Sumi is a goat’s milk cheese from Goat’s Leap Dairy in St. Helena.  It is shaped like a truncated pyramid and coated with ash.  Inside it is firm and tangy with a long rich finish.  It is aged for only two to six weeks.   It is named for one of the goat’s on the farm.  It sells for about $29 per pound. 

Valencay is a raw goat’s milk cheese from central France.  It is in the shape of a pyramid without its top.  (Legend has it that Napoleon took his sword and cut off the top because it reminded him of the pyramids in Egypt.) It is typically aged for at least 3-5 weeks but can be aged for longer.  It has an ash coating to facilitate the development of mold.  It has AOC certification. This cheese sells for about $27 per pound.

This is a pasteurized goat’s milk cheese from Tumalo Farms in Oregon.  The farm is in the Cascades near Bend.  It is a semi-firm cheese that is aged for 2-12 weeks.  It is mild in flavor and pairs well with a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.  It sells for $28 per pound.

Dafne is a relatively new goat’s milk cheese made by Barbara bacchus at Goat’s Leap Dairy in St. Helena, California.  Dafne is made using pasteurized milk from the goats on the Goat’s Leap farm.  It has a moldy white rind and a ripe, distinctive flavor.  The cheese is topped with a bay leaf (dafne).  This cheese sells for $30 per pound.  Suggested pairings are Sancerre and Sauvignon Blanc.

This is a soft-ripened goat’s milk triple cream cheese.  It has been enriched by adding cow’s milk creme fraiche to the curd during the cheese making process.  It is made by cheese maker Soyoung Scanlan of Andante Dairy in Petaluma, California.  It is sold in half-pound rounds for $20 each.  It is an exceptional cheese.  Suggested pairings are Champagne, Chenin Blanc, Sancerre, and Sauvignon Blanc.

This small, round, white goat’s milk cheese is named after the Rove breed of goats, believed to be one of the oldest breeds of goats in France.  It is sold when it is only 2-3 days old.  It is prized because the Rove goats produce a much smaller amount of milk than do other breeds.  The milk is full of the flavors of wild herbs and flowers.  It pairs well with a light sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc.

If you really love goat cheese and want to try something that is unique and delicious, choose Kiku from Goats Leap Cheeses (www.goatsleap.com) in St. Helena, California.  This round of fresh pasteurized goat’s milk cheese is wrapped in a fig leaf that has been soaked in Sauvignon Blanc. It is aged for about 3 weeks.  Eat the fig leaf along with the cheese.  This cheese is seasonal and thus a bit rare.  However, now is the season so find it if you can.   I buy Kiku at the St. Helena farmers market and at Dean & Deluca in Napa Valley.

I was offered a taste of this cheese when I walked up to the Whole Foods cheese counter in San Francisco last week. I really loved its smooth, silky texture and the slightly acidic flavor. I just served it on a cheese plate and it got great reviews.  This cheese is a specialty of the Alta Lange region of Italy and is made from a mixture of cow’s milk, goat’s milk and sheep’s milk. The milk is pasteurized at the lowest temperature allowed. It is aged for only 15 days. It comes in 8 ounce sizes and sells for about $12 per half pound. Pair it with a nice Sauvignon Blanc.

I recently visited the French Alps to research the cheeses from that region. I was captivated by the beauty of the area and the friendliness of the people who live there. I visited several artisan cheese producers and tasted cheeses such as Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage, Abondance, Beaufort, Emmental, Reblochon and Tomme de Savoie. A highlight for me was seeing the different breeds of cows and understanding which breed provided the milk for each cheese. Near Beaufort, I saw a group of Tarentaise cows being shepherded up to the mountains where they graze in the summertime. (In the winter, they stay in the barn and the milk they produce has a very different taste than in the summer). I also ate incredibly filling but delicious dishes such as raclette, berthoud, fondue, tartiflette and reblochonade. Following is more detail on some of the cheeses I found in this region:

Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage
This pasteurized cow’s milk mountain cheese is made from the milk of Montbeliard, Abondance and Villard cows. Penicillium roqueforti has been added and the cheese is aged for several months in controlled conditions. Originally made by monks, this cheese has a sweet, soft, consistent taste. It pairs well with sauternes and late harvest wines. This cheese has AOC-certification.

Abondance
This raw-milk mountain cheese is produced in the Haute-Savoie region of France using a blend of milk from the Abondance, Montbeliard and Tarine breeds of cows. This semi-hard cheese has a strong smell and a complex, but balanced flavor. It has a slight sweetness to it. Abondance is made in wheels that usually weigh about 20 pounds. It is aged for at least 90 days in a temperature and humidity-controlled cellar. The surface is rubbed with coarse salt and wiped with brine on alternating days during the aging process. Abondance is an AOC-certified cheese. One of the ways the people in the region enjoy Abondance cheese is in the melted cheese and potato dish, Berthoud.

Beaufort
This mountain cheese is produced in the Savoie region of France using raw milk from the cows of the Beaufort area – the Tarines or the Tarentaises. Both Summer Beaufort and Winter Beaufort cheeses are made. In the summertime, the cows are led to graze up in the montains on the alpine grasses, herbs and flowers. In the wintertime, the cows have to stay in the barn to protect them from the heavy snows of the region. In my opinion, the Summer Beaufort is the most flavorful, the flavor of the herbs and the grasses from the region come through in the cheese. The Summer Beaufort is also more colorful – a pale yellow compared to the Winter cheese, which is white. This cheese ages for at least four months under strict aging conditions, during which the cheese is constantly rubbed with brine. This cheese can also be left to age much longer and will develop a more complex flavor and strong aroma. This cheese is AOC-certified. The locals use this cheese in many dishes, including fondue and raclette.

Emmental
This cheese is produced in several regions of France, including parts of the French Alps. I tasted an Emmental that was made near Beaufort in the Savoie region. Emmental is normally made with pasteurized cow’s milk. This cheese is aged for several weeks, alternating among 55 degrees F, 70 degrees F and 64 degrees F conditions. The finished product resembles a Swiss cheese with holes. This cheese is great in fondue.

Reblochon
Reblochon is a fresh, youthful cheese from the Savoie Region. It is made from raw milk from the second (richer milk) milking of the Abondance, Montbeliard and Tarine cows. Affinage is normally from three to four weeks, and the resulting product is moist and smooth. (Note, however, that since Reblochon is made from raw milk, the Reblochon that is sold in the U.S. must be aged a minimum of 60 days to allow any harmful bacteria to die.) This is an AOC-certified cheese. The locals enjoy Reblochon cheese in a delicious, hardy cheese-potato-bacon dish called Tartiflette. I also really enjoyed the local specialty, Reblochonade, as well.

Tomme de Savoie
This cheese is normally made on a small farm in the Savoie region using cow’s milk. Tommes are generally small rounds of cheeses that are made when there is not enough milk to make a large cheese, such as Beaufort. Butter is normally made with the cream and cheeses are made from the remaining skimmed milk, although some whole-milk Tommes are made, too. These small rounds of cheese are allowed to age for at least four weeks. Small holes generally form on the rind and inside the cheese. The cheese is commonly semi-hard and mild in flavor.

This is a marvelous aged pasteurized goat’s milk cheese from Spain. It has a smooth flavor and a soft texture. It has mellow acidity, a nice saltiness and a bit of sweetness. It sells for $19/pound and can be difficult to find. They carry it at Dean & Deluca in St. Helena, Ca.

Try it with a nice 2005 Abraxas from Sinskey Vineyards, available from Bacchus and Venus in Sausalito.