Brunet by Caseificio Alta Langa

Produced by Caseificio Alta Langa in Piedmont region of Italy, and headquartered in Bosia, a village just south of Asti and Alba, this dairy specializes in crafting traditional local cheeses by modern methods. In addition to being one of Italy's foremost wine regions, Piedmont supports a lot of dairy farming. Brunet is the name of one of the local goat breeds. Like some Robiola, the region's best-known cheese, Brunet is 100 percent goat's milk

The cheese matures for about 10 days at the dairy, so it is probably still less than 3 weeks old by the time it reaches retail counters. How the cheesemakers manage to get so much personality into such a young cheese is beyond explanation. It spreads like soft whipped butter but collapses on the tongue like thick whipped cream. Pair with a well rounded white wine such as a smooth Chardonnay with no apparent oak, a sparkling wine or a honeyed Arneis, Piedmont's best-known white wine.