Vina Milagro

|VHee-nuh; Meeh-lag-Ro|

Out of Mexico’s award-winning Rancho San Josemaría comes this striking wedge. Vina Milagro is a cooked, pressed hard cheese made from the milk of the farm’s own East Friesian sheep. It is cellar-aged and washed in red wine for 60-90 days. The resulting cheese is compact and semi-firm, with a pale paste beneath its wine-stained rind.

Vina Milagro’s flavor is soft and delicate, with notes of red wine and cave. Towards the rind, a mild grape smell persists. It should come as no surprise that this burgundy beauty took home a gold at the 2014 World Cheese Awards.

A full-bodied Nebbiolo, which is what’s used to bathe the cheese in the first place, makes an obvious pair. If that’s too much wine for your taste, try a regional tequila or mezcal.

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