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When we think of Swiss cheeses, we certainly think of alpine style cheeses and traditional names come to mind easily.
Emmenthal, Gruyere and Appenzeller are all staples in our winter fondue and on top of a tasty gratin. However there are a lot of newer cheeses from Switzerland that are reminding us that not all the great cheeses have a long history.
Mont Vully is a hill in the Swiss Plateau. It is nestled between two beautiful lakes and the south slope is covered with vineyards. It may be for this reason that the Schafer family named their cheese creation after the local mountain. This amazing alpine style cheese is washed during its ripening with the locally made pinot noir.
The Schafers bought an existing dairy in 1993 that had until this time been making Emmenthal. Ewald Schafer wanted to put his own stamp on the dairy and he introduced his creation, Mont Vully in 1994. Since its introduction it has won an astounding amount of recognition from cheese competitions throughout Europe. The dairy has gone from producing 4000 kilos of Mont Vully in 1995 to producing 210,000 kilos in 2010. This is clearly a success story for a small family run dairy!
Mont Vully is brushed with wine made in the Canton of Fribourg where the dairy is situated. Brine mixed with pinot noir and annatto (natural colouring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree), give the cheese its distinctive rind. The cheese is aged for ten weeks so it retains some of the earthy characteristics of a washed rind cheese that many harder cheeses lose. The texture is firm but still pliable, with a variety of small holes dotting the surface.
The flavour of Mont Vully is so interesting and layered that it takes a minute to consider all that’s going on. There is that classic nutty taste of an alpine cheese, but one of my co-workers noted that it tasted more like spiced nuts. It is woodsy and sharp with just a little hint of bitterness that you taste at the very end. It has the aroma of a washed rind cheese, and the complex flavours of a lovingly aged cheese. It is always a pleasure to be introduced to a new cheese that highlights the cheese maker’s passion and dedication, and reflects so well the traditions of the area.
