Fromagerie Berthaut
Dairy in Époisses making Époisses AOP, Soumaintrain and Aisy Cendré. The shop on the Champ de Foire sells its cheeses with mustard, honey, wine and other regional products.
About Soumaintrain
A flat, round cow's milk cheese with a brine-washed rind, from the Yonne and neighbouring Côte-d'Or and Aube. Written traces go back to 1631, when it served as a tithe to Pontigny Abbey, and Cistercian monks are thought to have made similar cheeses in the 12th century. The cheeses are 90 to 130 mm across, with a height about a third of the diameter. The European Commission registered it as a protected geographical indication on 14 June 2016.
Made in: Parts of the Yonne, Côte-d'Or and Aube departments
On the plate
Fine, soft paste with a lactic, slightly acid taste when young. With age come animal and vegetal notes: mushroom, humus, hay and straw (INAO). The rind runs from ivory-yellow to ochre.
Rind: washed, orange and sticky
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Soumaintrain
Chablis (Chardonnay) Burgundy
Local traditionSoumaintrain and Chablis share the Yonne. A regional produce site pairs a Chablis or Petit Chablis with younger cheeses and a premier cru with the most pronounced ones, the wine's acidity against the brine rind and milky paste.
The grapes behind these winesChardonnay
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Fromagerie Gaugry
Washed-rind cheesemaker at Brochon, near Gevrey-Chambertin, since 1946. Tours and tastings are suspended during works until the end of 2027; a temporary shop sells its cheeses.
Fromagerie Lincet
Family cheesemaker since 1895, six generations on. Its Saligny shop sells its Époisses, Chaource and Soumaintrain alongside other cheeses and regional products.
Ferme Lorne
Multi-generation dairy farm in the village that gives Soumaintrain its name, selling farmhouse Soumaintrain IGP and Saint-Florentin and welcoming visitors on set daily hours.
GAEC Leclère
Family farm in Soumaintrain since 1984 with Montbéliarde dairy cows, making Soumaintrain. The farm shop also sells meat, charcuterie and local products.
Alain Hess, Maître Fromager
Cheese shop on place Carnot in Beaune with about 200 cheeses, wine and fine groceries. Alain Hess, maître fromager since 1997 and an affineur, created the Délice de Pommard.
Fromagerie Porcheret
Founded in 1930 near the Dijon halles and renovated after Yann Lavigne took over in 2012. A glass trapdoor in the floor shows the vaulted ageing cellar below, and the counter holds more than 200 varieties of cheese.
Le Chalet Comtois
A Dijon cheese shop on rue Musette, founded in 1872 and under new owners since 2017. It stocks 250 to 300 cheeses, mostly from small producers, with Burgundy and Franche-Comté in the lead.
Au Gas Normand
Stall in the Dijon Halles run by maître fromager Sophie Greenbaum since 1983, selling raw milk Normandy cheeses and aged summer Comtés beside other French and European cheeses. Open on Halles market days.
Cheese experiences nearby
Marché des Halles de Dijon
Dijon's covered market, where cheese stalls such as Au Gas Normand sell Burgundy and other French cheeses on market days.
Atelier vins et fromages de Bourgogne
About an hour in a Dijon wine shop tasting three Burgundy wines each paired with a Burgundy cheese, including an Aligoté with Délice de Bourgogne and mustard. Saturdays at noon from 10 October to 26 December 2026.
Vélo et Fromages cycle route
A 22 km easy ride along the Canal de Bourgogne with four cheese tastings at farms, including the Soumaintrain producers Lorne and Leclère, ending at Flogny-la-Chapelle.
Fête du Vin, du Pain et du Fromage à Époisses
Annual village fair in Époisses with about 60 exhibitors selling wine, bread, cheeses and local produce, with a petting farm and music, and a festive evening the next Saturday.
Soumaintrain: questions
When did Soumaintrain get European protection?
It was registered as an IGP on 14 June 2016.
Which wine is suggested with it?
A regional white such as Chablis.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Burgundy
Plan the trip
Visit Soumaintrain country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
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Sources: protection register, lesproduitsgourmandsbfc.fr, france3-regions.franceinfo.fr. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.