier than gouda and flavored with cumin. Another cheese that’s fantastic with beer. Yum!

Lincolnshire Poacher - A hard, unpasteurized cow’s milk cheese closely resembling cheddar, it boasts a fruity, nutty flavor that at times tastes like pineapple. Declared Supreme Champion at the British Cheese Awards.

Locatelli Romano - The most famous brand of the classic Italian cheese Pecorino Romano. It is peppery, sheepy and salty. Grate it on all of your favorite southern Italian dishes.

Mahon - A smooth and sweet cow’s milk cheese made on the island of Menorca. At peak, Mahón is tangy, intense and delicious.

Majorero - From the Canary Islands, Majorero is a firm goat’s milk cheese made from the Canarias breed of goats. The dry, pleasant climate produces a rich, fatty milk ideal for this tasty aged cheese.

Manchego, Aged - This Spanish sheep’s milk cheese hails from Castilla la Mancha. Our version is made with raw milk and is aged 9 months. Flavors intensify as the cheese ages, developing a strong bouquet and a slightly salty flavor. The lemon-yellow cheese is slightly dry and flaky.

Manchego Romero - Rosemary encrusts the rind of this aged manchego to give it a subtle herby flavor - a little sweeter and less gamey than the original.

Maytag Blue - Classic, original, Iowan. One of the first American artisanal cheeses, and it’s still great today. This blue is creamy and yummy. Made from raw milk and aged for 6 months.

Midnight Moon – Made for Cypress Grove by a Dutch cheesemaker, Midnight Moon is a gouda-style goat’s-milk cheese. It’s dense and tangy, but not too goaty. The wheels are aged at least 6 months.

Mimolette, Extra Aged - DeGaulle’s favorite cheese! Aged gouda-like French cheese and a good beer companion, this striking orange cheese is hard and sweet. We bring you the extra-aged version, left in French caves for 18 months to develop a wonderful complex flavor with a long finish.

Mizithra - Greek mixed milk (sheep and goat) cheese made from the whey of Feta and Kefalotyri. Aged Mizithra is shaped like an ostrich egg, and is firm and pungent, rather like Italian Ricotta Salata. Makes an excellent grating cheese.

Monte Enebro – A true handmade Spanish original. This complex goat cheese is made from pasteurized milk and is coated with the same mold used to make Roquefort, which adds to its complexity and distinctive appearance. As it ages, the texture becomes denser with a more intense, pungent finish.

Morbier - Made with raw cow’s milk and traditional rennet, the semi-soft cheese has a brushed rind and a pungent, nutty flavor. Characterized by a thin layer of ash, it’s the French countryside condensed in a bite. Enjoy with light fruity reds.

Mt. Tam - Cowgirl Creamery’s signature cheese is a smooth, creamy, elegant, 10-oz, triple-cream. It is made with tasty organic milk from the Straus Family Dairy. Mt. Tam is firm, yet buttery with a mellow, earthy flavor reminiscent of white mushrooms.

Munster - This is the stinky French cheese, not to be confused with German-style muenster at the corner deli. A totally different cheese, this is soft, supple and creamy, and, again, stinky.

Murcia Al Vino – From Murcia, Spain, a very agreeable moist goat’s milk cheese that is enhanced by a soaking in wine as it ages.

Nevat -A Catalan word meaning “Snowed” –A soft-ripened goat cheese produced by Can Pujol in Catalonia, Spain, it has a transfixing bloomy white rind that gives the cheese a delicate and sweet tang. Beautiful for trays.

Noord Hollander Gouda -Made from the milk of cows from Northern Holland, who produce a creamier and richer milk than most other cows. Aged 4 years, it becomes a sweet, hard, caramelly treat that’s a superb pairing with beer or scotch.

Ossau-Iraty - A pressed, uncooked cheese, made of raw sheep’s milk, and aged for 4-6 months. Made in the Pyrenees, the ivory paste is firm and dense but smooth with unctuous butterfat. Sweet, nearly caramelly, with grassy, nutty undertones, it still maintains a distinctively sheepy gaminess.

Mozzarella, Fresh - Our fresh Mozzarella is packed in purified filtered water. This classi snow-white cheese is lightly salted and has a creamy smooth texture. Versatile for salads and topping entrees.

Mozzarella, Smoked - Fresh Mozzarella smoked over hard wood chips produces a flavorfully brilliant cheese.

