The Beginning of the Never-Ending Citoux

This morning we woke up for our next day trip! At 9am, we departed for the Cote d’Or, about a 2 hour bus ride north. Around 11am we pulled up at the Gougry cheese production facility where they make the much anticipated Epoisses! This is a relatively stinky cheese, so we can say that walking into the building was nothing short of a big slap in the face. If anyone was sleepy from the bus ride… they weren’t anymore, that’s for sure.

We were warmly greeted and watched several videos which provided the details of the production process. We learned that Epoisses are made from the milk of 3 different breeds of cattle, Brune, Simmental, and Montbeliarde, which are combined raw and delivered to the processing facility every morning. Also, in a building adjacent to the factory, the whey waste-product of the cheese-production process is broken down to methane by bacteria which is used as an energy supply for the factory!  We all loved this use of bacteria to transform waste into something readily useful—how efficient! The curds are drained in molds, then further drained on wire racks after a generous sprinkling of salt.

We got to see the workers hand washing each cheese. Yes, all the cheeses, one-by-one, for several seconds, rubbed and shaped by hand, no gloves—to be reset on the wire racks, glistening with a fresh coat of water and Marc du Bourgougne.

We tore ourselves away from the viewing windows, eager to finally taste the Epoisses! We passed through the factory store, which had lots of goodies: dried meats, candies, honey, spreads, and, of course, a wide assortment of cheeses. We weren’t able to visit the Citoux Abbey and observe their cheese production, but this store had several wheels of Citoux stocked, one of which Cathy purchased for our picnic that afternoon. This store also had yogurt: a whole section. MY FAVORITE. I’m not kidding. I couldn’t resist buying a few: one plain, and one with visible specks of vanilla bean in it.

Back to the Epoisses. We entered the tasting room, where laid out for us on a long wooden table were prepared plates with 5 cheese wedges, small glasses of red wine, and big baskets of chewy, crisp, delicious bread. Hmm, don’t mind if I do!

The cheeses on our plates, we were instructed, clockwise from the one with the knife in it was Soumaintrain (washed in water), Plaisir au Chablis (washed in white wine), Ami du Chambertin (produced by similar method as Epoisses, but from a neighboring region), Epoisses (washed in Marc of Bourgougne and water), and Cendre de Vergy  (Epoisses rolled in vegetable ash). The cheeses were delicious. 

I think my favorite that morning was the Soumaintrain. However, I was slightly disappointed that the cheeses were still slightly chilled when served. They weren’t at their peak yet either, and should have been tasted at a gooey, room temperature. Well, after a full plate of cheese, it was time to depart for lunch: more cheese, of course!

We climbed back into the bus and ascended the mountainside, where we arrived at a few picnic tables on a hill. We set up the picnic, which included fresh bread, our new Citoux round, a Pyrenes cheese (cow and sheeps milk blend), a gooey St. Felicien, a perfectly ripe cantaloupe, and bottle of pinot noir. When we couldn’t eat any more, we cracked open a sleeve of Les Nonnettes de Dijon, which were tasty, sugar-glazed ginger cakes. We’ve come to accept that as a group, we have extra dessert stomachs always on standby for the end of the meal. 

And, now that we really were stuffed, we went on a brief walk up the mountain to visit a statue titled, “The Waking of Napoleon” before getting back onto the bus.

Laura and I in the vineyard.

Our next stop was the vineyard which was initiated by monks who had broken away from the Cluniac order in order to rededicate themselves to strict life of work and prayer. These monks worked with wine and it was here that the concept of terroir was developed. It was really cool to stand in the same place where monks had hundreds of years ago when they’d developed the concept which is today considered to be central to wine character.

 

                                                         Model of an old grape press.

 

Me with an old wooden
fermentation vat. These
were huge!

We were not done yet! We drove over to a small Chateau which was another Abbot retreat. Since there were no tours or anything planned, we spent most of the time admiring several statues which scattered the garden grounds.

 

Finally, we visited a local dairy, Fromagerie Delin, where they make several varieties of cows milk cheeses, many of which were originally created at the facility itself. We couldn’t tour the process because the setup of the buildings for the production process was not suitable for tourists viewing pleasure. So, we spoke with one of the workers, and took a peak inside their cheese shop where they sold several other cheeses in addition to the ones they produced.

 

We then made the 2 hour drive back to Cluny. I went for a quick run to break out of my sleepy daze before dinner with the group. After so much cheese and bread throughout the day, I was itching for something green on my plate. I enjoyed a perfect “Salade Siciliane” with artichokes, olives, and sundried tomatoes alongside a fresh tomato and zucchini salad.

Tomorrow, is the farmer’s market, which I’m very excited and nervous for. I’m anxious to purchase some fruits and vegetables but will I be able to communicate with the vendors? Perhaps I should practice several phrases before venturing out in the morning….