Uplands Cheese Company Pleasant Ridge Reserve Extra Aged
Hand-selected for a bright flavor profile, Pleasant Ridge is bought early and aged in Murray’s caves to guarantee 12 months of age or more. The exclusively raw, summer, pasture-fed milk is concentrated from its sweet, round beginnings into something miraculous. The deep, beeswax yellow paste crunches and the floral, fruity flavors, tending to the concentration and prickle of canned pineapple, are unanimously beloved. Inspired by Beaufort, reinterpreted in Wisconsin and blowing cheese minds for nearly a decade. It’s so good you can pair it with anything, but we’re partial to filberts and aged Rioja.
Pleasant Ridge Reserve is the most-awarded cheese in American history, having won Best of Show in the American Cheese Society's annual competition three times (2001, 2005 and 2010), and having also won the US Cheese Championships in 2003. It is the only cheese to have won Best of Show three times, and the only cheese to have ever won both of the major, national cheese competitions.
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Just the Facts
Bourbon
Think: Caramelly, crystalline cheeses have the strength to stand up to bolder booze. With sweet bourbon, these cheeses become almost like dessert.Cabernet Sauvignon
Full-bodied with no shortage of flavor. This grape is grown in almost every climate, which means lots of diversity across bottles.Old World Cabernet: Earthy with aromas of leather, hay, and dark dried fruits. Sometimes a hint of eucalyptus or violet.
Pair with: Cheese with flavor that can stand up to this big wine. Alpine style cheeses like Comte or Challerhocker and some sweeter blues like Bleu d’Auvergne would make a good match.New World Cabernet: Characterized by bold oaky flavors and high levels of tannins. These wines are about as full-bodied as you can get, very jammy with flavors of reduced fruit.
Pair with: Sweet clothbound cheddar or a Grana style cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano or Podda Classico.Chardonnay
This wine is all over the map – literally! Flavor varies widely depending on where and how it’s made.Old World Chardonnay: crisp and minerally, with flavors of apples and roasted pears.
Pair with: Fresh or bloomy rind cheese, like Delice de Bourgogne
New World Chardonnay (USA, warmer climates): richly buttery and oaky, heavy notes of vanilla, brown butter, and tropical fruits.
Pair with: Slightly stronger cheese like sweet Tickler cheddar, or a mild washed rind.
Oxidized Chardonnay: When Chardonnay is intentionally exposed to air it is “oxidized.” Common in the Jura mountain region, this wine is almost sherry-like with spicy, nutty flavors.
Pair with: Play up the bolder flavors with a more complex or funky cheese. Almost any Alpine cheese, like Comte, or earthy aged goat cheese like Chevrot make a great match.