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22 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } DECEMBER/JANUARY 2018/2019 THE HOLIDAYS PROVIDE plenty of occasions for sparkling wine, but to make the experience even more festive, just add cheese: Double- and triple-cream disks love Champagne's bubbles and brisk acid - ity, which cleanse the palate in the wake of these luscious bites. To freshen up the pairing, I've assembled this quick guide to the veterans and lesser-known newcom - ers leading this category. But first, some definitions. The U.S. doesn't regulate the use of these terms, but most cheesemakers follow the French convention: "triple-cream" for cheeses that have 75 percent fat or more in the dry matter (FDM); and "double-cream" for cheeses between 60 and 74 percent FDM. These elevated fat levels come from mixing cow's, goat's, or sheep's milk with cream or crème fraiche, as milk alone would fail to yield products this rich. Note that industry practice is to measure the fat as a percentage of the dry matter— the cheese with all water removed. Since most of these moist cheeses are roughly 50 percent water, the fat content isn't as extreme as it sounds. Ounce for ounce, cream-enriched cheeses like Cowgirl Creamery's super-successful Mt. Tam con - tain no more fat than Parmigiano-Reggiano. Vermont Creamery Cremont: A pe- rennial ribbon winner, this double-cream cheese contains roughly 60 percent cow's milk, 30 percent goat's milk, and 10 percent cream. The soft, bloomy rind will wrinkle and sag a bit as the cheese ripens, a sign that it's about to peak. A perfect Cremont has a sumptuous interior with a mushroom-like aroma and sour-cream finish. Nettle Meadow Kunik: Made on a farm in New York's Adirondack Mountains that doubles as an animal sanctuary, Kunik is a triple-cream cheese produced in sizes ranging from 4 to 16 ounces. If possible, go with a larger wheel for a more pleasing proportion of rind to paste. Rare among triple-creams, Kunik is predominantly goat's milk, with just enough Jersey cow cream to boost it into the triple-cream ranks. It spreads like frosting and has a clotted-cream scent. Moser Screamer: This new gem from acclaimed Swiss cheesemaker Ueli Moser owes its name to its purported ability to make tasters loudly exclaim their delight. (The label identifies it as a double-cream only because the Swiss don't recognize the triple-cream category.) A petite cow's- milk disk weighing a little more than 5 ounces, Moser Screamer has an inviting aroma of mushroom and crème fraiche, a rich golden paste, and a texture like whipped butter. Tulip Tree Trillium: From an Indiana creamery, this bloomy-rind triple-cream has the buttery texture and lactic tones of Camember t. To distinguish it on the retail shelf, cheesemaker Fons Smits chose to produce and package it in squares. Smits, who sources his cow's milk from nearby family farms, works on a small scale and hand-ladles Trillium's curds into the molds. An early cheesemaker for Cowgirl Creamery, he helped develop the recipe for the aforementioned Mt. Tam cheese. Deer Creek The Blue Jay: Bring out the demi-sec sparklers for this juniper- scented cow's-milk blue cheese. Produced by highly regarded Wisconsin-based producer Carr Valley Cheese for the Deer Creek brand, The Blue Jay resembles Italy's mellow Gorgonzola dolce cheese but is even more plush and voluptuous. Don't let the juniper scare you off—there's just enough of that woodsy scent to keep things intriguing. The label describes The Blue Jay as a quintuple-crème, but that's poetic license. PHOTO COURTESY OF KUBAIS VIA ADOBE STOCK { wheying in } A BRIEF GUIDE TO DOUBLE-CREAM AND TRIPLE-CREAM CHEESES Triple-Double the Fun by Janet Fletcher