Mont Idyll
- Producer
- Idyll Farms
- Country
- United States
- Region
- Michigan
- Size
- 2.5 in width x 1.5 in height (small); 3 in width x 3.5 in height (large)
- Website
- www.idyllfarms.com
- Milk
- Goat
- Treatment
- Pasteurised
- Classification
- Semi Soft
- Rennet
- Animal
- Rind
- Ash
- Style
- Soft-Ripened (Brie-like)
In 2010, Mark and Amy Spitznagel purchased a 100-year-old cherry orchard in Northport, northern Michigan and turned it into a goat farm. Mark, a successful hedge fund manager, saw the farm as an opportunity to spend time with his family in the area where he grew up. He also saw it as a way to pursue a holistic approach to sustainable agriculture compatible with his ideals, combining time-honored French tradition with modern techniques and technology.
In 2015, Idyll Farms was poised to become the largest pasture-based goat farm in the country, with a tasting room and tours of the farm soon being offered. Mark is also interested in urban farming projects; he recently brought 30 of his Alpine goats to Brightmoor, a blighted section of Detroit, to graze on the city’s overgrowth.
All of Idyll farm’s goat cheeses are made on-premises at the farm.
Inspired by traditional French pyramid-shaped Valençay, from the Loire Valley, this cheese is reminiscent of a “mont” on Idyll Farms that offers breathtaking views of the pastures, woodlands and nearby Lake Michigan. Soft ripened and delicately painted with vegetable ash, the pyramids are aged for 12-21 days before sale.
Tasting Notes
With a yeasty, slightly goaty aroma, this cheese has a firm, densely-textured paste and a thin creamline. Taste is creamy with a pleasant tang and notes of fresh wet grass.
Pairings
Pair it with a Chenin Blanc, a dry rosé or a light red such as Gamay. On a cheeseplate, serve it alongside Idyll Farms Cherry Butter, pickled beets or radishes, or clover honey.
