Gisele

Producer

Boston Post Dairy

Country

United States

Region

Vermont

Size

10 in diameter x 4 in height

Weight

8 lbs

Website

www.bostonpostdairy.com

Milk

Cow
Goat

Treatment

Pasteurised

Classification

Firm

Rennet

Microbial

Rind

Washed

Style

Gouda-like

Flavor

Flavor added to rind

Family-run Boston Post Dairy is set in Enosburg Falls, Vermont, along the Missisquoi River, with a view of Jay Peak. The farm is named after the Old Boston Post Stagecoach Road, which runs right through the property. Robert and Gisele Gervais have been farming since 1962 along with their family of fifteen children. In 2007 they bought the dairy with their four daughters Anne, Theresa, Susan, and Annette, and they’ve since added a cheesemaking facility and a small retail store to sell the cheeses, goat milk soaps, maple syrups, and bakery items which are all made on the farm.

Cheesemaker Anne Doe started making this cheese according to a recipe for Appenzeller, but after doing some research she realized that she wouldn’t be able to recreate the Swiss classic, nor be able to finish it with the top-secret recipe for the brine it’s washed in. So she adapted the recipe and wash to fit her own style, using the farm’s own apple cider and a special mix of spices to make an original brine. The cheese is named after the mother of the family, Gisele. “She does a lot of work behind the scenes but never wants any recognition,” says Doe, “we have 15 siblings in the family… so naming a cheese after her is a very small recognition for all she has done to endure with a family of our size.”

Tasting Notes

This cheese exudes a faintly spicy, floral and cinnamony smell with notes of cooked onions. Texture is creamy, thick and pliable, and flavors build slowly on the palate as a sharpness hits the sides of the tongue. Hints of salami, earth, bark and apples are present towards the rind.

Pairings

Pair it with a sparkling wine, a merlot, pears or grapes.