Parmiggiano-Reggiano, RED COW - Small, red Brown Swiss cows have been roaming the Italian countryside for millennia, their milk is most highly valued, and is also quite rare for Parmigiano-Reggiano. Aged over 2 years.

Parmiggiano Reggiano - What else can be said about Parmiggiano? Forget the slightly musty chemical powder in cans on pizzeria tables. Parm (we're on familiar terms) comes in a giant wheel and is like candy. Grated it adds a sweetness to a dish and you can add the rinds to soups and sauces for more savoriness.

Pecorino di Pienza Fresca – Fresh Italian pecorino cheese from pasteurized sheep milk - a sheep’s milk cheese this young can be hard to find. Delicate and mellow flavor, super-smoothe texture.

Pecorino Pepato - An aged sheep’s milk cheese from Sicily, this good grater is scattered throughout with peppercorns, adding a piquant punch to the dry, salty, savory cheese.

Pecorino Romano (Locatelli) - The most famous brand of the classic Italian cheese Pecorino Romano, Locatelli is peppery, sheepy and salty. Grate it on all of your favorite southern Italian dishes.

Pecorino Tartufello - Pieces of black truffles dot this raw milk sheep’s milk cheese from Tuscany, giving a heady aroma to an already sensually sweet pecorino.

Pecorino Toscano Staggionato - Olivey and nutty flavors dominate this fantastic semi-hard sheep’s milk cheese from Italy. One of the world’s greatest cheeses, always a favorite staff pick, and a delicious cheese with almost any wine you could drink, especially reds.

Pepato - Sonoma County’s Bellwether Farms makes this raw, semi-soft sheep’s milk cheese. It’s flaky and creamy, salty and sweet. Oh, did I mention the whole peppercorns all throughout?

Petit Brebis - Made in the region around the Basque mountains this pure sheep’s milk cheese develops its reddish rind and aromatic taste during the ripening process which takes approximately five months. It has a deeply nutty taste with a firm crumbly texture.

Piave - A deliciously nutty, pasteurized cow’s milk cheese from the Veneto in northern Italy. Sweet, crystalline paste with a full, tropical fruit flavor and slight almond bitterness. Aged for six months, wonderful as a table cheese, shaved over a salad of bitter greens, or enjoyed with an aperitif. Has an affinity for both red and white wines.

Pierre Robert - This over-the-top-rich, triple creme cheese ripens to a perfect buttery texture with a tangy bite not often found in this style of cheese. Just a bit more animated than many of its counterparts, Pierre Robert is a wonderful cheese with its own unique integrity.

Prairiol - A French cow’s milk that’s mild and creamy but has the nice heat and bite of green peppercorns mixed in it.

Prima Donna Blue - Not the more well-known aged Prima Donna, this baby has a nutty flavor and is very sweet, smooth and creamy. This is a rare Dutch cheese that is not a Gouda (though it IS reminiscent of a Gouda.) Made with skimmed milk (and thus slightly lower in fat than some cheeses), Prima Donna Blue nonetheless melts in the mouth.

Prima Donna - Renowned for its caramel aftertaste, Primadonna is a mild cow’s milk cheese made in the style of a Holland Gouda but bears a distinctly less sharp, less penetrating flavor. It has a crunchy texture and a sweet, nutty flavor. Forward Foods’ best selling cheese since day 1!

Provolone, Aged - The Italian cow’s milk cheese known for its simplicity is aged until its flavor is more deep and rich, full of salty piquancy.

Provolone, Smoked - This Italian cow’s milk cheese is hung over a wood fire to impart a powerful smokey flavor to an already pretty salty, strong cheese. This one packs a punch.

Queso De Mano - Made entirely by hand at Haystack Mountain, the white interior of this goat’s milk cheese has a robust, nutty flavor with herbal hints. It is aged for a minimum of four months. American Cheese Society award winner in 2003 and 2004.

Quicke’s Cheddar - From a Devon, England farm and made in the traditional style of English farmhouse cheddars (bound in cloth, larded, and aged 18 months or more), a caramelly cheese with a hugely complex flavor profile and tight, crystalline texture. Try with an English stout or pale ale or a lighter red such as Pinot Noir, Gamay Burgundy, or Beaujolais.

Raclette - A perfect melting cheese from the Swiss Alps. Its nutty sweet flavor actually emerges when melted, especially on the melter amazingly named "raclette." . Serve it with boiled potatoes and cured meats. Invite me over!

Red Dragon - One of our best sellers, this semi-soft English cheese is packed with the flavors of ale and crunchy little mustard seeds. It’s a perfect afternoon snack, or pack it up for a picnic with some English ale.

