For you, our intrepid crew, we’ve selected a true classic: Stilton. Pour yourself a drink, settle in and let’s explore one of England’s greatest cheeses.

Stilton has a reputation for being a bit divisive – some might even call it “your dad’s cheese.” But don’t let that fool you. When production began in the 1700s, intentionally cultivating blue mould in cheese was a revolutionary idea. In damp, chilly England, mould often appeared by accident; crafting a cheese where it was welcomed and celebrated was something entirely different.

Our Stilton comes from Hartington Creamery, winner of Gold at the British & Irish Cheese Awards 2025 and Bronze at the International Cheese Awards 2023. Hartington is the smallest – and only artisan – producer of Stilton in the world. Each wheel is handmade, carefully pierced to encourage its signature blue veining, and matured for around nine weeks, creating a cheese that’s rich, creamy and beautifully tangy.

Every Stilton is produced under the strict standards of the Stilton Makers Association and carries UK Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. Hartington, nestled in the Derbyshire Dales, is the only independent producer outside the larger dairies of Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire permitted to make authentic Stilton. Every wheel is crafted using locally sourced milk at the historic Pikehall Farm Creamery.

And here’s a bit of wonderfully British trivia: Stilton can no longer be made in the village of Stilton. The village lies outside the three counties permitted under the PDO rules, meaning the cheese that bears its name cannot legally be produced there. Add in the requirement that Stilton must be made with pasteurized milk and you have one of the more delightfully peculiar stories in the cheese world.

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.”

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.

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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