{"title":"Alpine Cheese \u0026 Gruyère","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlpine cheese is what happens when a mountain village needs to turn a summer of milk into something that lasts the winter: big cooked-curd wheels, pressed hard and aged for months until they go nutty, brothy, and deep. Our cave aged Gruyère AOP does its time in the humid natural caves of Fribourg, where the wheels are washed and turned over and over while the paste turns dense and crystalline. That slow cure in the cave is the whole secret.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Comté ladder runs from a supple 12 month up to a 36 month selected by affineur Rodolphe Le Meunier (24 months is right in the sweet spot, in our opinion). Challerhocker, the name means “sitting in the cellar,” is cheesemaker Walter Räss's richer, denser take on the Appenzeller style, and Appenzeller itself comes in Silver and extra aged Black Label, washed in a famously secret herbal brine. Tête de Moine gets shaved into rosettes on a girolle so the aroma opens up. Alp Blossom arrives coated in alpine flowers. And Jasper Hill's Alpha Tolman proves Vermont speaks fluent alpine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFondue or raclette night? French and Swiss raclette are both here, and the right fondue blend is usually two or three of these. Ask us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCut to order in Beverly Hills and shipped cold to 48 states.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"appenzeller-black-label-extra-aged","title":"Appenzeller - Black Label (Extra Aged)","description":"\u003cp\u003eExtra Aged Appenzeller, Black Label, comes from the Appenzellerland region of northeast Switzerland, where about 75 dairies have been making this cheese with their own secret brine recipes for at least 700 years. Black Label is the longest-aged tier of the three, sitting above the Silver (Classic) and Gold (Surchoix) labels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a thermized cow's milk Alpine, semi-hard to hard depending on how it sits with you, with a firm body, a slightly crumbly edge, and tiny \"eyes\" scattered through a straw-colored paste. The character of this cheese is the herbal brine wash that gets brushed on the wheels throughout aging, sometimes carrying a little wine or cider in the recipe. That brine builds the golden rind and pulls a real piquancy into the paste. Aged six months or more, the Black Label leans deeply nutty and aromatic, with a tangy bite up front and a finish that hangs on with hay, herbs, and a whisper of sharpness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShave it over warm potatoes and it does the same thing in a hot dish, that herbal sharpness coming right through.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gourmet Foods International","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45682867601577,"sku":"10001060","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/https_cdn.shopify.comsfiles1066760278185filescomingsoon_4304e527-7319-4c38-9db7-45c2869328c1.png_v_1736254329.jpg?v=1755183065"},{"product_id":"appenzeller-silver-label-classic","title":"Appenzeller - Silver Label (Classic)","description":"\u003cp\u003eAppenzeller comes out of the Appenzellerland in northeastern Switzerland, where dairies have been making cheese under this name for at least 700 years. The Silver Label is the youngest of the three official tiers, aged three to four months and the most approachable of the family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is a clean straw color, semi-hard but supple, dotted with tiny \"eyes\" and slicing cleanly off the wheel. Each dairy guards its own herbal brine recipe, often built around wine or cider and a private blend of local herbs, brushed onto the wheels during curing to build the golden rind. That wash drives the flavor: a nutty, lightly fruity Alpine base with a brine-washed savory lift and a gentle peppery tickle on the back of the palate. The Surchoix (gold) and Extra (black) labels push that spice further with longer aging; the Silver keeps it polite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a melting cheese as much as a board cheese, classic for fondue and gratins, and the Silver Label took a spot among the top 20 cheeses at the 2024 World Championship Cheese Contest.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45682869960873,"sku":"10001061","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/https_cdn.shopify.comsfiles1066760278185filescomingsoon_4304e527-7319-4c38-9db7-45c2869328c1.png_v_17362543292.jpg?v=1755182846"},{"product_id":"emmentaler","title":"Emmenthaler","description":"\u003cp\u003eEmmentaler comes from the Emmental valley in Switzerland, the original 'Swiss cheese' and the one every other holey cheese is trying to be. Made from raw cow's milk and aged on its natural rind, this is the real Alpine recipe, not the deli-counter imitation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is pale yellow, semi-hard, and dotted with those big round 'eyes' that come from propionic fermentation during aging. It cuts cleanly, with a buttery give that turns smooth on the tongue. The flavor leads with hazelnut and toasted almond, sits on a soft brown-butter sweetness, and finishes with a quiet pull of meadow grass and fresh cream. Mild, yes, but mild the way good Alpine cheese is mild, with layers underneath if you slow down for them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the cheese to reach for when you want something everyone at the table will eat and the cheese person will still respect. Melts beautifully, slices clean for a sandwich, and shines on a board with a little honey and a glass of Riesling.