We had so much interest in our Say Cheese Festival: Flights of Fancy sessions that we thought we’d share with you the tasting notes from these sessions, which paired cheese with Tea, Prosecco, Sake and Beer – with links to stockists at the Market. Enjoy!
Tea with Cheese
Session hosted by Libertea and The Cheese Shop Deli and you’ll find all Tea and Cheese used in the session from each of these Traders at the Market, as well as our other Deli Traders.
Jasmine Buddhas Tears with Fromager D’Affinois and drizzle of honey
About the tea: This is a spring picked green tea scented with blooming jasmine buds in summer. Unlike other jasmine tea that is essential tea tossed in jasmine essence, Buddha’s tears have a long-lasting floral fragrance that can be steeped up to 3 times.
About the cheese: Fromager D’Affinois is a white mould cheese from the Rhone Valley, France. Made with added cream and ripened for 3 weeks under a thin, white mould rind, the cheese gradually develops a mild sweet milk flavour with a hint of mushroom. The silky texture of the cheese distinguishes it from traditional white rind types.
Pairing notes: A light green tea with a sweet finish echoes well with the creaminess of the Brie. The jasmine fragrance also complements the honey as both have floral origins.
Osmanthus Oolong with Wensleydale with Cranberry
About the tea: A Taiwanese, four-season oolong, blended with the sweet Osmanthus that is native to South East Asia. Oolong is not a green nor black tea – it falls in between, providing a fuller body and a richer taste than green tea without too much tannin or astringency.
About the cheese: Wensleydale is a semi-hard, farmhouse cheese from the UK with added cranberries. It is naturally sweet and fruity.
Pairing notes: Even though Osmanthus is a flower, it adds a fruity, peachy note to the tea. Similarly, the cranberries add an extra dimension to the cheese flavour profile that is slightly acidic and sweet. They are both fruity and complex in taste.
Houjicha and Applewood Smoked Cheddar
About the tea: Houjicha is a Japanese roasted green tea that is lower in caffeine due to the roasting process. It has a unique toasty nuttiness and caramel-like note that appeals to coffee drinkers.
About the cheese: Applewood is a traditional dense, semi-hard farmhouse Cheddar from Ilchester, England. Applewood is not actually smoked but gets its distinctive smoky flavour from a dusting of paprika.
Pairing notes: There is a smoky element in both the tea (roasting) and the cheese (paprika). The warmth of the tea also lengthens the creamy finish of the Applewood.
Yunnan Black & First Konig
About the tea: Yunnan Black tea is a large leaf black tea with brassy and golden orange liquor. It has a sweet aroma and slight astringency, with a satisfying amount of tannin.
About the cheese: Made in the Canton of St Gallen in Switzerland, First Konig (First King) is a semi-hard bergkase – or mountain cheese – made from whole unpasteurised milk. Over 3 months, the wheel is lightly washed in brine to encourage the development of a bacterial rind. When fully mature, an amber-coloured rind surrounds a dense paste that yields a creamy and herbaceous flavour and delicate spicy finish.
Pairing notes: Being an aged mountain cheese made from unpasteurised milk, First Konig has a memorable bold saltiness. The sweet malty Yunnan brings it back to balance with a hint of tomato.
Prosecco with Cheese
Session hosted by Melissa Brauer from The Prosecco Queen. Melissa sourced all cheeses from Pete n Rosie’s Deli, which can also be purchased at the Market’s other Deli Traders.
Col Fondo Bottle Fermented Prosecco with Piave Cheese
About the Prosecco: Col Fondo Prosecco is made according to the ‘metodo ancestrale’, meaning it is unfiltered, and bottle fermented (essentially a Pet-Nat wine). It is bone dry, with toasty, yeast notes and a hint of apple. It is highly acidic, crisp and refreshing.
About the cheese: Piave Cheese is a hard, Italian cow’s milk cheese, named for the Piave river which runs through the Prosecco hills in the Veneto region of Italy.
Piave cheese has a dense texture, without holes, and is straw-yellow in hue. It has a slightly sweet flavour. Once fully aged, it becomes hard enough for grating, and develops an intense, full-bodied flavour, resembling a young Parmigiano Reggiano.
AMG Pas Dosé with Will Studd’s Brillat Savarin
About the Prosecco: The Tenuta 2 Castelli AMG Sparkling wine is a blend of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Prosecco grape (now called Glera in Italy) made in the ‘methode traditionelle’ (also known as methode champenoise). It is a dry wine, with a floral and citrus nose, and fuller in body than a straight Prosecco, due to the Chardonnay.
About the cheese: Brillat Savarin is a soft, white-crusted cow’s milk triple cream brie. It takes its name from the famous 18th century French food writer Brillat Savarin. Deliciously creamy with a slightly chalky centre when young, the texture gradually breaks down closer to its use by date and according to Will Studd at this point can be eaten straight from the container with a spoon.
Extra Dry DOCG Prosecco with Meredith Dairy Goats Cheese
About the Prosecco: Extra Dry Prosecco is the perfect balance of sweetness, in this most delicate and floral wine. With a little hint of sugar, the wisteria and almond notes pair with apple and honey to create a wine that complements sweet or savoury dishes.
About the cheese: Meredith Dairy goats cheese from Victoria’s Western District is moist, creamy, soft and slightly tart. Goat cheese has been made for thousands of years and was probably one of the earliest made dairy products.
Sake with Cheese
Session hosted by Will Studd Selected‘s Sam Studd (Certified Cheese Professional) and Sake Sommelier Masa Nishimoto (supported by Wasshoi). Will Studd Selected cheese is available at Cleo’s Deli, Pete n Rosie’s, Casa Delicatess and The Cheese Shop Deli.
