ETORKI CHEESE

Etorki cheese is a lovely French Ewe's milk cheese and is made in the French Basque Country, and you can buy Etorki at The Cheese and Wine Shop.

Its similar to our Ossau Iraty and has a lovely and unusual gentle flavour from the sheeps milk.

Popular as a substitute for Cheddar or Gouda in cooking if cow's milk is a problem. Made with pasteurised sheep's milk, it takes 6 gallons to make one cheese (as it takes 22 ewes to provide the same amount of milk as from the milking of 1 cow - that's a lot of ewes!) hence the consistently higher price of ewes milk cheeses It has a wonderful velvet texture with a rich hazelnut/caramel flavour

Following a 4000 year tradition, Etorki is pressed and matured for three to six months.

What wine to drink with Etorki? Well Chardonnay is always a classic match that complements the cheese's creamy, buttery texture. One of our Rieslings, works well, especially as its crispness can balance the rich cheese. Sauvignon Blanc is another favourite, providing a good contrast to the cheese's richness. Jurançon is another, being a sweet white wine from the Pyrenees region (local to Etorki's origin) is a traditional pairing that highlights the cheese's honeyed and complex flavors.

Red Wines: Choose one of our soft, fruity reds without overly strong tannins, such as our Pinot Noirs, or a Beaujolais (Gamay). Rioja: A reliable go-to that pairs well with sheep's milk cheeses. Médoc or Rhône Valley reds: These full-bodied options are also good choices.