National Wine & Cheese Day - Scotland
July 26th, 2021
Though Scotland may not come to mind right away when thinking of countries most well-known for its wines and cheeses, we still wanted to highlight this country in honor of National Wine and Cheese Day and to bring out some of its hidden little treasures.
Wineries in Scotland
It is not uncommon for people to assume that Scotland’s climate makes it unsuitable for growing wine grapes, and though it is partially true, there are still a handful of wineries around Scotland and more might come about in the future.
Chateau Largo
This winery is located just north of Edinburgh in the Fife region, which is close to the sea with rolling hills and has a warmer climate. Chateau Largo released its first wine in 2015, and currently is the most well-known winery in Scotland. This winery was founded by Christopher Trotter who is a local chef in Scotland and always wanted to start up a winery there. He did his research and after doing so planted 200 hybrid grapevines that would do well in the climate of Scotland. He released his first wine in 2015 and though some critics said that it was undrinkable, due to certain winemaking issues, Trotter was still happy with the release because he was able to prove that wine can be produced in Scotland with locally grown grapes. He still continues to improve on his wines in order to produce great, quality wine originating from Scotland.
Château Hebrides
This is quite a small, local winery selling its wines only at local farmer’s markets, but it is still a wonderful winery to highlight. This winery was started by Donald Hope who planted 20 Black Muscat vines and makes wine from them. It is said that his wines are quite delectable.
It is also key to note that Scotland has non-winegrape wineries as well. There are several of those, such as the Cairn O’Mohr Winery which specializes in fruit and plant-based wines, the Orkney Wine Company which specializes in fruit and vegetable wines, and the Highland Winery which specializes in mead and fruit-based wines. These wineries are more well-established than Scotland’s grape-based wineries and boast lovely wines.
Cheeses of Scotland
Scottish cheese almost faced complete extinction, but thankfully it has made a great comeback! By 1974 the last person gave up on Scottish Farmhouse Cheese-making and it seemed as though Scottish cheese-making days had come to an end, but lo and behold in the 1980s several farmers returned to cheese-making, and slowly but surely others joined in. Currently, there are several yummy cheeses you can get that are Scottish made, such as the St Andrew’s Cheddar or the Anster Cheddar, but today we will just look closely at the two older cheeses:
Criffel:
This cheese was created in 1985 during the revival period of Scottish cheese-making and still holds a special place. This cheese is rich and over the course of three months breaks down to become a cheese with a very supple and creamy texture.
Lanark
Blue:Similarly to the cheese above, this cheese also made its appearance in 1985. This cheese is made from sheep milk and is produced in Lanarkshire. The cheese is a rich, blue-veined variety.
During National Wine & Cheese Day we urge you to remember the little hidden treasures for wines and cheese as well and not just focus on the countries that we know best! Show the love and appreciation for everyone!