Drunken Goat / Cabra Al Vino

Cabra al Vino, better known as Drunken Goat, comes from the Murcia region in southeastern Spain, where pasteurized goat's milk is pressed into semi-soft wheels and then bathed for days in local Doble Pasta red wine. That wine soak is the whole story. It stains the rind a deep purple-black and pulls a quiet sweetness into the paste.

The interior is bright white, smooth, and supple, slicing clean without any of the chalk you sometimes get from younger goat cheeses. On the palate it leads with a soft, buttery goat-milk character, then opens into a gentle fruity sweetness from the wine before finishing with a clean lactic tang. There's none of the barnyard funk people sometimes brace for with goat cheese, which is why this one converts skeptics.

It's a DOP cheese, so the recipe and region are protected. Cabra al Vino sits right in the sweet spot for an everyday board cheese, mild enough to lead a plate, pretty enough on the cut to anchor one. The purple rind against the white paste is one of the most striking slices in the case.