Red Hawk - A triple-cream, washed-rind, fully-flavored cheese from organic cow’s milk from Straus Family Dairy. Aged six weeks and washed with a brine solution that tints the rind a sunset red-orange, Red Hawk won the American Cheese Society’s Best-In-Show in 2003. Stink-a-rific!

Red Leicester - One of our best sellers for making grilled cheese at home, this brightly hued cousin of cheddar has a mild but distinctive flavor and a firm, almost dry texture.

Regal de Bourgogne w/ Raisins - From Burgundy, a soft cow’s milk triple cream cheese that is sublime. It’s covered with raisins macerated with Marc de Bourgogne and Mirabelle Eau de Vie, giving it an intense sweetness. A rare one that is best served straight from the fridge.

Regal de Bourgogne w/ mustard seeds - A 7-ounce triple creme from Burgundy that is fresh tasting, moist and creamy. It’s a blank canvas for flavors, and this one is coated with cracked mustard seeds. The mustard flavor is slight and really emerges in the aftertaste. Best served cold!

Ricotta, Fresh Jersey Cow - From the Jersey cows at Bellwether farms, a superior version of common ricotta. Great w/ fruit. Delicious in your favorite lasagna recipe.

Ricotta Salata - A great cheese at a great value. This cheese is made from sheep’s milk and resembles feta more than it does a cow’s milk ricotta. It’s smooth, mild, milky and nutty. A great choice for grating over pasta or salads.

Roaring 40’s Blue - This is a Tasmanian, yes, Tasmanian cheese. It’s a full flavoured blue made from cow’s milk with a sweet, slightly nutty character and good aftertaste.

Robiola La Rossa - This mixed milk robiola is wrapped in cherry leaves that are macerated in brandy. It gives the buttery cheese an earthly and slightly fruity aroma, with a definitive, but not overpowering, cherry flavor. Pair with earthy Bordeaux or a fruity Pinot Noir from the Pacific Northwest.

Robiola Rocchetta - A blend of cow’s, sheep’s, and goat’s milk, this cheese has a creamy texture and smooth mouth feel. It comes from the Piedmont region of Italy.

Roncal - Artisanally made in the Roncal valley of Navarre with raw sheep’s milk, it has a strong flavor, very defined and buttery, and a firm texture akin to an aged manchego.

Roomano Pradera - A Dutch masterpiece that has aged for 36 months. It’s caramelly in color, and intense and sweet in flavor. Good as a grater, chunked for an appetizer or served as a dessert cheese.

Roquefort - The original blue cheese, and probably still the best, Roquefort is always aged at least 90 days in natural caves in southern France. Renowned for its creamy texture & clean, forceful, salty demeanor. It’s traditionally eaten at the end of a meal with a sweet wine such as Sauternes, but we’ve been known to make a dinner out of a hunk of it, a baguette and a green salad.

Roquefort, Carles - This Roquefort is still hand-ladled and made exclusively with rye bread. A perfectly balanced, utterly spectacular artisanal-production Roquefort!

Roth’s Private Reserve - This Alpine style raw cows milk cheese, aged minimum 10 months, is full bodied and rich in flavor. Firm and creamy, with aromas hinting of cocoa, sweet roasted nuts and pungent swiss. The paste is fruity and buttery and can only be described as deliciously rich.

St. Agur - A rather new blue from the Auvergne region of France, renowned for centuries old traditions of blue cheese making. A rich blue taste with a smooth, creamy texture, it has quite quickly become our best selling blue.

St. Andre - A lush French triple-cream cheese in the tradition of Brie and Camembert. Its rich, silky, buttery paste is enrobed in a satiny white rind.

St. Felicien - a soft, creamy, sometimes runny, cow’s milk cheese from France. Uncooked and unpressed with a wrinkly rind that has a natural yellow mold. It has a pleasing, slightly sour and mildly yeasty flavor.

St. George – Expats from Sao George in the Portuguese Azores now in Santa Rosa put an American spin on the original recipe for a full-flavored cow milk cheese with a cheddary depth and a rich texture.

Saint-Nectaire - From the Auvergne region of France, this artisanally produced cheese is made from the Salers breed of cow. It has a pinkish rind and an earthy, grassy flavor. Pair it with just about any Burgundy.

