Champayeur
- Producer
- Fromagerie du Presbytère
- Country
- Canada
- Region
- Quebec
- Weight
- 4 oz
- Website
- www.fromageriedupresbytere.com
- Milk
- Cow
- Treatment
- Pasteurised
- Classification
- Semi Soft
- Rennet
- Animal
- Rind
- Mold Ripened
- Style
- Soft-Ripened (Brie-like)
Fourth-generation dairy farmer Jean Morin has found remarkable success as a first-generation cheese producer. What’s his secret? “Happy, healthy cows,” Morin says. “It all starts with the milk, and the care we show the cheese as we make it.”
Morin’s brother, Dominic, manages the herd of mainly Holsteins and Swiss Brown cows. Sons and a daughter represent the fifth generation already at work on the organic dairy farm, La Ferme Louis d’Or, and—across the street in the village of Sainte-Élizabeth de Warwick—at La Fromagerie du Presbytère. The farmstead cheese business takes its name from the rectory (presbytère, in French), which the Morins acquired in 2005 from the Roman Catholic church next door. Cheesemaking began in 2007.
Champayeur is an old French term that designates a herd grazing on fresh pasture. The bloomy rind cheese was itself inspired by similar-looking traditional French goat cheeses that are produced using lactic fermentation (although this version is produced using cow’s milk). Discs are aged for 15 days.
Tasting Notes
Champayeur has a soft, fine texture that is a bit chalky on the palate. Notes of cream, fresh butter and mushrooms are present.
Pairings
Pair Champayeur with an American sparkling wine.