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673225781417,"sku":"10001175","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-emmenthaler.jpg?v=1744804099"},{"product_id":"gruyere","title":"Young Gruyere","description":"\u003cp\u003eYoung Gruyère is a raw cow's milk Alpine cheese from the town of Gruyères in the Fribourg canton of Switzerland, a recipe that has been made in the same valleys since the 12th century. It carries the AOP designation, which pins the milk, the make, and the cave to that one region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is firm and dense, a pale straw color that still holds plenty of moisture at this stage. You see it in the way the cheese curls under the shaver instead of cracking, the sign of a fresh wheel that hasn't dried out. On the palate it leads with gentle hazelnut and a soft brown-butter sweetness, with a fresh-cream note still hanging on from the youth of the wheel. There's a quiet pasture pull underneath but none of the sharp savory bite a longer-aged Gruyère develops, and no crystal crunch yet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the friendly end of the Gruyère spectrum, the wheel you reach for when you want the recipe in its sweeter, more approachable form. It melts beautifully, which is why it's been the backbone of fondue and gratin kitchens for centuries, and it eats just as well shaved off the block at room temperature.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673225879721,"sku":"10001215","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-swiss-young-gruyere.jpg?v=1744804100"},{"product_id":"jarlsberg","title":"Jarlsberg","description":"\u003cp\u003eJarlsberg is the famously sweet, nutty semi-soft from Norway, made from pasteurized cow's milk and instantly recognizable by the big round eyes scattered through its pale yellow paste. The recipe was developed in the 1950s at the Agricultural University in Ås, and the cheese is named for the historic Jarlsberg region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is smooth and pliable, slicing clean off the wheel with that signature chew. On the palate it opens with fresh sweet cream and butter, then pulls into a clear toasted hazelnut note through the middle. The eyes come from a propionic culture working slowly in temperature-controlled caves, the same family of bacteria responsible for the holes and the nuttiness in Swiss Emmental, though Jarlsberg reads sweeter and softer than its Alpine cousin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a mild cheese, but mild doesn't mean flat. It melts beautifully over a burger or into a gratin, slices clean for a ham and rye sandwich, and holds its own on a board next to bolder neighbors. A good gateway for anyone who thinks they don't like cheese, and a workhorse for anyone who already does.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673226371241,"sku":"10001229","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/Jarlsberg_369fcb85-91de-4b69-9668-fcc09136e732.jpg?v=1763310093"},{"product_id":"swiss-raclette","title":"Swiss Raclette","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the Canton of Valais in Switzerland, this is a young cow's milk alpine built for one thing above all: melting. Higher in fat than most of its alpine cousins, which is exactly what gives it that glossy, spoonable pool when it hits heat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is semi-soft and supple, a pale straw color under a washed orange-tinged rind. Eaten cold off the knife it's buttery and savory with a light tang, a soft mushroomy note off the rind, and a gentle toasted-hazelnut pull through the middle. Put it under a broiler or over a raclette grill and the whole thing changes character: the fat releases, the milk sweetens, and the savory side deepens into something earthy and warm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScrape it over boiled potatoes, melt it onto roast vegetables, or thin-slice it onto a sandwich. It's a communal cheese, the kind you pull out when people are standing around the kitchen waiting for the next portion to bubble.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673226993833,"sku":"10001332","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-swiss-raclette.jpg?v=1744804125"},{"product_id":"vacherin-fribourgeois","title":"Vacherin Fribourgeois","description":"\u003cp\u003eVacherin Fribourgeois is a raw cow's milk Alpine cheese from the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland, brushed and washed through aging until the rind turns tacky and pungent. It is one of the foundational cheeses of Swiss fondue, going back nearly a thousand years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is semi-soft and supple, deep cream in color, dotted with the occasional small \"eyes\" and breaking into soft slabs under the knife. This is not a quiet cheese. The washed rind drives a strong, aromatic character, cellar and roasted onion off the nose, that carries straight into the paste. On the palate it leads with a robust savory pull, toasted hazelnut and brown butter through the middle, and a meaty, faintly funky depth from the rind that holds long past the swallow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt melts beautifully, which is why it anchors a moitié-moitié fondue and sits at the center of so many Swiss melted-cheese dishes, but it earns its spot on a board on its own. A real mountain cheese, made the old way, by only a handful of producers left.