About the Sake
The Sake featured in today’s tasting originates from Azumino (Nagano Prefecture), a scenic valley amongst the countryside of Honshu, the central island of Japan. Known as the ‘gateway to the Japanese Alps’ Azumino is famous for its beautiful mountains and pure water.
- Daisekkei Azumino Junmai Daiginjo (Daisekkei Sake Manufacture Co. Ltd.)
- Strawberry Sake (Daisekkei Sake Manufacture Co. Ltd.)
- Suien Azumino Junmai Daiginjo (EH SHUIZO, INC.)
- Apple Sake (EH SHUIZO, INC.)
About the Cheese
Brillat Savarin: Our Brillat Savarin is a decadent triple-cream cheese and the perfect party pleaser. It takes its name from the famous 18th century French food writer Brillat Savarin, and was originally created in the 1950s by Parisian affineur, Pierre Androuet. This example from Bourgogne is unique because, unlike its industrial cousins, it’s ripened under a thin coat of wrinkled yellow Geotrychum mould naturally found in unpasteurised cow’s milk. This mould is rarely used because it is hard to wrap, but the poplar wooden box creates the ideal, moist microclimate for it to thrive. Deliciously creamy with a slightly chalky centre when young, the texture gradually breaks down until it can be scooped from the centre with a spoon close to its use-by date.
La Couronne- Fort Aged Comte (AOC): Comte is the cheese that first sparked Will’s cheese obsession. Made from unpasteurised milk, its quality and flavour characteristics vary between producers, and most examples are sold simply on the basis of age. This, however, is no guarantee of quality. Every batch is different and influenced by when the cheese was made, and where and how it was ripened. This cheese was matured in the damp underground cellars of Marcel Petite at Fort Saint Antoine, high in the mountains that border France and Switzerland in the Franche – Comte. It is specially selected to wear the prestigious red ‘crown’ of quality on the basis of its rich concentrated nutty texture, elegant caramel sweetness, and lingering kaleidoscope of flavours – rather than on how long it was aged.
Le Roi Roquefort (AOP): Roquefort, the oldest traditional French blue cheese, is made from raw ewe’s milk and matured in the ancient underground caves of the Cambalou plateau. Le Roi is produced using Pencillium Roqueforti mould, cultivated the old-fashioned way on wood-fired rye bread. This bread is dried and ground to a fine powder, and then sprinkled on the young curds. After careful maturation, the soft ivory-textured cheese is veined with blue mould, and has a delicious mild, aromatic savoury flavour. This cheese was selected for its rich textures and salty-sweet blue finish. Roquefort is known as the king of French Cheese, and so we’ve named this one accordingly!
Beer with Cheese
Session hosted by Wilson & Market in collaboration with Yarra Valley Dairy and Hawkers beer. All featured cheese is available at Wilson & Market.
Hawkers Lager & Gentle Goat
About the lager:
Alc/Vol 4.2% – IBU 25
Just a really good beer. Nothing more, nothing
less.
Aroma: Fruity, Grassy ● Hops: Spalt, Cascade ●
Serving Temperature: 4°C ● Serving Glasses:
Pint, Stein
Awards: 2018 The Indies – Silver Medal
About the Cheese:
TASTE
Moist, creamy with tangy hints of lemon.
EAT WITH
Beetroot relish, smoked salmon, figs, cheese.
RECIPE IDEAS
Stir through spring vegetable risotto, stuff &
pan fry zucchini flowers, smoked salmon & dill
pasta, baked cheesecake..
Hawkers XPA & Black Savourine
About the XPA:
Alc/Vol 4.6% – IBU 35
A bright and refreshing beer with a big hop
presence, delivering layers of tropical, floral,
and fruity aromas.
Aroma: Fruity, Floral ● Hops: Enigma,
Centennial, Mosaic, Columbus ● Serving
Temperature: 4°C ● Serving Glasses: Pint,
Stein
Awards: 2018 Australian International
Beer Awards – Gold Medal ● 2018 The Indies –
Silver Medal
About the cheese:
PROFILE
Semi-mature, ashed white mould goats milk
cheese
TASTE
Flavours of roast nuts, cooked cream, hint of
blue, full length.
EAT WITH
Fig paste, roast plums, fruit bread, walnuts.
RECIPE IDEAS
Slice over figs, grill, serve with
good quality parma ham on fig & anise bread,
perfect with cardamom roasted plums.
Hawkers Pale Ale & Yerring Camembert
About the Pale Ale:
Alc/Vol 5.2% – IBU 35
A quintessential American style pale ale, hop
forward and very balanced. This beer is a real
thirst quencher.
Aroma: Tropical fruit, peach, lychee, citrus,
pine ● Hops: Amarillo, Citra, Centennial ●
Serving Temperature: 4°C ● Serving Glasses:
Pint, Stein
About the cheese:
PROFILE
Semi-mature white mould cows milk cheese.
TASTE
Rich, buttery, luscious mouth feel. Camembert
tones.
EAT WITH
Fresh figs, sliced pear, balsamic onions, crusty
bread, carved ham.
RECIPE IDEAS
Baked into a frittata with artichokes, chives & wild
olives or baked whole in the oven covered with
fresh sliced figs.
Hawkers West coast IPA & Moonshine
About the moonshine:
Alc/Vol 7.2% – IBU 75
Not for the faint hearted. A big hoppy bitter West
Coast style IPA with huge floral, fruity, and piney
aromas.
Aroma: Fruity, Floral ● Hops: Southern Cross,
Simcoe, Mosaic, Northern Brewer ● Serving
Temperature: 4°C ● Serving Glasses: Pint, Stein ●
Awards: 2018 The Indies – Silver Medal
