Everyone seeks the perfect pairing on Valentine’s Day. For the Lower Merion Conservancy, theirs was husband and wife cheese experts, Richard Morillo and Jamie Png who led their final homesteading event, For the Love of Cheese; An Evening Out with the Experts of Cheese, Wine and Chocolates.
Rich has been a Cheesemonger at Di Bruno Brothers for five years and spent the evening teaching our thirty member group how to match cheeses with their wine soulmates. Guests had the opportunity to observe cheese making in action, Jamie Png, Valley Shepherd Creamery Cheesemaker, demonstrated how easy it is to make a lemon cheese, a young cheese which requires no aging and simple ingredients and household items. “You can’t make as many complex or in-depth cheeses as you can find at an artisanal cheese counter at home. But what you can get out of it is a creative outlet. It’s like cooking plus,” said Png.
While the milk was heating for the demo, attendees were served our first plate of cheeses, two soft and buttery cheeses from DiBruno Brothers. Each plate came with a slice of bread and Rich advised us to “use the bread as an interim, not the vehicle.”
Our first cheese was a wash rind Italian cheese, a Taleggio, a big, ripe velvety cheese, which is more savory, nuttier, and denser than traditional triple creams. It was served with a Chateau Ste Michelle, since a Reisling mellows out the pungent notes and brings out a little extra sweetness.
Next, was Delice De Bourgogne, a sweet, luscious brie-style French Cheese with heavy cream. A mild wine would deliver a straight butter profile with a brie-like cheese, but a sparkling wine goes well with a rich cheese, cutting through the fat to deliver more flavors. This was paired with a Chateau Montaud and this rose brought out the sweetness and buttermilk notes in this triple cream.
Guests were served another cheese course as Jamie’s cheese was coagulating, which is the process of separating the liquid and solid. Another DiBruno Brothers’ select, cheese number three was a 1655 Gruyere, which boasted flavors of nuts, fruits, toast and cream. To extend the sweetness of this meatier, Alpine style cheese, it was paired with a Yealands Estate Sauvignon Blanc. The final cheese of the evening was an English style, peppery, firm, Blu Perdu from Valley Shepherd Creamery. Dark or red fruit preserves go well with a strong blue cheese, so it was paired with a Bogle Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel.
“Contrasting is harder than complementing, generally speaking. Pick strong with strong, so not what I did with the Gruyere,” said Morillo. “Whites are generally easier to pair than reds. Reds will overwhelm. It is still milk, unless something is very aged or very blue, it is still going much milder than a red wine.”
It wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without chocolate and guests swooned over the chocolate strawberries, spanish figs filled with a silky smooth, whiskey infused dark chocolate ganache hand dipped in dark chocolate, and salted caramel chocolate bees from John and Kira’s Chocolates.
To learn more about cheese making culture, Jamie and Rich recommend Ricky Carroll’s Home Cheese Making or the “cheese bible,” Max McCalman’s Mastering Cheese. They also recommend learning from experts at TRIA and Di Bruno Brothers events. Starting in April, Valley Shepherd Creamery will host cheese making and beer, wine, and honey pairing classes at Melt Kraft in Reading Terminal Market.
“Our roots are in the Earth and preservation, so the Homestead series was a natural step for us. Plus, with the way of the world, everything is going towards buying sustainably and growing your own food. It underscores our mission.” said Maurine McGeehan, Development Director. The mission of the Lower Merion Conservancy is to protect and enhance our quality of life by engaging residents in preserving open space, the natural environment, and the historic character of the community.
Even though the first installment of their sold-out homesteading series just wrapped up, the Conservancy is already planning its fall series, which will include bread making, canning and jamming, and apple cider making. Rather than waiting until fall to attend an LMC event, visit their website to stay up to date on their hikes, lectures and book signings, family fun days, plant sales, and farm to table galas.
Click HERE to learn how to make lemon cheese with Valley Shepherd Creamery. More information on the cheesemakers is available here. More information on Lower Merion Conservancy and their upcoming programs is available here.
Table photographs credited to Leslie Hudson; all other photographs courtesy of Lower Merion Conservancy and Valley Shepherd Creamery.
