Fiscalini Dairy in Modesto, Calif., has taken a cue from Spanish cheese makers and is making a fine, sharp white cheese soaked in wine.
In Spain, goat cheese is used. In this case, it’s a white cheddar, produced with raw milk from the Fiscalini’s own dairy herd. It is made in 40-pound blocks and aged for six months, then cut and soaked in Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon wine.
Purple Moon is lightly sharp with layers of subtle flavor, as a sixth-month raw cheddar should be, but the prominent flavor comes from the dark red wine that stains the cheese’s surface, giving it a marbled texture and deep purple color. The cheese’s interior remains white.
According to Fiscalini, family ancestor Mateo Fiscalini emigrated from southern Switzerland to the United States in the late 1890s, where he settled in California to open a dairy. His son moved to Modesto in 1914 to open his own dairy, where it remains today, still run by his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
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