St. Pat - Cowgirl Creamery’s seasonal springtime cheese. These rounds are made with whole organic milk and are wrapped with stinging nettle leaves. (Do not fear the nettles, since they are washed and then frozen to remove the sting before they are wrapped around the cheese.) St. Pat is mellow, soft, and full of flavor. The nettle leaves impart a smoky, artichoke flavor.

St. Simeon – Rich and creamy, this soft ripened double cream brie is a dessert cheese par excellence. A carefully crafted age-old French cow’s milk wonder, it’s so creamy, it’s crazy!

Salers - The chestnut-colored Salers cattle of Auvergne make the milk for this artisanal cheese. Sometimes compared to Cheddar because of the sharpness, it’s lighter and possesses more flavor.

San Andreas – This raw milk farmstead cheese is smooth and full-flavored and is a delicious table cheese. From the original California sheep dairy, it is terrific with an aged red wine. Enjoy it as a table cheese with bread and olives.

Sao Jorge - From Portugal, this Cheddar-style cheese is made from unpasteurized cow’s milk and aged for over 120 days and continues to improve with age. Its hard, inedible, natural rind gives way to a lighter colored interior with tiny, irregular holes. Tangy and peppery, great with a salad or in a sauce.

Sbrinz – Considered the “Father of Hard Cheeses,” this Swiss raw cow’s cheese is aged three to five years and has an expansive flavor and granular texture. Similar to Parmiggiano, Sbrinz has a smoother, nuttier and less salty taste.

Serra Da Estrella - Tangy ooey gooey cheese that the Portugese scoop right out of the rind with a chunky piece of bread. Savory, herbaceous, raw and sheepy.

Shropshire Blue - A milder little brother to Stilton, Shropshire is made in a similar fashion, but has a slightly fudgier texture and a vexing orange hue. Great for entertaining, as it’s not too strong and looks beautiful to boot.

Rogue Smokey Blue - Oregon’s Rogue Creamery scored the coveted Best New Product in the World Award at the Specialty Food Show in New York. A traditional blue cheese smoked overnight in hazelnut shells results in a sweet nutty flavor that counters the tangy sharp taste of blue.

Stilton (Colston-Bassett) - From cheesemaker Richard Rowlett at Colston Bassett & District Dairy in Nottinghamshire, this outstanding cheese is one of England’s creamiest and most succulent Stiltons. It is aged for about 4 months and develops a moist, firm, crumbly texture and mellow, deep and syrupy flavor.

Stilton – Historically referred to as “The King of Cheeses” Stilton is a blue-mold cheese with a rich and mellow flavor and a piquant aftertaste. It has narrow, blue-green veins and is excellent for crumbling over salads or as a dessert cheese, served with Port.

Stinking Bishop - Named for the type of pear whose juice the cheese is washed in, this English washed rind cow’s milk soft cheese is PUNGENT. Underneath is a smooth intense cheese not unlike the French Epoisses.

Taleggio - The classic Italian washed-rind, this cheese is soft and velvety with a slightly salty, full flavor. The texture of the cheese is moist-to-oozy with a very pleasant melt-in-your-mouth feel. The combination of the soft texture, pungent aroma, and buttery flavors has proven to be addictive especially when spread on fresh crusty bread.

Tete de Moine - Comparable to Gruyere and other Swiss cheeses used for raclettes, Tete de Moine is firm, milky, and has an exceptionally strong, nutty flavor. Pairing it with wine? Try Chardonnay or Riesling. This is the cheese the Girolle, the utensil that scrapes thin rosettes of cheese while it rotates, is used for.

Tetilla - Galician cow’s milk named because of its breast-like shape, it’s mild and tangy like a Monterrey Jack. Beautiful table cheese to serve with fruits and white wines.

Thomasville Tomme - From Georgia’s esteemed Sweetgrass Dairy, this is an award winning raw cow’s milk cheese that is great on its own, or melted in a fondue or an omelette.

Tilsiter - German Tilsiter has a stronger flavor than its Scandinavian cousins. It has tiny hole formation and a firm texture, suitable for slicing. Tilsiter is an excellent sandwich cheese, good with robust wine or beer.

Toma Piemontese - A semi-soft cow’s milk cheese from Piedmont, Italy, it’s soft and supple with a lightly mushroomy aroma and a milky flavor. It’s a favorite for pizzas.

Tomme de Chevre – An aged wheel of French goat cheese, this tomme is firm and sweet, with a nice light bite. Great with a Chateauneuf du Pape.

Tomme Crayeuse – This recent cheese is a creamier cousin of Tomme de Savoie. French cow’s milk with a dense but soft ivory paste, this cheese is perfect with a Pinot Noir.