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fromi USA","offers":[{"title":"Default","offer_id":45673228894377,"sku":"12348","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/vacherin_fribourgeois.jpg?v=1744804136"},{"product_id":"tete-de-moine-lbs","title":"Tete de Moine","description":"\u003cp\u003eTête de Moine is a raw cow's milk cheese from the Bernese Jura in Switzerland, made in small cylindrical wheels and aged on spruce boards under a brushed, brine-washed rind. The name translates literally to \"monk's head,\" a nod to both the Bellelay monastery where it was first made in the 12th century and to the way the wheel is served. You don't cut Tête de Moine. You shave it on a girolle, the little hand-cranked blade that turns the paste into thin ruffled rosettes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is dense and straw-yellow, semi-hard but supple, never dry. Shaved thin and aerated by the girolle, it opens up into something much bigger than the small wheel suggests, buttery and fruity on the front of the palate, with a toasted hazelnut and brown butter middle that comes from the raw milk and the time on spruce. Underneath that sits a gentle washed-rind savoriness. The finish carries well past the swallow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an AOP cheese, protected to the Jura region, and the girolle ritual is half the point. The rosettes melt on the tongue in a way a slice of the same cheese never would. Around the holidays a wheel of Tête de Moine on the table with the girolle next to it does a lot of the work for you.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673230139561,"sku":"10001379","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/https_cdn.shopify.comsfiles1066760278185filescomingsoon_e881a4f2-1851-48ca-978f-55fb81c02341_1_.png_v_1736263601.jpg?v=1755797535"},{"product_id":"alpenblumen","title":"Alpenblumen\/Bloomenkase\/Alp Blossom","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlp Blossom comes from Sennerei Huban, a small dairy in Doren high in Austria's Vorarlberg region. It's a cow's milk Alpine cheese aged with a coat of handpicked mountain flowers and herbs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rind is the part everyone notices first, packed with marigold, lavender, chamomile, and rose petals pressed into the paste during aging. Under that floral crust the cheese is semi-firm and supple, with a smooth, even paste that gives just slightly under the knife. The flavor leans mild and aromatic, with a gentle nuttiness running through the middle and a soft floral note that picks up everything sitting on the rind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat sets Alp Blossom apart is how clean and approachable the paste is. The flowers do real work here, perfuming the cheese without overpowering the milk underneath. It's a quieter, more elegant Alpine than the dramatic rind suggests, and that contrast is exactly the point.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45676496158889,"sku":"10001056","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/Alpenblumen.jpg?v=1763002617"},{"product_id":"comte-30-month","title":"Comté Aged 30 month","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a 30-month Comté, the raw cow's milk Alpine from the Jura in eastern France, aged way past the standard wheel. AOP protected, made the old way, and then held in natural stone cellars for two and a half years before it ever leaves the region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste at this age is dense and dry, breaks into slabs under the knife with a real crunch from the tyrosine crystals that build up over the long maturation. Color goes deep golden, and the rind comes out rough and dusty brown from all that cellar time. Flavor is in a class of its own at 30 months: toasted hazelnut and brown butter run through the bite, wrapped in a fruity, caramelized sweetness, with a long savory pull on the finish that sticks around well past the swallow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you already love Comté at 12 or 18 months, this is the flex version. Drier, more concentrated, more crystals, more of everything the long age gives you. These guys nailed it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673244098729,"sku":"11305","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/https_cdn.shopify.comsfiles1066760278185filescomingsoon_bf6f6ff2-28ab-46eb-95a6-1bb437114d20.png_v_1736256431.jpg?v=1756233416"},{"product_id":"comte-24-month","title":"Comté Aged 24 Month","description":"\u003cp\u003eComté from the Jura mountains of eastern France, aged out to 24 months and right in the sweet spot where the fruit of a younger wheel has dried down into something deeper. Raw cow's milk, natural rind, AOP-protected, made the way it's been made in the mountain fruitières for centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is firm and dense, a pale straw color that breaks into clean slabs under the knife with the occasional tiny crunch of crystal. On the palate it opens with brown butter and toasted hazelnut, then pulls into a long caramel and butterscotch finish that lingers well past the swallow. There's a savory depth underneath the sweetness that's the calling card of a properly aged Comté.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt 24 months this wheel sits right at the point where the cheese still has enough moisture to eat in big shards off a board, but it's developed the full library of aged-alpine flavor. One of the great cheeses of France, and a cheese that rewards a little patience on the cheeseboard, in a fondue, or shaved over a warm tart.