L'Etivaz - AOC

Milk Type: Cow
Style: Alpine Swiss
Treatment: Raw
Origin: L’Etivaz, Switzerland
Mouthfeel: Dense, Firm, Tiny Crystal Pinpoints
Flavor: Hazelnut, Onion, Sweet, Meaty, Fruity,Lightly Smokey (from wood-stoked fire)

In the 1930s, a group of 76 Gruyère producing  families came together over a shared dilemma - new government regulations that stifled Gruyère production and compromised the quality of their wheels. Their solution? Withdraw from the gov. program and embrace the creation of their own cheese - L’Etivaz  (Eh-te-vah) - named for the village around which they all lived. L’Etivaz is now an AOC protected cheese and must be made true to tradition, in copper vats, and only over an open, wood-stoked fire. The wheels are produced solely during summer months when the cows graze exclusively on herbs and wild flowers from the lush pastures in the majestic Swiss Alps, which gives the raw milk a remarkable flavor. In the end, each wheel ends up back in one central cellar in the village of L’Etivaz to age. Our wheels are aged for a minimum of 20 months.