The local cheeses of Brda with the local wines that suit them, and why they work.
The cheeses of Brda with the wines made beside them. Pairings marked as a local tradition are the ones a regional source names; the rest are our own picks, and say so.
Rebula and Rebula-led blends left on their skins gain tannin and a dry, grippy, savoury texture that an aged Tolminc, sweet and piquant, can lean on, while the wine's acidity cuts the fat of the firm paste.
Bottles to try:
Fresh acidity in a full-bodied Rebula cuts the fat of a firm wheel, and the wine's weight stands up to a paste that grows more intense with age. Best with a Tolminc aged well beyond the 60-day minimum.
Bottles to try:
A dry Brda sparkling wine made by the traditional method gains depth from its time on the lees, and its high acidity and fine bubbles cut the fat of an aged hard cheese like Tolminc between slices.
Bottles to try:
Albuminska skuta is a soft whey cheese, mild and naturally sweet from the lactose left in the whey. A dry, light to medium-bodied Rebula with high acidity lifts the soft curd without covering it, on bread or with herbs.
Bottles to try:
Whites fermented or macerated on their skins gain texture, a light grip and a drier, more savoury edge. That suits a Tolminc aged past its 60-day minimum, sweet and piquant, better than a fresh white would.
Bottles to try:
A full-bodied Brda Merlot, with ripe dark fruit and medium to firm tannin, can stand up to a mature wheel, whose fat and salt soften the grip. Keep to older, harder Tolminc: a young one would be overrun.
Bottles to try:
Tolminc is sweet and piquant, and grows richer and more aromatic with time on wooden shelves. A dry Brda Chardonnay, medium to full in body, matches the firm paste with its weight and orchard fruit, and its acidity cuts the fat.
Bottles to try:
An aged Tolminc, sweet and piquant with a firm paste, needs a red with weight. Brda's oak-aged blends of Merlot and the Cabernets are full-bodied, and the cheese's fat and salt soften their tannin. Keep to older wheels.
Bottles to try:
Albuminska skuta is a soft whey cheese, mild and naturally sweet. A dry Brda Malvazija, with floral aromatics and medium to full body, gives the plain curd a lift without overpowering it, especially spread on bread.
Bottles to try:
Albuminska skuta is a soft whey cheese, mild and naturally sweet. A medium-bodied Sivi Pinot with ripe pear and melon sits alongside it without a clash, and its acidity keeps the soft curd from feeling heavy.
Bottles to try:
Kramar suggests its salted skuta mixed with herbs, vegetables and spices as a spread on bread. A dry Jakot (Sauvignonasse) with ripe fruit and some body suits that kind of plate and keeps a mild, soft cheese from tasting flat.
Bottles to try:
Experience at the Valleris winery in the heart of the Collio, with a visit to the wine-making areas and a guided tasting of 4 wines.
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It can be either. The EU specification allows raw or thermised cow's milk (57 to 68 °C) and requires the label to say which was used. Planika, the Kobarid dairy, says its Tolminc is made from thermised milk.
The specification gives a round wheel 23 to 27 cm across and 8 to 9 cm high, weighing 3.5 to 5 kg.
Planika lists the Kmetijska zadruga Tolmin shops, including the one in Nova Gorica, the town beside Brda, among the places that sell its products. For the full range, the dairy's own market and its cheese museum are in Kobarid, a day trip north up the Soča valley.
A whey cheese. Planika makes it from the primary whey left from cheesemaking, where the albumin and globulin proteins are drawn out and set; the dairy calls it a traditional Posočje product known for centuries.
The Kmetijska zadruga Tolmin shop in Nova Gorica says its deli stocks Planika's albumin skuta. Kramar's farm also lists that Nova Gorica cooperative shop among its sales points.
