This cheese is GOAT! Literally. Montasio Festivo is a delicious aged goat cheese with a firm texture – not like the creamy goat cheese you’d find in your strawberry and balsamic salad. Paula Lambert, the renowned cheesemaker and founder of Mozzarella Company, produces some of the best Hispanic-influenced cheeses on this side of the border, and this one is no exception. Bold and assertive with a nutty roundness, it’s rubbed with an ancho chile/olive oil paste to form a thin, dark red rind and unmistakable aroma. Yep, it really IS the Greatest. Of. All. Time.

TIP OF THE TONGUE

Typically, delicate fresh goat cheeses go best with sparkling or white wine, but because this one’s aged, it can stand up to the tannins in a red.