Fromagerie du Val and Maison du Fromage
Dairy making Munster AOP in Gunsbach, with production visible through viewing windows. It shares its site with the Maison du Fromage, a visitor centre, shop and restaurant.
About Munster
A soft, washed-rind cow's-milk cheese made on both sides of the Vosges: Munster on the Alsace slope, Géromé (from Gérardmer) on the Lorraine side, one appellation today. French Wikipedia traces its cheesemaking to Benedictine monks who founded a monastery in the Vosges in 660. The curd is moulded without washing or kneading, dry-salted, then rubbed or washed during ageing in humid cellars, which gives the orange-red rind. Farm Munster is raw milk only; dairies may thermise or pasteurise. Caraway seeds can go into the curd or be served alongside.
Made in: Vosges massif: parts of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Vosges, Meurthe-et-Moselle and Moselle, plus a few communes of Haute-Saône and the Territoire de Belfort
On the plate
A powerful, ammonia-tinged smell and an orange rind around a supple, unctuous, mild paste, with dairy, hay, ripe-fruit and nut notes (Le Guide du Fromage; INAO for the odour). Caraway seeds can be mixed into the curd or served alongside.
Rind: washed, orange and sticky
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Munster
Gewurztraminer Alsace
Local traditionFrench Wikipedia and Je Visite Alsace both give this match: Gewurztraminer's aromatic power and full body stand up to the strength of the cheese, and its richness softens the pungent washed rind.
Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives or Sélection de Grains Nobles Alsace
Local traditionFrench Wikipedia lists late-harvest and noble-rot Gewurztraminer with Munster. The wine's sweetness plays against the salty, pungent rind, a sweet-and-savoury contrast.
Complanted field blend (Grand Cru and Premier Cru) Alsace
Our pickAlsace field blends, Riesling, Pinot Gris and other noble grapes planted together, join Pinot Gris body to Riesling acidity. Dry or off-dry, they stand up to Munster's pungent washed rind and soften its salt.
Riesling Alsace
Local traditionFrench Wikipedia says Munster goes with Riesling, though above all with Gewurztraminer. A dry Riesling's acidity cuts the creamy paste and the pungency of the washed rind without adding sweetness.
Skin-contact Pinot Gris (orange) Alsace
Our pickSkin-macerated Pinot Gris has full body, high acidity and a modest tannic grip, with dried apricot and citrus peel. That texture stands up to a pungent washed rind where a plain white would fade.
Pinot Gris Alsace
Our pickPinot Gris, dry or lightly off-dry, has the body to keep pace with Munster's supple, unctuous paste without the perfume of Gewurztraminer. It suits a young, mild cheese better than an old, runny one.
Crémant d'Alsace Alsace
Our pickDry bubbles and fine acidity cut through the creamy paste of a washed-rind cheese, a lighter route for anyone who finds Gewurztraminer too perfumed. Choose a brut or extra brut.
The grapes behind these winesRieslingGewurztraminerPinot GrisPinot BlancPinot Noir
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Ferme-Auberge du Kastelberg
Farm-inn on the Route des Crêtes run by a marcaire family for seven generations, making Munster and Bargkass from its own cows' milk. Open mid-April to mid-October for cheese sales and marcaire meals.
Les Fromages du Grand-Père Fischer, Beblenheim
Cheese affineur whose Beblenheim cave matures Munster for at least 21 days at 12 to 15 C; the house dates from 1926. A second cave at Orbey, in the Vosges, ages pressed cheeses and tommes.
Ferme-Auberge du Strohberg
Transhumance farm of the Barb family, run father to son since 1907 on the Petit Ballon slopes. Munster is made on the farm; the inn opens May to October, with Munster coiffé in the evening on advance order.
Maison Dischinger
Charcutiers and cheesemakers for three generations, with a shop on the Grand'Rue in Munster. The family makes Munster fermier AOP by traditional farmhouse methods and sells it with regional charcuterie.
Maison Lorho
Fromagerie in central Strasbourg run by Christelle and Cyrille Lorho, both Meilleurs Ouvriers de France fromagers. About 250 cheeses, matured in their Vosges caves, plus cheese boards and raclettes.
Fromagerie Saint-Nicolas, Colmar
Colmar shop of a family affineur founded in 1981, with ageing caves at Buhl. More than 400 cheeses, custom boards, and a stand in the covered market.
La Cloche à Fromage
Strasbourg fromagerie trading under the Fromagerie Tourrette name: over 200 cheeses matured in its own cellars, custom platters, wines and groceries, with the La Cloche à Fromage restaurant a few steps away.
Crèmerie Perrin
Long-established Strasbourg crèmerie run by Goretti Christen: mostly raw-milk cheeses, Swiss alpine types, and Alsace Munster, farm goat cheeses and Bargkass.
Cheese experiences nearby
La Maison du Fromage, Vallée de Munster
Self-guided visit of about 1h30 with films, exhibitions, the cowshed and the stages of making Munster, ending with a commented tasting of three cheeses (Siaskass, Munster, Barikass). Shop and restaurant on site; visits run in timed slots, best booked online.
Route du Fromage, Munster valley
Cheese route established in 1968, about 90 km from the Maison du Fromage in Gunsbach by the D417 to the Col de la Schlucht, along the Route des Crêtes, then down by Le Schnepfenried. Farm-inns on the high pastures serve mountain meals with Munster.
Marcaire meal at the Salzbach farm-inn
Mountain farm meal at 1,180 m: the farm's daily menu runs to tourte with salad, smoked collar with potatoes, a plate of the farm's own cheeses and dessert; the dairy makes Bargkass, Cœur de Massif and tommes. Open Easter to 1 November; booking a table is strongly advised.
Colmar covered market, Saint-Nicolas cheese stand
Fromagerie Saint-Nicolas keeps a stand in Colmar's covered market, selling its matured cheeses and custom boards; the hall, on the rue des Écoles, lists a fromagerie among its vendors.
Munster weekly market
Weekly food and textile market on the Place du Marché in Munster, held Tuesday and Saturday mornings; the valley tourist office lists local cheeses, charcuterie and breads among the produce.
Munster: questions
How strong is Munster really?
INAO describes a powerful, ammonia-tinged smell, while Le Guide du Fromage describes a supple, unctuous, mild paste with dairy, hay and nut notes.
Which wine goes with Munster?
Gewurztraminer is the classic answer: French Wikipedia says Munster goes with Riesling and above all Gewurztraminer, including late-harvest and noble-rot bottlings. A regional guide, Je Visite Alsace, calls Gewurztraminer the royal match, Pinot Gris a more discreet one, and advises against tannic reds.
Are Munster and Munster-Géromé the same cheese?
Yes. Le Guide du Fromage lists one appellation, Munster or Munster-Géromé, with the two names coming from the Alsace side (Munster) and the Lorraine side (Géromé, from Gérardmer) of the Vosges.
Does Munster contain caraway?
It can. Le Guide du Fromage says caraway seeds are optionally added to the curd, and French Wikipedia says the cheese may be eaten with caraway; the cheese is otherwise the same.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Alsace
Plan the trip
Visit Munster country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
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Sources: protection register, www.leguidedufromage.com, fr.wikipedia.org. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.