2019 Amity Vineyards White Pinot Noir & Ossau-Iraty
For those of us who work in the food and beverage industry, tasting sessions are an important part of our work. They provide space for reinforcing what we know, and continually remind us of how much we still have yet to learn. As we search for successful pairings, sometimes we’re lucky and find success early on. Other times it can feel like we’re lost in the woods, struggling to find our way out. Our cheese selection for this week is, Ossau-Iraty, a raw sheep milk cheese from the Pyrenees Mountains of southwestern France. One of the oldest cheeses in the world, this cheese is made with the milk of select breeds of sheep that thrive on forage native to the rough terrain surrounding the foothills and mountain pastures of the Ossau Valley in Béarn and the Iraty Forest of the Northern Basque Country. With a high butterfat, salty paste, and a definitive animal quality, Ossau-Iraty leaves its mark on the palate. While we struggled to find a solid pairing early on, we eventually found Amity Vineyard’s 2019 White Pinot Noir, from the Willamette Valley of Oregon, to be a refreshing side-kick to the forward bite, and rich, fatty finish of this old-world cheese. With a floral note of orange blossom and a peachy acidity, this wine provides a welcomed balance to this traditional french cheese.