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45842972278953,"sku":"13220","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-24-month-aged-comte_f4033a8d-bc50-40c2-af75-42f67d9c9d41.jpg?v=1744804669"},{"product_id":"challerhocker-lbs","title":"Challerhocker","description":"\u003cp\u003eChallerhocker is a thermized cow's milk Swiss Alpine from eastern Switzerland, aged at least 10 to 12 months and washed in brine and a proprietary spice blend as it ages in the cellar. It sits in the same family as Gruyère and Comté, but pushed a step further.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is dense and smooth with the satiny pull of a properly aged Alpine. It breaks in clean slabs under the knife. Flavor is the whole reason to buy this one: brown butter and toasted hazelnut up front, then roasted onion and caramel through the middle, with a savory finish that lingers on the palate. The brine and spice wash is doing real work here, building that depth and complexity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you already love Gruyère and Comté and you want to see what the next gear looks like, this is it. It's made in very limited production. And yes, this is the cheese from Curb Your Enthusiasm, also known as \"Vonderdonk\"!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gourmet Foods International","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45834800169129,"sku":"10001125","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-challerhocker.jpg?v=1744804727"},{"product_id":"old-witch-13lb","title":"Old Witch","description":"\u003cp\u003eOld Witch is a thermized cow's milk Swiss Alpine from the Toggenburg valley, aged 10 to 12 months and washed during affinage in brine and a proprietary spice mix. The paste is dense and smooth, breaking into clean slabs under the knife with the fine granular pull you get from a properly aged Alpine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the palate it leads with brown butter and toasted hazelnut, then opens up into roasted onion and a deep savory pull through the middle, and finishes long with a quiet caramel sweetness underneath. The brine-and-spice wash is doing real work here, layering that roasted-onion note right into the paste so the cheese reads bigger and more savory than its size would suggest.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45833200173225,"sku":"11671","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-old-witch.jpg?v=1744804767"},{"product_id":"raclette-french-wheel-13lb","title":"French Raclette","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrench Raclette from the Alps of Savoie, a cow's milk semi-soft built around one job: melting. The paste is smooth, supple, the color of soft butter, and it gives just slightly under the knife before it ever sees heat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaste it cold and you get savory nuttiness up front, real cultured butter and fresh cream through the middle, with a gentle tang on the back of the palate. The rusty-orange washed rind brings a quiet roasted-onion and mushroom note that builds the longer the cheese sits out. Once it hits a flame or a raclette grill, the paste turns silky and pourable, and those onion and forest-floor notes step forward, more assertive than the Swiss version of the same recipe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the cheese the dish is named after, the one you scrape molten over boiled potatoes with a pile of cornichons and pickles on the side. A wheel like this is built for a table of people, a cold night, and a bottle of something Alpine and bright.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673256026281,"sku":"10001333","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-french-raclette.jpg?v=1744804775"},{"product_id":"swiss-gruyere-cave-aged","title":"Swiss AOP Gruyere Cave Aged","description":"\u003cp\u003eCave-aged Gruyère AOP from Switzerland, aged in natural caves where the cool, humid air slowly draws out a deeper version of what makes Gruyère great in the first place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is firm and dense, pale straw in color, and breaks into clean slabs under the knife with small crystalline pockets scattered through. On the palate it leads with toasted hazelnut and brown butter and finishes long with a quiet sweetness underneath. The extra time in the cave is what you taste, more concentration, more savory pull, a little more crunch from the crystals as the paste tightens.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the version of Gruyère for someone who already knows the style and wants the aged-up tier, where the nuttiness deepens and the finish stretches out well past the swallow.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gourmet Imports","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45833136177321,"sku":"10001216","price":42.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-swiss-gruyere-cave-aged.jpg?v=1744804787"},{"product_id":"arnaud-comte-aged-12m-lbs","title":"Comté Aged 12 Months","description":"\u003cp\u003eComté is a raw cow's milk AOP cheese from the Jura mountains of Franche-Comté in eastern France, made in big 70-pound wheels from the milk of Montbéliarde cows grazing the high pastures. This one is aged for twelve months, right in the sweet spot where the paste has firmed up and the flavor has started to build, but it still has enough moisture to melt cleanly into a fondue or a gratin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is close and ivory-gold, firm but pliable, breaking into smooth slabs rather than shattering the way the longer-aged wheels do. Toasted almond is the lead flavor, with brown butter through the middle and a quiet hay note from the summer pastures carrying through to the finish. You'll catch a hint of fruit on the back end, something close to dried apricot, before it eases off into warm cream.