Rogue River Blue Cheese

Rogue River Blue cheese has a generous, dense texture that makes a small piece worth taking slowly. Its pale interior carries blue veining, while the grape-leaf wrapping gives the outside a distinctive, softly rumpled appearance. Rogue Creamery describes a rich, fudgy paste and flavours recalling pear brandy, vanilla, toffee, fig and truffle. That is quite a range for one cheese, held together by the savoury character you expect from a blue.

The making explains some of that complexity. Organic pasteurized cow's milk becomes a seasonal cheese, aged for at least nine months before the wheels are wrapped by hand in Syrah grape leaves soaked in pear spirits. This is a cheese to put at the centre of a small plate and explore a little at a time. Start with a plain bite, then try it with bread or ripe fruit. Notice how sweetness, salt and the blue character change with each accompaniment. Our approximately 150g cut portion suits that kind of considered tasting; its actual weight and shape will vary.

• Bread first. Serve a small piece with TPK&B Classic Sourdough Baguette. Cut thin slices so the bread gives each bite a crisp base without taking over the plate. Keep a plain piece of cheese alongside for comparison.
• Fruit and a little crunch. Add ripe pear, figs or a spoonful of fruit compote, then a few hazelnuts. Begin with modest amounts: the cheese already has plenty going on. This makes a satisfying final course when you want something savoury after dinner.
• A sweet wine pairing. A small glass of Sauternes, such as Château d'Yquem, is one option for a leisurely tasting. Bread, fruit, nuts and wine are serving suggestions and are sold separately.

Rogue River Blue begins with a particular time of year. Rogue Creamery makes it during autumn in Oregon's Rogue Valley, when cooler weather and returning rain refresh the pasture. The cheese then spends months developing before the hand-wrapping stage. The release of a new vintage is celebrated at the autumnal equinox: the arrival of one autumn reveals work begun in the previous one.

That patience reached an international audience in 2019, when Rogue River Blue was named World Champion at the World Cheese Awards in Bergamo, Italy. The achievement belongs to a creamery whose roots reach back to a farmers' cooperative established in Central Point in 1933. Today, a leaf-wrapped cut offers a small, tangible introduction to that Oregon cheese-making story.

Keep refrigerated at approximately 3–4°C and follow the delivered portion's label and use-by date. Rewrap remaining cheese carefully and refrigerate promptly after serving.