What is the state of Vermont known for?
To me, cheese and maple syrup. So, of course, while I was in the area I decided to stop by the closest cheese shoppe and see what they had to offer. Yeah, I’ve had Cabot, but what else is there?
Grafton Village Cheese Company (Twitter handle: @GraftonCheese) operates two retail shops, one in Grafton and one in Brattleboro, Vermont. I had a chance to stop by the Brattleboro shop and sample various cheeses produced by the company. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to see the team hard at work, making the cheese, through the viewing windows at the back of the store.
As soon as you enter the shoppe, you’re greeted by friendly staff standing behind a large sampling table of most of the cheeses Grafton produces. And so I stood in queue and sampled sharp cheddar, aged cheddar, flavored cheddar, cheddar crackers, and various dipping sauces.
Here’s their impressive list of cheeses to sample:
Aged Cheddars
Premium One-Year Cheddar
Classic Reserve Two-Year Cheddar
Grafton Gold Three Year Cheddar
Four Star Four-Year Cheddar
Flavored Cheddars
Garlic Cheddar
Horseradish Cheddar
Maple Smoked Cheddar
Sage Cheddar
Specialty Cheddars
Grafton Duet
Cave-Aged Clothbound Cheddar
My favorites: Sage cheddar, the 2- and 4-year cheddars
Beyond artisanal cheese, the shoppe also has a fine selection of wine and beer for purchase, as well as other Vermont products to pair with your cheese purchase.
If you can’t get to Vermont, no worries, you can buy their cheese from their website. I’ve also seen their cheeses sold at Whole Foods Market.