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA twelve-month is the everyday Comté, the one that does everything well. Slice it for a board, shave it into a salad, grate it over potatoes, or melt it down with a splash of white wine for the most classic fondue there is.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45730919973033,"sku":"14659","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/https_cdn.shopify.comsfiles1066760278185filescomingsoon_9f08056d-f26e-4503-bfa9-e9f03bf0a7ed.png_v_1736256421.jpg?v=1755113321"},{"product_id":"jasper-hill-alpha-tolman-lbs","title":"Jasper Hill Alpha Tolman","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlpha Tolman is an Alpine-style cow's milk cheese from Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont, made from raw grass-fed milk and aged in the Cellars at Jasper Hill. The recipe takes its cue from the cooked, pressed wheels of the European Alps, but the milk and the cave do the rest of the talking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is dense and pliant, slicing cleanly under the knife with that easy melting consistency Alpine styles are known for. Up front you get less sharpness and less acidity than a cheddar of the same age, then nutty, buttery, fruity notes through the middle. As the wheel matures it gets bolder, with caramelized onion and a meaty, savory depth that sits on the finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the cheese to reach for when you want something that melts as well as it eats. Shave it on a sandwich, build a Mornay sauce out of it, fold it into a fondue, or just put it on a board on its own and let the Vermont pasture do the work.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45731121037481,"sku":"13389","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/JasperHillAlphaTolman.jpg?v=1767466674"},{"product_id":"comte-36m-lbs","title":"Comté Aged 36 Months","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a 36-month aged Comté from France, brought in from the affineur Rodolphe Le Meunier, one of the most respected names in French cheese. Comté is the raw cow's milk alpine wheel from the Jura mountains in Franche-Comté, AOP protected, and at three years it's a different animal from the younger wheels most people know.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is dense and golden, shot through with big tyrosine crystals that crunch under the knife. It breaks into shards rather than slicing clean, which is what you want. Flavor is super nutty, toasted hazelnut and brown butter up front, with a deep caramel sweetness that builds on the back of the palate and lingers for a long time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOpening a fresh wheel of this is something special, it's so fresh and so moist right out of the cave. This is one of those cheeses worth the splurge, right in the sweet spot where age and moisture meet.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45731285598377,"sku":"16078","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/26E1F15B-5647-4D07-95F9-E5EC5B924EA6.jpg?v=1745864049"},{"product_id":"fontina-dop-dalpeggio-lbs","title":"La Poiana Fontina D'Alpeggio DOP","description":"\u003cp\u003eFontina d'Alpeggio DOP from the Cooperativa La Poiana, made high in Italy's Aosta Valley from the raw summer milk of Valdostana cows grazing above 1,900 meters. The d'Alpeggio designation is the real flex here, it means the milk only comes from cows turned out on the high mountain pastures from roughly June through September, eating fresh grass, wild herbs, and alpine flowers. That diet carries straight into the cheese.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is a pale straw color, semi-hard and supple, with small scattered eyes and a clean break under the knife. On the palate it opens with sweet fresh cream and a gentle vegetal pull of mountain herbs, then moves into a brothy, lightly nutty middle and finishes long and buttery. It melts beautifully, which is why it's the cheese behind fonduta valdostana, but it's just as good sliced off the wheel at room temperature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA proper DOP Fontina is already a treat. A summer-pasture d'Alpeggio wheel from a small Aosta cooperative is the upgrade, and you taste the altitude in every bite.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"La Poiana","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45929567813801,"sku":"16597","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/FontinaD_Aosta.jpg?v=1763221614"},{"product_id":"red-witch-rote-hexe-lbs","title":"Red Witch (Rote Hexe)","description":"\u003cp\u003eRed Witch, or Rote Hexe, is a raw cow's milk Swiss semi-hard cheese, easy to spot by the paprika-rubbed rind that gives the wheel its deep red color and its name. Aged for about five months, this is a properly Alpine recipe with a washed-rind twist that pushes it well past the usual semi-hard territory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is firm and dense, breaks in clean slabs under the knife, and still keeps a buttery, creamy feel on the tongue. On the palate it leads with brown butter and toasted hazelnut, the kind of nutty Alpine pull you'd expect from a five-month wheel, then opens up into a slightly funky, pungent finish coming off the paprika rind. There's a gentle warmth on the back end, more rub than heat, that