https://www.fareroutes.co/stories daily 0.75 2025-04-08 https://www.fareroutes.co/stories/legruyere monthly 0.5 2025-04-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66abe94b919be229c06a477a/d26e657b-13cd-4dea-bc88-ba19f10fdc66/IMG_1691.jpg STORIES - The Land of Le Gruyere AOP The (Alpage) Maker The air is damp and chilly and the scenery is a cascade of deep green grass and foggy trees as our bus winds its way up a steep mountain. We arrive at what seems to be the road’s end (it’s not) and unfurl from the van into a wooden cottage warmed by an open fire. That open fire heats raw milk that will soon become Le Gruyère AOP Alpage. Martial Rod, the cheesemaker at Alpage de la Moesettaz in Le Brassus, is already working, and he’s likely been awake and at it for many, many hours. Like Jotterand, Rod’s son (albeit taller and older than Jotterand’s boy) is helping his dad. We are standing in the make room. Adjacent is the family’s kitchen. Upstairs is the rest of their home. The cows graze in pastures just down the road. This is Alpage cheesemaking, where makers who live in mountain chalets produce small, handcrafted batches of Le Gruyère AOP Alpage during summer months. You may have heard of transhumance, the communal practice of moving cows from lowlands to higher elevations at the beginning of summer so animals can graze on fresh and floral mountain grass. Alpage makers produce cheese with summer milk to impart a distinct taste of terroir. It’s a practice deeply ingrained in Swiss culture, and one that marks this style of Le Gruyère AOP as unique. Rod drains grainy curds from a copper vat and pours them into molds just feet from the fire that heated the milk. Notably, this is quite a small make room—nothing like the network of rooms we previously toured with large machines and a dozen workers. However, the make process is similar: raw milk, cultures and rennet, cutting curd, molding (with “Alpage” added to the Le Gruyère branding), pressing (this time with cloth inside the mold), stamping, salting, and aging. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66abe94b919be229c06a477a/b11ab40b-9099-4e59-bab5-3442f21d0c3a/IMG_1787.jpg STORIES - The Land of Le Gruyere AOP - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66abe94b919be229c06a477a/2ed2c67c-652f-42ba-8fd8-e97ef11289d3/IMG_1557+copy.jpg STORIES - The Land of Le Gruyere AOP - Make it stand out Nicolas Schmoutz carefully navigates the swirling curd cutters to check curd formation and texture. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66abe94b919be229c06a477a/9af9c5ee-2c44-477a-a5c2-49723f8bc173/IMG_1710.jpg STORIES - The Land of Le Gruyere AOP - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66abe94b919be229c06a477a/b2605b02-c452-45ea-b117-225825b05043/IMG_1473.jpg STORIES - The Land of Le Gruyere AOP - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66abe94b919be229c06a477a/2a40538c-94d3-41aa-bd32-f58478497688/Nicolas+Jotterand.jpg STORIES - The Land of Le Gruyere AOP The Dairy Farmer Nicolas Jotterand is a Master Breeder of Holstein cows in Biere, Switzerland, a canton of Vaud, who works hard to maintain a family tradition of exclusively providing quality raw milk to the makers who will produce Le Gruyère AOP. And like many farmers, his teenage son is planning to follow in his footsteps. Nicolas is passionate about his craft, proudly displaying a splash of prize ribbons and awards in the relaxed gathering space just above a stable where cows munch on grass and grain. His ladies (the cows) have won dozens upon dozens of accolades over the years. Jotterand is also vice president of Holstein Switzerland, an organization devoted to taking care of Holstein breeders and farmers that’s been around for over 125 years. As Jotterand explains the ins and outs of his operation, the group I’m touring with oohs and aahs over a just-born calf snuggled near her mother in a nearby enclosure. He opens the gate and lets us pet her. The mother nervously watches as Jotterand tells us the calf will be separated from her mom later that day after colostrum has waned and the calf is steadily walking. Then, he leads us over to a huge pit of manure that’s been mixed into a mud pie-like slurry. This resourceful method of reserving waste will keep him from using chemicals when fertilizing the fields these cows graze. As the tour passes back through the barn, Jotterand heartily pats the sole bull in the first stall, and stops to explain the process of insemination. These are the steps in the life of dairy farming from birth to earth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66abe94b919be229c06a477a/d8f45885-098f-42ce-9dbd-fb7ba288d6ef/IMG_1623.jpg STORIES - The Land of Le Gruyere AOP - Michaud’s job is to ensure Le Gruyère AOP is aged in accordance with centuries-old tradition. Wheels are inspected using all five senses: Sound: A small hammer is used to lightly tap across the surface of the wheel. Affineurs are carefully listening for any defects that may have occurred during aging. Sight: The color of the rind and paste must be visually consistent with Le Gruyère AOP standards. Touch: Depending on the age of the wheel, consistency in texture is key. Smell: Lactic, floral, toasted, spicy, vegetable, or animal may be present, depending on the age of the wheel. Taste: Bitter, acidic, sweet, and salty, are notes only an expert affineur can detect that describe the subtle nuances of flavor required for Le Gruyère AOP to pass inspection. After tapping a wheel with his knuckles, Michaud uses a cheese trier (a corkscrew-type tool that’s plugged into the rind and removes a small sample from the wheel) to pass around bite-sized pieces of Le Gruyère AOP. This is a younger wheel, and the cheese is pliable with a smooth exterior, creamy mouthfeel, and mild, sweet-and-salty flavor. What makes this experience all the better is looking across the expansive cave at stacked wheels soaring to nearly 28 feet high. Each row is roughly 327 feet long, and there are many, many rows inside the roughly five acres of space within the cave. 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