Tomme D’Abondance - Traditional, unpasteurized, hard cheese made from cow’s milk with a brushed, natural, gray rind. A distinct fruity tang with a hint of yeast. Firm, but supple and slightly grainy, it is made from skimmed milk. The ivory-yellow paste is supple and velvety.

Tomme Fermiere d’Alsace - Aged at Arisanal, a semi-soft, washed rind, cow’s milk cheese from Alsace with fruity, buttery notes. Delicious with Riesling or Fischer beer.

Tomme de Savoie - A semi-soft raw cow’s milk cheese, Tomme de Savoie is one of our favorite bangs for your buck: Full flavored with a slightly barnyardy aroma, it’s also got an easy to please butteriness and supple texture. It’s good with Rieslings or Cotes du Rhone.

Tomme Fleur Verte - Aromatic herbs tarragon & pink peppercorns surround this goat’s cheese. Soft and creamy taste with herbaceous overtones.

Torta Del Casar – A Spanish sheep’s milk cheese named for its cake-like shape, Torta del Casar is a flavorful and rich cheese that’s so creamy, you can use a spoon to scoop out your bites.

Tournevent Chevre Medallions – These fresh goat’s milk rounds are crumbly when cool, but smooth and creamy at room temperature. Perfect for salads or snacking.

Truffle Tremor – From rugged northernmost Humboldt County, California, the newest cheese from Cypress Grove Creamery has the flavor of truffle oozing through in a velvety goat milk cheese. It is intense and amazing!

Vacherin Fribourg - Steve Jenkins says to think of this Swiss cheese as a “really luscious version of Fontina.” Has a big raw, nutty flavor.

Valdeon - A Spanish blue aged in caves along the Cantabrian Sea and then wrapped in sycamore leaves. Very similar to Cabrales but slightly milder, though it still one of our more piquant blues. Made with a combination of goat and cow’s milk, try it on a steak or with a Sauternes.

Valencay - Classic mold-ripened chevre from the Loire Valley in France, this young goat’s milk cheese is covered with an ash mold. The texture is smooth and dense with a mild sweet flavor.

Vella Dry Jack Special Select – From the Vella Cheese Company of California comes this Forward Foods favorite. A buttery hard cheese with the most delicious caramel overtones you can imagine. Not too far from real Parmigiano-Reggiano, this is truly one of the US’s greatest cheeses.

Walnut Gouda - Subtle yet flavorful, the walnut adds a sensual warmth to the basic Gouda cheese. A truly surprising cheese, we recommend serving Walnut Gouda at your next party or get together. Goes nicely with port.

Wensleydale (mild) -The classic cow’s milk English cheese. Tart and nutty, creamy yet crumbly - no wonder Wallace and Gromit love it!

Wensleydale with Cranberries - Wensleydale’s Holiday Cheese, now available year round! Likened to cheesecake, the fresh, young cheese has a clean, mild, slightly sweet flavor with a honeyed aftertaste. With Cranberries, it’s an innovative blend of flavors and a superb visual experience.

White Stilton with Mango and Ginger – White Stilton, a mild, crumbly cheese, hosts a party with guest Mango on the couch and guest Ginger dancing on the coffee table.

Zamorano - This hard sheep’s milk cheese is nuttier and richer than its cousin, Manchego. The nomadic shepherding families of Castille-Leon have been hand-crafting this cheese for centuries. Has a sharp, moderately gamey, sheep’s-milk-flavored bite; it melts in the mouth!

Crescenza - Bellwether makes this soft Jersey cow’s milk cheese. It's tangy, salty, and gooey - kind of like a runny brie married to a really good mozzarella. I like to add this to just-drained pasta and a little pancetta for a filling meal.

Cheese Curds- little curls of cheese that escaped the cheddaring that follows, they make perfect little snacks. State Fair them up by deep-frying, or be Canadian by putting fresh ones over French Fries and putting brown gravy over them. Or be like an American and snack on them out of the bag.

Bleu des Basques - This artisanal sheep’s milk cheese is made in the Pyrenées mountains, a region of the Basque country. The verdant hills are full of wildflowers and fresh grass, which gives the milk complexity and a subtle flavor of apricot. Add the tang of the blue and you’ve got a memorable cheese.

Flagship Reserve Beecher’s in Washington makes this cloth-bound and open-air Aged Chedar . During the aging, it is hand-turned and rubbed with butter for a richer taste and texture while maintaining a clean, creamy finish.