lingers and pulls you back for another slice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis one sits in a class of its own among Swiss semi-hards. It's a serious snacking cheese with real character, the kind of wheel that disappears fast once it's on the counter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45986041233577,"sku":"10001340","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/RedWitch.jpg?v=1763330401"},{"product_id":"appenzeller-black-label-extra-aged-1","title":"Appenzeller - Black Label (Extra Aged)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese aged in the caves for a minimum of six months, earning it the Black Label. The paste is straw-colored and dense, dotted with small \"eyes\", and breaks into clean slabs under the knife. The flavor is nutty through the middle with a real piquant tingle on the back of the palate, the herbal-brine signature lifted by the extra time in the cellar. The rind is golden-orange, washed, and aromatic right up to the edge of the paste.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you already love a long-aged Alpine, the Black Label is where Appenzeller starts to flex. The brine wash gives it a unique character, and at this age the herbs, the salt, and the toasted-hazelnut depth all sit in balance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gourmet Foods International","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46497883324585,"sku":"10001060","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/AgedAppenzeller.jpg?v=1763001944"},{"product_id":"fontal-1","title":"Fontal","description":"\u003cp\u003eFontal is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Valle d'Aosta in northern Italy, made in the broader Fontina family but as a milder, more accessible pasteurized version. Think of it as the gentle cousin in the alpine lineup, built for everyday eating and melting rather than big aged flex.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is pale straw, smooth, and supple, slicing cleanly with a soft give under the knife. Aged just a couple of months, the flavor stays on the gentle side: warm fresh-cream and butter on the front, a quiet toasted almond and hazelnut note through the middle, and a clean milky finish that fades fast. Nothing barnyardy, nothing sharp, just a really pleasant easygoing alpine cheese.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the wheel to reach for when you want a cow's milk cheese that disappears into a grilled sandwich, blankets a pan of polenta, or rounds out a board for guests who don't want anything stinky. Mild does not mean boring here, just friendly.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46497911341225,"sku":"10001067","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-fontal_6f26f8c0-cca4-498c-a962-d9d5d28bbddf.jpg?v=1761069245"},{"product_id":"beaufort-lbs","title":"Beaufort","description":"\u003cp\u003eBeaufort is a raw cow's milk Alpine cheese from Savoie in the French Alps, made under AOP rules from the milk of Tarine and Abondance herds grazing high mountain pastures. The cheese they call the prince of Gruyère.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a cooked-curd, pressed wheel with a natural rind, aged in cool cellars where it builds a dense, supple paste that breaks into clean shards under the knife. The flavor is deeply nutty, with toasted hazelnut and brown butter through the middle, a baked-pastry sweetness underneath, and a long finish that lingers well past the bite. A faint green-pasture note from the alpine grazing sits behind it all, clean and never barnyardy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor anyone who already loves a Comté or a Gruyère, Beaufort is the next step up the Alpine ladder. Bigger, sweeter, more decadent on the palate, and built to anchor a board or melt into the most serious fondue you'll make all winter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46583455482025,"sku":"10001068","price":55.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/popup_Beaufort.jpg?v=1763148855"},{"product_id":"frantal-swiss-emmental-lbs","title":"Frantal French Emmental","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrantal French Emmental comes out of the Alpine dairy tradition of eastern France, where cow's milk is worked into big wheels with the familiar round \"eyes\" running through the pale yellow paste.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is semi-hard and gentle, leading with sweet fresh cream up front, a soft hazelnut and brown-butter character through the middle, and a clean, short finish. There's no funk or sharp bite here, just an easygoing Alpine sweetness, the kind of cheese that disappears off a board faster than you'd expect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust because it's mild doesn't mean it's not flavorful. This is the workhorse melter of a French kitchen, the cheese you want shredded into a croque monsieur, layered on a baked ham sandwich, or cubed into a salad with walnuts and a sharp vinaigrette.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Savory Gourmet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46694372573353,"sku":"17609","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/Screenshot-2025-12-22-at-4-36-15-PM.png?v=1766450261"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/collections\/cheese-swiss-gruyere-cave-aged_66c0dee5-6e12-4208-a766-b642fc97f528.jpg?v=1781111978","url":"https:\/\/cheesestore.com\/collections\/alpine-cheese.oembed","provider":"The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills | Domenico's Foods","version":"1.0","type":"link"}