Woodside Cheese Wrights Salt Bush Chevre

For our next cheese it's a long overdue visit to South Australia and in particular Woodside Cheese Wrights to try their new (to me) Salt Bush Chevre.

Woodside Cheese Wrights Etzy Ketzy

I seem to be in a "stinky cheese" mood of late but when I spied this cheese from Woodside Cheese Wrights at Leo's, I just had to try it

Cheese Maker: Woodside Cheese Wrights
Cheese Name: Etzy Ketzy
Cheese Type: Washed Rind Cow/Goat Milk
Location: Woodside, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Retail Outlet: 7 Henry Street, Woodside, South Australia
Open: Monday - Sunday: 10am - 4pm

The name Etzy Ketzy is said to mean half and half or middle in Greek - an apt name considering this is a mix of cow and goat milk. It's made in the winter when there's less goat milk available.

With about another 4 weeks to go before it reaches it's best before date, the skin has already started to become sticky - there is also an excellent earthy aroma to the cheese that seeps through the packaging.

It is quite a thin cheese and is presented as a large flattish disc - it makes it look a lot larger than it's meagre weight of 125 grams would imply.

This hasn't been left out of the fridge very long but you can begin to see it starting to ooze

The skin is a dominant taste and even at this young age it isn't for the faint hearted - best served on solid chunks of bread, something like a good sour dough. As I find it a touch on the salty side, quince paste or fresh fruit would also make a good companion.



Originally published here

Woodside Cheese Wrights Vigneron

It's back to South Australia to sample a most interesting cheese from Woodside Cheese Wrights.

Cheese Maker: Woodside Cheese Wrights
Cheese Type: Vigneron
Location: Woodside, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Retail Outlet: 7 Henry Street, Woodside, South Australia
Open: Monday - Sunday: 10am - 4pm

As mentioned in an earlier post, Woodside is now owned by Coriole Vineyards and this cheese is very much a product of that relationship.

From the label we are told

This cheese is the result of a challenge from the winemaker at Coriole Vineyards "make us a vigneron's cheese" he said. We gently wash the cheese in Adelaide Hills Chardonnay and wrap it in vine leaves selected from the vineyard

This is a white mould goats' milk cheese.

There's quite an earthy scent coming from this cheese with an undertone of piquancy from the vine-leaf. Appearance wise, it's certainly one that will be sure to gain attention.

Inside, it has that typical goat cheese "whiteness" - this still has a couple of weeks to go to reach peak maturation. The centre is quite creamy but mild and as you move out the flavours develop - the vine-leaf adds a sharp, acidic quality which cuts across the creamy core. I would class this as a cheese for the more adventurous.


Originally published here

Woodside Cheese Wrights Virgo

Based in the Adelaide Hills (in South Australia) Woodside Cheese Wrights was started in 1994 by Paula Jenkin and subsequently purchased in 1998 by Coriole Vineyards. They produce both cow and goat milk cheese that are hand made and free from artificial preservatives or stabilisers. Batch Pasteurisation is used which is a slower pasteurisation method - it's said to be more gentle on the milk structure and results in the retention of the seasonal variances of the milk.

Cheese Maker - Woodside Cheese Wrights

Cheese Name - Virgo

Location - Woodside, Adelaide Hills, South Australia

The cheese is extremely soft, almost fragile - there's a very light, white mould that continues to develop as the cheese ages.

Next to the rind sits an almost runny layer, the cheese becomes firmer but retains a curd like appearance as you move to the centre.

This does have a pronounced goat cheese tang - it's sharp but the flavours are quite clean. It's exceptionally moist and very creamy in the mouth with low acid levels.

Compared to the Holy Goat Mature Veloute it's much more stronger in flavour - not a cheese to start with if you are a goat cheese beginner.

Originally published here