By Peg Todloski, Weaver Street Market Specialty Merchandiser
Through our Special Delivery program, we bring in small-batch, artisan cheeses a couple of times a month. We bring in a limited amount of these amazing cheeses and sell them at a crazy-good price. When they’re gone, they’re gone, but not to worry, there’ll be something else on the way. Be sure to stop by our cheese counters to find out what Special Delivery we’ve received lately.
This week’s Special Delivery cheese is Nicasio Valley Cheese Company’s Nicasio Reserve. Nicasio Reserve is an organic, Swiss-Italian mountain cheese with pronounced fruitiness and flavors of fresh cream up front that develop into a luxurious, rich nutty and slightly herbaceous flavor on the finish. Nicasio Reserve’s Alpine style pairs well with wheat or Trappist style ales and with fruity red or flavorful white wines. It is very versatile; use it in grilled cheeses, in frittata, or to top your favorite dish.
Nicasio Valley Cheese Company was established in 2010 on the Lafranchi family ranch, which dates back to 1919. Three generations of the Lafranchi Family have lived and worked on the ranch since the early 1900s. Nicasio Valley Cheese Company raises just over 400 cows on 1150 acres of organic-certified pastures, and is committed to sustainable agriculture. The family remodeled an existing dairy barn on the ranch to house the creamery, bringing in modern day cheese-making equipment from across the country, and recycling shipping containers to serve as ripening rooms. Fresh milk exclusively from the Lafranchi ranch is brought over from the milking stalls and pumped into the creamery to begin the transformation into cheese. Only fresh organic morning milk is used in Nicasio Valley Cheese Company cheeses.