This Cheese Doesn't Suck: Valdeon Blue (and a giveaway winner, too!)

        Guys, that was a  lot of unintentional rhyming in the title of this post.  Yeah, sorry about that.  I guess it's the result of listening to too much Christmas music.  I admit, I'm not actually a curmudgeon about the holiday season.  When confronted with bespectacled hipsters lauding how much gift giving, St. Nick, and tinsel are overrated.  Well, lets say I just throw their own eye-roll ammunition right back at them.  
    But lets face it, my favorite part of this aggressively festive season is the eating.  No kidding, right?  This is the time of year that I dust off my hollow leg and get down to some serious noshing.  (secret: I don't actually eat huge amounts of grub the rest of the year.) 

    So Santa baby, if you're listening, leave a nice slice of this Valdeon blue under my Christmas tree.  You know, for me?  Because this blue is one slick holiday party attendee.  No matter your drink and nibbles situation Valdeon fits right in.  
    Does it pair with juicy, sparkling white wine?  Check.  Is that a platter of smoked meats on that appetizer table?  Check.  What goes with your swank after dinner sherry?  You have one guess.  
    Yes, Valdeon embodies a lot of my requirements for a good crowd pleasing blue.  Not too rustic, balanced salt content, the paste is supple with a hint of crumble, the chestnut leaves wrapping it give it a campfire-y earthiness, and a hint of white pepper piquant lingering on the finish.  
    Santa, I'll be waiting up for you.

    {We have a winner! After much digging around, blindfolded, in a hat full of names, The Board and Wire Anniversary Giveaway winner is Jesse Purdom!  Congrats to the winner and keep an eye out for a special cheese-centric Christmas box coming your way!}

This Cheese Doesn't Suck: 3 Month Manchego

The Cheese from La Mancha.  Three month aged Manchego is a prime example of Spanish cheese.  Made from the milk of Machega sheep, this cheese has a texture and flavor unique to its origins.

The particular fattiness of sheep's milk ensures a texture that is supple, springy under tooth, but not rubbery.  Really shining textually, as most cheese does, when eaten at room temperature.  The flavor profile is strong on the grassy olive oil note, with a good measure of piquant and clean lanolin-sheepiness on the finish.

 Three month Manchego is truly best when consumed in late fall and though out the winter.  Which means those wheels of cheese will have been made with the fattiest, richest milk from summer-autumn grazing.  Do it up right like a Spaniard with a sparkling glass of Cava and a slab of membrillo on the side.