A little cheese with that wine, eh?

By: Dayna

I wanted to start the first post off on the lighter side. Something easy and simple.




On my and my husband's conquest to find the perfect dessert sipping wine we took a day trip to Habersham Winery in Helen, GA. This is one of the many quaint little wineries that sprinkle the North Georgia foothills. After tasting 4 different sweeties, including a Riesling, and three from their “Summer Harvest” line, ( i.e. sweet and cheap at $11 each!), we decided on the White Muscadine.




Muscadine is a variety of grapevine that orginates in the South. These little juicy treasures thrive in high heat so the south is where it at, yo.




Habersham Winery Muscadine is a translucent, golden color. At first sniff, your nose is enveloped in the sweet, smooth aroma of muscadine. Sweet is an understatement, actually...I'd like to bathe in this shit. Mmm hmm. Subtle notes of crisp fruitiness make this wine yum yum yum. It seriously tastes like you picked a muscadine off the vine. The finish was smooth and semi-dry and wonderful and I will drink again and again and again.

http://habershamwinery.com/main.html




Because this wine is so sweet and light, you want to pair it with something mild and creamy. A semi soft mild cheese works perfectly. Here I prepared an Herb Cheese that is simple and quick, and dern good.








Homemade Herb Cheese

1 gallon whole Milk
1 pint Half and Half
1 cup of white vinegar
¼ cup fresh chopped basil leaves
¼ cup fresh chopped Thyme
¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes without oil
1 tablespoon Sea Salt
1 tablespoon white pepper
Olive oil to brush on before serving




Line a colander with cheesecloth or a flour sack towel and set in sink. Put milk and half and half in large pot over medium heat to a low boil. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar. I've used lime juice, lemon juice, and vinegar for this. Vinegar is the best if you do not desire a limey or lemony taste in the cheese. Stir until the milk separates in curds. Transfer mixture in cheese/towel and let it strain. When cooled enough to touch squeeze excess liquid out with hands. The more liquid you get out the better it will set. Once you have removed liquid open up the cloth and add basil, thyme, salt, and pepper Feel free to substitute dried herbs for the fresh ones. The flavor with be milder, so you may need to use more. Make sure that you mix these ingredients up well. Your hands work well for this. Next, transfer the cheese to a container that will work as a mold. I have a medium sized plastic container that works great for this. If you'd like, use a few small containers to make several servings. Press cheese into your container and close with a lid. If you notice liquid coming out as you are pressing into mold then you haven't released enough whey from your cheese. After molding the cheese pop in the refrigerator for 3-5 hours at minimum. When you are ready to serve, garnish with a little sprig of extra basil and brush with a nice light coat of olive oil and you are set.







We enjoyed this cheese with the Muscadine wine while watching the movie "Vacancy"...Holy shizzz, the wine was a perfect match with the light, creamy mildness of the cheese. It complimented the wine, while not overpowering it.

...And the movie was disturbing..yipes.