Hidden inside this seemingly ordinary wheel is something quietly spellbinding: Gruyère d’Alpage from Tissiniva, Switzerland.

I chose this cheese because I’ve stood on that mountain and watched this ancient process firsthand. Twice each day, milk is gathered high in the Alps, then transformed over a wood fire in a great copper cauldron — stirred, cooked, and pulled entirely by hand. Fewer and fewer producers still make cheese this way; the work is difficult, expensive, and deeply tied to mountain life.

Jacques, the producer, took over the chalet at just sixteen after his father was injured during production. Today, he continues the tradition alongside his family, all living above the creamery itself in the alpine chalet where the cheese is made.

The cows spend their summers grazing peacefully on the mountain pastures from May through September — eating, resting, and wandering the peaks. You can taste that landscape in every bite.

And because one Gruyère simply wasn’t enough, we’re pairing it with a second remarkable example: a 20-month Gruyère from Moléson, crafted with milk from just 30 local farms. Rich, crystalline, and deeply savoury, it offers a completely different expression of the same tradition.

Even more exciting: the affineur who ages the Moléson also ages our Alpage Gruyère. Side by side, these cheeses reveal how small differences in place, process, and time create entirely different results.

Two cheeses. One tradition. A little mountain magic.

Exclusive Wine Pairing from Metrovino

2022 Domaine Peillot Rousette du Bugey Montagnieu, France $43
Aromas of white flowers, golden apples and hay waft from the glass of this elegant Alpine white. It’s flinty and fresh, yet quickly reveals the characteristic waxy texture and enveloping mouthfeel that makes Roussette (also called Altesse) so compelling.

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