Cheese & Sake

Sake, the oldest known spirit in the world, will make its debut this fall at the Second Annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival, where it will be paired with four of the state’s finest artisan cheeses in an exclusive tasting seminar.

While the festival’s seminars traditionally focus on Wisconsin cheesemakers, this year, one of the eight sessions will feature Barrie Lynn – The Cheese Impresario and cheese columnist for The Beverly Hills Times. Attendees will taste four different Wisconsin artisan cheeses and four artisanal, brewed sake drinks. Barrie Lynn says attendees should “prepare their palates for a unique ride down ‘The Cheese Highway.’”

Slated for Saturday, Nov. 6, the Wisconsin Artisan Cheese & Sake Pairing Seminar will start at 1:30 p.m. at the Monona Terrace in downtown Madison. Tickets are $40, sold only in advance, and are available online at www.wicheesefest.com.

Wisconsin artisan cheeses featured at the Artisan Cheese & Sake Pairing Seminar include:

• Marieke Fenugreek Gouda, an authentic Dutch Gouda made on a farmstead dairy near Thorp

• Aged Brick Spread, crafted by Widmer’s Cheese Cellars in Theresa

• Hook’s 10-Year Cheddar, a cheddar crafted and aged to perfection by Tony & Julie Hook in Mineral Point

• Carr Valley Airco, a hickory-smoked cheese made from sheep, goat and cow milk at Carr Valley Cheese

The four artisanal, premium sake drinks will be served cold in stemmed wine glasses. They say that sake is brewed like a beer, yet has legs like a wine and contains no sulfites or tannins. It is gluten free, as well as preservative free, and is often regarded to be the purest alcoholic beverage in the world. Japanese tradition says a person must never pour their own sake. So I’m guessing it will be poured for you at the seminar.

In addition to Saturday seminars, the three-day Annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival features Friday dairy tours and cheesemaker dinners, a Saturday Meet the Cheesemaker Gala, and a new Sunday Artisan Marketplace. Hosted by Wisconsin Cheese Originals, the festival is becoming a premier destination for cheese enthusiasts and specialty food buyers from across the country, who attend to discover and buy new Wisconsin artisanal cheeses.