Not all cheeses are meant to be found at once.
Every two weeks, Dr. Bignelli unveils a new selection from his cabinet – rare finds, seasonal arrivals and unexpected favourites. Stop in, collect your latest piece and see what’s been uncovered next. The Cabinet of Curiosities is designed to be experienced over time and those who keep up with each discovery will be rewarded along the way. Unlock special promotions.
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Stay curious. It pays off.
Cabinet Entry No. 2: Don Quixote
FRIDAY, JUNE 12 - SUNDAY, JUNE 21
Regal and refined, this chivalrous cheese may be modest in size, but it is more than capable of toppling giants.
This week’s curiosity is Manchego, one of Spain’s most beloved cheeses. Produced in the windswept plains of La Mancha, it’s often called the “cheddar of Spain” for its deep cultural roots and everyday presence across the country.
Our selection comes from Queso de Hualdo, an estate (“granja”) Manchego producer set on more than 4,000 hectares along the Tagus River. Because the cheese is made from a single flock and a single estate, the makers have extraordinary control over the sheep’s diet and grazing – details that shape the cheese’s rich, nutty character.
No tapas spread is complete without Manchego, good olives and a glass of wine. This version is especially elegant: buttery, savoury and quietly complex.
So gather your provisions, embrace your most idealistic dreams, and enjoy this week’s sweetly noble treat.
Exclusive Wine Pairings from Metrovino
Emilio Hidalgo Fino – Jerez, Spain
Bracingly dry and light-bodied, this Fino delivers an umami-laden punch of saline minerality and green apple. Aromas of almonds, olive brine, and dried hay are accented by refreshing notes of sea spray and citrus peel. Serve it alongside Manchego and you’ll feel as though you’ve been transported to an Andalusian tabanco – cue the flamenco music!
2021 Domaine Bachey-Legros Santenay Clos des Hâtes Pinot Noir – Burgundy, France
If this cheese and wine pairing were a movie, it would be a whimsical French love story in which a refined, elegant Burgundian falls for a hardened, tough-to-crack northerner. At first, it seems unlikely to work, but the chemistry is undeniable. The Pinot Noir is an alluring mélange of ripe dark cherry, strawberry, and rose, while the cheese is nutty, salty, and deeply savoury. This pairing is all about contrasts: think of the wine as the “fruit” to the cheese’s “nut.”
Past Collectables
The Magician - May 29 to June 7
The Magician
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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