Buenalba w/Paprika - The Spanish goat’s milk cheese has Spanish paprika liberally mixed in the rind to give a nice bite to go with the refreshing tanginess of this cheese. Plus its orange looks great on a plate.

La Serena- A sheep's milk from the Extremadura region of Spain, it is rich and creamy and combines a gentle bitterness that is balanced with an earthy, pungent flavor. As the cheese ages, its rind becomes leathery and the interior ripens to a soft, smooth, spreadable paste. A terrific party cheese and can be served by the wheel with a hole cut in the top and crusty peasant bread for dipping.

Moody Blue - Roth Kase in Wisconsin makes this small batch blue from Holstein cow’s milk. It’s delicately smoked over fruitwood to add the “mood” to this rich, creamy cheese.

Haystack Smoked Chevre – Colorado’s Haystack smokes their fresh goat cheese over applewood for a nice earthy flavor. Pizzas are extra special with it or just on a crostini with roasted red peppers or peppadews.

Raschera - an Italian cheese from Cuneo, its name is derived from Lake Raschera, which lies below Mt. Mongioie. It is a semi-soft cheese made from sweet cow's milk. The flavor of changes from season to season. Spring and summer cheeses are sweet, fresh and slightly tart. Winter cheeses are more solid and vibrant.

Roth Kase Gruyere Grand Cru –Handcrafted in imported copper vats & carefully cured in cellars, Wisconsin’s Roth Kase makes a full-bodied, robust Gruyère that’s true to the classic Swiss original. Grand Cru Gruyère’s aged 4 to 6 months.

Pont L’Eveque - One of the classic stinky French cheeses. The rind is given several aromatic brine washings in its development but the taste is creamy and like buttered popcorn.

Beeler Napfkäse – Resembling and Appenzeller in shape and size, underneath its thin, golden-orange natural rind is a butter-colored interior dotted with pea-size eyes, or holes. The fragrance alone promises a rustic, rich, mountainous treat.

San Joaquin Gold - An original American cheese from Fiscalini named after the rich San Joaquin Valley between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the California Coast. This Holstein cow’s cheese has a dark golden hue and nutty flavor with an aroma of toasted nuts and browned butter with a deep lasting flavor and lovely sweetness. Multiple award winner!

Landaff – From the foothills of New Hampshire’s White Mountains and made from high quality raw cow's milk, Landaff Cheese is a mild, semi-firm cheese with a delicious combination of flavors, tangy with a clean finish. The open and buttery texture comes with a natural cave-aged rind. It melts beautifully for cooking, and makes a wonderful addition to any cheese plate.

Mycella Danish Blue – A clean white rind hides a paste that is lusciously creamy. Made from pasteurized cow’s milk, this is no ordinary Danish blue. Blue veins weave their way through a very sweet mild paste studded with Crystallization.

Old Kentucky Tomme– A raw, goat milk cheese hailing from Kentuckiana, an area of northern Kentucky and southern Indiana, near Louisvile. It is produced only from Capriole’s herd of Alpines, Saanes & Nubians. This beauty is buttery and rich with mild mushroomy notes. Pair with a Zinfandel or a Cote du Rhone.

Pierce Point- An organic whole milk semi-firm cheese washed in a muscato wine and rolled in dried herbs from Tomales Bay’s coastal region. Cowgirl Creamery’s Pierce Point received 1st Place at the American Cheese Society Conference in 2006.

Chiriboga Blue - Arturo Chiriboga cranks out cheese 3-4 days a week, solo, and sells them in his attached storefront in Bavaria. The exterior shows wide, firm tubes though inside the "blue" flavor is fairly mild with a rich fattiness that makes a dramatic explosion on the palate.

Ascutney Mountain Tomme – *STAFF PICK* Wow! Cobb Hill in Vermont makes this sweet and nutty cheese from buttery rich Jersey cow milk is similar to Alpine cheeses like Gruyere or Comte, but Ascutney has a complex aftertaste to set it apart and above. Excellent served with crackers or bread.

Oma – Hey, The Sound of Music fans! Did you know after WWII young Erica Von Trapp made her way to Vermont? And her grandsons now make this washed rind cow’s milk cheese with a silky texture. The taste is alive with the sense of earthiness and barnyardiness. Intense but unforgettable.

Cremont is a mixed-milk cheese combining local fresh cows’ milk, goats’ milk and a hint of Vermont cream. Also called the Cream of Vermont, it combines the nutty taste from of crème fraîche, a creamy texture and a nice ivory rind. Holds its own against Robiola.

