Name: Green Hill
Producer: Sweet Grass Dairy (Thomasville, Georgia)
Milk: Pasteurized Cow
Age: 3-6 weeks
Price: $7.00-$14.99
A tawny port with a double-cream cheese? Who would have ever thought of such a thing? Certainly not I. So when fellow Georgians Dow's Port said that people should pair their product with Sweet Grass Dairy's "Green Hill" cheese, I had to investigate.
Green Hill is a mild, rich, double-cream with a soft bloomy rind. The interior is buttery and a little bit salty, while the rind is beautifully chewy. I find it lends a slight sour taste which balances well with it's natural sweetness. Green Hill isn't a cheese that will send you reeling back from it's flavor, it's simply "pleasant" and sometimes that's just right.
A truly beautiful snack could be made with some Green Hill, a baguette and dried fruit, particularly cranberries. The weather's getting warmer and I can't imagine a better beginning to a nice picnic.
So would I agree with the pairing recommended by Dow's? Truthfully, I can't. A strong port would simply overpower this cheese and, though it wouldn't be a disasterous pairing, I don't believe it would let the flavor of the cheese itself be realized. Instead, I would go with a drier Riesling or perhaps a glass of Champagne. The mixture of the cheese and the bubbly would be pure decadence.
A wheel of Green Hill is available for $7.00 from Sweet Grass Dairy or $14.99 at Murray's Cheese.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Sara Kate, have you tried a Dow's Tawny with the Sweet Grass Green Hill? Not all Port is "strong," as their are a range of styles and flavors among the many different types of Port. Dow's is known among Port houses to produce drier and more subtle Ports.
The Sweet Grass Dairy Green Hill with a DowÂ’s 20 year Tawny works so well together, the acidity from the rind, the rich creamy paste, and the subtle hints of salt and grass match so well with the Tawny. The wine has great flavors of caramel, slight raisin notes and a great balance of tannins and fruit. The elevated alcohol cuts right through the richness of the cheese, the minerals flavors in the rind of the cheese are a wonderful counter point to the fruit and structure of the wine.