No, this is not a post about the cheesy horror movies I adore. It is about actual cheese. But I guess I do need to get onto watching more silly movies…
Be that as it may, on Friday I went to a Wine and Cheese Tasting at Vintage Spirits in Herkimer, NY. The cheese was provided by Three Village Cheese of Poland, NY. I did take notes on the wine I tasted, but today I want to talk about the cheese. Yum!
The flier I picked up refers to it as Farmstead and Artisan Cheese. It is made on the farm from pasteurized and raw cow’s milk. I tasted Tomme, Feta, Havarti, Swedish Farmer’s Cheese, and Dill Havarti. The Tomme was the most unusual to me. It was the hardest cheese; in fact, I think Tom, the guy from Three Village Cheese, said “tomme” means hard. It was substantial. Tom said it would be good with a robust, red wine. He was quite right. I liked it a lot by itself, too.
The other cheese that was new to me was the Swedish Farmers’ Cheese. This was a softer, friendlier cheese. The flier says it can be used for breakfast, sandwiches, grilling or sauces. How about a breakfast sandwich fixed on the grill covered with cheese sauce? Or am I being silly (how unusual of me)?
The problem was, Vintage Spirits could not sell me the cheese. In fact, to purchase it I would have to go out to Tom’s truck and pay him cash. Everybody was making silly jokes about deals in the parking lot. I had no cash. Tom said I could just come out to the farm; there is a handy map on the flier. I said I would if I could not get my husband to come back with me later. He has all the cash this week for some reason.
When I got home I looked at Thursday’s paper and saw that Ilion Wine and Spirits was also having a wine tasting. Imagine my delight when Steven returned home and expressed his willingness to accompany me to both places.
Tom was happy to see me return. Steven tried all the cheeses and liked the Dill Havarti best. Steven does like dill. So do I. We went out to the parking lot to make our purchase.
Three Village Cheese is located at 2608 Newport Rd., Poland, NY. Phone number is 315-794-9545. You can also find them on Facebook.
Mohawk Valley Girl 