Tomme Vaudoise This cow's milk rarity is made in the Jura of Vaud in Switzerland and is produced by Maître Affineur, Rolf Beeler. Beneath its delicate, bloomy rind is a soft and creamy paste that yields hints of butter and earth. The cheese has fresh cut grass scent and fresh milk flavor. It is simply delicious and lovely with Riesling wines. Tomme Vaudoise is a rarity to see in the US cheese market.

Roth Kase Gran Queso- “Wisconsin” and “cow” don’t seem to spell Manchego, but this cheese has the same buttery likability of the Spanish classic. They share a long sweet finish and like Marcona almonds and quince paste with them. Delish!

Barely Buzzed Cheddar- Beehive Cheese in Utah (yes, UTAH) makes this full-bodied cow’s cheese with a nutty flavor and smooth texture. The cheese is hand rubbed with a blend of coffee and ground lavender buds in oil to impart notes of butterscotch and caramel. But the coffee gives it a real savory, almost meaty, taste.

Isle of Mull Cheddar The only herd on this small Scottish island makes the milk for this farmstead raw Cheddar. It has that great complex compendium of flavors a Cheddar made by a master should.

Montbriac- the result of a successful experiment that combined blue mold (the same mold that is used to produce Roquefort) with a typically French soft, creamy cheese. Rich, complex and sinfully creamy, this wonderful product is a fantastic example of the French love for fine cheeses. The Satisfying while being not too sharp or aggressive.

La Yerbera – This Spanish goat cheese has an almond-crusted and olive oil washed rind. How more Spanish can you get? It’s earthy and tangy and crumbly without being too dry.

Borough Market Clothbound Double Gloucester – Borough Market, the great artisanal food market in London, sells this farmstead traditionally made Double Gloucester. It is sunset orange in color, silky smooth in texture, and succulent and lemony in flavor.

Smith’s Gouda – a true farmstead cheese from Massachusetts. The milk is from the Smith’s cows and the cheese gets made from it minutes after milking. A nice smooth creamy gouda for the newbie.

Krümmenswiler Bergkäse – At seven months of age, the flavor of this cheese is raging. This rugged looking, deep amber wheel has a dense, fudgy paste with whispers of smoke with apparent gamey notes.

Montagne du Jura – A Swiss Jura mountain cheese made with raw cow’s milk and aged 6 months until a sweet but savory, almost oniony, earthy, open textured yet firm cheese is born.

Nostrano di Monte – One Swiss farmer’s cow herd’s provides the raw milk for this Taleggio style cheese, though the rind is crisper and the paste denser for a wild heady experience.

Strathdon Blue– In Northern Scotland, an established cheesemaker makes their foray into blues with this tribute to Bleu D’Auvergne. It looks like a gnarly blue with big open pockets of furry blue, but it’s mild and creamy with just a tiny bite.

Capricious In western Sonoma County in 2004 the Pachecos began making cheese with milk from their own goats. It’s made in the California Dry Jack tradition. With its rustic, pebbled rind and semi-hard yet smooth texture, Capricious has a deep, caramel flavor and a mild pungency at the finish.

Le Rustique Camembert – Made in Normandy, this Camembert unveils a creamy texture and subtle but distinctive flavor. It is succulent, so join its aficionados alongside Napoleon Bonaparte!

Weybridge Cheesemakers (the Scholtens) on leased land from Middlebury College in Vermont (!) make this small bloomy rind cheese from organic milk from their Dutch Belt cows and then the Cellars at Jasper Hill age it. Aged for about two weeks, Weybridge is a delicate soft wheel with flavors of citrus and grass.

Försterkäse (aka Bergfichte) is a classic "lumberjack's" cheese from Canton Thurgau in Northern Switzerland. The wheels are made from cow's milk, washed in a white wine bath, and are then wrapped in fir bark. The combination of the white wine wash and the fir bark produces a spicy, woody flavor that is full of umami with a smooth, velvety texture. Försterkäse's complex taste complements many wines, including Gewürztraminers, Pinot Noirs, Riesling and most Alsatian white wines.

Burrata - Creamy and luscious. It’s actually a ball of mozzarella filled with cream and pieces of mozzarella—when you cut into it, the cream oozes out. Not in the store too often so you better get it now. It’s perfect for summer days!

