Hello herd-share members!

On Tuesday morning we welcomed little George Ray into the world and have since been absorbed with all that good newborn baby stuff! (Go check out his cute little face on our Facebook or Instagram feeds, we can't get enough of him!!)

A couple things to note about this week's pick-ups:

If you are picking up cheese in West Nashville or Murfreesboro there is no change in plans, please pick up your cheese as usual!

If you are picking up at the HipD market, however, please note that we will not be setting up our tent and we instead ask you to please visit Erin Baker at the Twigs and Roots tent. She will have all of your lovely little bloomy rinds ready for pick-up, just give her your name (and check out all her cool stuff). Her tent is generally over in the grassy picnic area (although sometimes they move vendor spots around, so be on the lookout).

This week's cheese is a fluffy little cloud cloaked in a rumpled piquant bloomy rind with a silver lining of vegetable ash. The interior has a cheesecake like texture with a creamline that becomes temptingly melty at room temperature.

Before pulling out all the stops and trying this cheese with the rind on, give this little experiment a try: Cut yourself a wedge and first sample the creamy white interior, without the rind, without bread or any additional fixings. Be sure to breathe a bit while the cheese is still in your mouth and let all of your taste buds have a go. What do you taste? See if you can pick up on some of floral and mineral notes that come through as a result of what our herd has been munching on - pastures rich with wildflowers and other native, perennial summer forages. We made this same cheese a couple months ago. What differences do you pick up on? You will probably get a more herbal and earthy flavor than the spring version. This is because the forages in our pastures and the weather have changed. Since your milk is raw and alive, no two cheeses will be alike. Fun!

serving suggestions
- This cheese was made for picnics. Grab a loaf of fresh bread, some fruit, charcuterie (Tennshootoe from The Hamery would be a good call here!) and nuts to pair with. By the time you reach your destination the cheese will have warmed up to the perfect temperature! If your picnic spot of choice is your back porch, be sure to set your cheese out (unwrapped) at least 20 minutes before eating.

pairings
Beer - Hefeweizen or a summer seasonal
Wine - a dry prosecco

cheese care
- This cheese is wrapped for you in special cheese paper and, without additional protection, is especially smushable! Be sure to bring a hard walled container, like a tupperware, if you'll be doing additional shopping at the market.
- As usual... to optimize cheese flavor and quality, keep it cold! Use a cooler or insulated bag with ice pack when transporting and place in your refrigerator once home.

a bit about your cheese
Vine was inspired by a style of cheese that originated in the farmsteads of the French countryside out of convenience and necessity. These were mostly small family holdings, much like Little Seed Farm, where the they managed a small herd of dairy goats as well as other farm animals such as guinea hens and pigs. Unlike the cheeses of say, the Swiss Alps, where burly mountain men managed herds of cows and made the 100+ wheels of gruyere that were brought down from the mountains only once a year, these little cheeses were designed to be easily made and managed by the women of the farmstead and much better suited to the amount of milk one could expect from a small herd of goats. Each day milk was collected and a few small format cheeses were made. These cheeses, after draining in their mold, were left to dry in a wicker cage in the open air for several hours. The cheeses were dusted with ash before drying to help keep insects away. This ash also lowered the acidity of the cheese surface, making it more inviting to the soft white mold that bloomed into a rind while the cheeses were aging for their 4-6 week development. These soft-ripened lactic cheeses are now known by the names of the villages they originated in. In most cases each village has it's own signature shape, such as Selles-sur-Cher (a small patty) and Valencay (a truncated pyramid).

While we're not hanging our cheeses from the trees to dry, or aging in a natural cave, we do follow the traditional method as closely as possible and age these cheeses for 3-4 weeks in climate controlled conditions that mimic the temperature and humidity of those caves. Each day of aging, every little round is patted and flipped to ensure proper rind development. We've named our cheese after the unincorporated township Vine, where we live and our cheese is made.

Let us know what you think of this one after you give it a whirl!
Cheers,
Eileen, James & Baby George!