Cheese tastings, cave tours, markets and cheese routes in Alsace.
A guide to cheese experiences in Alsace.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dare to go beyond traditional pairings! Discover three local cheeses, including the must-have Munster, and experiment with six gourmet pairings with organic Alsatian w...
Enjoy a tasting break with wine and cheese for a fun and informative moment of relaxation!
You'll start with a video on how the Alsatian wines are made, then discover the cellar and the film on the family history, projected onto barrels. Finally, you'll enjo...
INAO describes a powerful, ammonia-tinged smell, while Le Guide du Fromage describes a supple, unctuous, mild paste with dairy, hay and nut notes.
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.
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.
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.
No. Wikipedia says it has no protected designation because each farm has its own recipe, and Château Landsberg's guide also lists it as outside the AOP, AOC and IGP schemes.
Wikipedia gives the Alemannic roots: barg means mountain and käss means cheese, so mountain cheese.
Le Guide du Fromage says it is a spin-off of Munster: a cheese made to keep, produced in the same farms when milk is abundant and Munster sales are slow.
A cheese made since 2015 mainly from Vosgienne cow milk, created by breeders in the Vosges massif to support the breed, per ici (formerly France Bleu) and Le Guide du Fromage.