Piave Vecchio Oro Tempo – This golden beauty produced in Veneto, Italy could give Parmigiano-Reggiano a run for the money! Aged in cooperatives called Latteria this fruity and nutty cheese pairs well with honey or tops off any dish. Try this with a Pinot Noir or any full-bodied red.

Les Frères - (lay frair) This washed rind cheese was created to reflect the Crave Brothers’ (producers) Irish-French heritage. Its earthiness and full-flavor pairs nicely with fresh fruit and a baguette for the perfect snack.

Saint Marcellin A small supple cow's milk cheeses from Dauphiné, France. The soft, creamy texture and slight mushroomy aroma of the rind say French cheese to me. So young and tender they are packaged in a small terracotta pot. Pairs well with Côtes du Rhône Village like Gigondas and similar Spanish reds or traditionally paired in Lyon with Beaujolais.

Otentique– Oregon’s Cascade Mountain’s Juniper Grove Farm has some lucky happy goats. They cavort freely in the fresh air, drink clear mountain water, and sup on shrubs and alfalfa that grow lushly in the rich volcanic soil. And thank them for this mild cheese. With a natural, wrinkled rind, and pleasantly dry texture, its taste is mild and slightly chalky, and avoids the tang that many associate with fresh goat cheese.

Hudson Valley Camembert- A soft cow’s milk Camembert from upstate New York that stands its own with French Camemberts. It has a balance of sweet and mushroomy flavors and is almost liquid when you bite.

Petit Livarot– From Normandy, this distinctive cow's milk cheese is washed in Calvados as it ages, and it results in a challenging but mouth-watering and delicious flavor. It is soft and sticky and not for the faint of heart (or palate!).

Grevenbroecker– When we first laid eyes on this beauty, we were knocked out. A Belgian Cow’s Milk Blue that veins a little differently because of how they add the blue mold. It’s creamy and assertive but not tannic like some other strong blues. Incredible cheese.

Saint Pat –Cowgirl Creamery's seasonal springtime cheese. Made with whole organic milk and are wrapped with stinging nettle leaves. (Do not fear the nettles, since they are washed and then frozen to remove the sting before they are wrapped around the cheese.) St. Pat is mellow, soft, and full of flavor. The nettle leaves impart a smoky, artichoke flavor.

Edwin’s Munster – Young Austrian Edwin Bechtold’s variation of this French cow’s milk cheese is superb. The small rounds are washed with brine and the thick paste is earthy, gamy and sweet. Pair it with an Orval Trappist Ale for one of the best pairings I’ve had in a long time.

Scharfe Maxx – A thick and nutty knockout meaning “maximum Sharpness” in German. It hails from near the Bodensee, a natural body of water forming the border between Switzerland and Germany, near Lake Constance. Struder Dairy brines and then herb washes the cheese that gives it a creaminess and sharpness that lingers on the palate.

Asher Blue - Sweet Grass Dairy in Georgia makes this cow’s milk blue. The dense, creamy paste of has the characteristic blue veins which produce a rich, robust flavor with strong youthful notes of heavy cream. It's a great well-balanced versatile blue and perfect for pairing with sweet foods or wines.

Green Hill Cheese- The soft-ripened, cow’s milk cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy in Georgia is a Camembert-style bloomy-rind cheese. Their artisan modes of production yield a thin rind with a rich, unctuous paste and a sweet, buttery flavor.

Devil’s Gulch – Cowgirl Creamery dusts their lovely triple-crème rounds with sweet and spicy oven-dried red pepper flakes from a neighboring farm to give a little heat with your creaminess.

Haystack Peak This creamy fresh-ripened goat cheese from Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy has a creamy interior enhanced by a bloomy-rind surface that gives it character and complexity. A great cheese to set out with fruits, honey and bread.

Azeitao - The pastures where the sheep of Azeitao graze are lush and covered in herbaceous scrub, giving the milk its characteristically flavor. Molded in cloth, Azeitao's texture ranges from soft and unctuous to firm and chewy; you can cut open the top and scoop its yellow cream onto slabs of nutty bread. If you have never tasted Portuguese cheese before, this is a great starting place! Pair Azeitao with Tempranillo or Albarino.

Evora - From Portugal and aged from two to three months, Evora is made with raw sheep milk and cardoon thistle near the historic city of Evora. Spicy, slightly acidic and fruity with a light-yellow color, it was once traded as currency! Because of its slightly higher level of salt, it is well-suited for salads. The small golden colored cheeses are semi-firm and they have the flavor of a rustic olive oil. Try pairing this cheeses with light crisp whites and light to medium-bodied red wines.