By Gordon Edgar—
As a cheesemonger, it is my duty to tell you that it’s November. No, I don’t know how we got here so fast either. I could have sworn summer just started last week.
The year might have rushed by, but the good news is that the super-special cheeses will be arriving in the next couple of weeks. Here is a rundown of things to look for if you want to try some special tastes that only come around for a few months a year. Again, not all of these are on shelves in the Bay Area yet, but, by mid-month, you should be able to find them.
Bark-Wraps!
These are seasonal cheeses wrapped in spruce bark. They are meant to be eaten as a full wheel—you can just cut off the top and spoon out the deliciousness. Because of the price, we do sell halves, but if you can splurge this winter, these are a great way to do it.
Rush Creek
This is a raw milk, bark-wrapped cheese from Uplands Creamery in Wisconsin. The bark—on Rush Creek and the other bark-wrapped cheeses I will mention—holds the oozy cheese together but also infuses an earthy, deep flavor that gives all of these cheeses more complexity than other soft-ripened varieties. Rush is a cheesemonger’s cheese, and pretty much every monger I know buys one for themselves for Thanksgiving if they celebrate.
Winnimere
This barked beauty is from Jasper Hill in Vermont. The season is longer than Rush Creek’s—usually here through March at least—and this is just as special. I mean, hey, it won Best of Show at the American Cheese Society Judging and Competition in 2023! It is mustardy, grassy, rich, buttery, and dank.
Queen of the Woods
From Green Dirt Farm in Missouri, this is a sheep’s milk bark-wrap that, as far as I know, is the only sheep’s milk bark-wrapped cheese in the U.S. Butterier up front than the cow’s milk ones, it still has a depth of flavor that is hard to top for a pasteurized sheep cheese.
Chaudron and Vallée de la Joie
From Switzerland, these can be a little less predictable to keep in stock due to transport complications, but these are the OGs of bark-wrapped cheese. They are more intense and often oozier than the American versions. Look out for these later this month.
Alpine Cheeses and Alpine Styles
These are melters and will improve any cooked dish, but don’t sleep on eating them straight or putting them on a cheese board.
Gruyère Alpage
Once a year, we get cheese from the highest elevation of the Alps, known as alpage. The milk for these comes from cows who travel up the mountains and eat the varied grasses and flowers available only in the spring and summer months. The cheese is floral, oniony, and grassy.
Beaufort Alpage
This is the French King of the Alps, more nutty than strong, and it melts like you want all cheeses to melt. Not a lot of the alpage comes to the U.S., so we even get mongers from other places coming in to buy it for personal use.
Pleasant Ridge Reserve
OK, this is the one non-seasonal cheese I slipped in here because, despite winning the ACS Best of Show more than any other cheese, it is still underappreciated. It’s the best American Alpine-style cheese, made seasonally when the pasture grass in Wisconsin is at its best. “One herd. One day. One batch.” This is a true artisanal product.
Other Cheeses Not to Miss
Brabander Reserve
We wait for this release every year. It is a specially aged goat Gouda from the Netherlands, aged at Fromagerie L’Amuse in Amsterdam. This cheese is only available in November and December, and, for a lot of folks, it’s become a holiday food tradition. Come see why!
Mariana
This Wisconsin sheep tomme is so good. It is luscious, milky-sweet, grassy, earthy, and balanced. The cheese hails from Blakesville Creamery, which is making some of the best cheese out there these days.
Meredith Dairy Marinated Sheep and Goat Cheese
We carry this all the time, but we will have it on sale in November until we blow through our 50 cases. I want to note that this is the original sheep/goat blend—not the goat-only version you might find elsewhere—and this may be the perfect party cheese. It’s messy; you might stain your clothes while you dip things in the jar to consume every last drop of oil, but it’s worth it!
Gordon Edgar loves cheese and worker co-ops and has been combining these infatuations as the cheese buyer for Rainbow Grocery Cooperative since 1994. He is Vice Chair of the American Cheese Society Judging and Competition Committee and is a member of the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers. Edgar has written two books on cheese—”Cheesemonger” (2010) and “Cheddar” (2015)—and lives in San Francisco with his adorable white mini schnauzer named Fillmore Grumble. He writes about grief, and sometimes cheese, at https://bit.ly/42IwYf0
Over the Rainbow Cheese Counter
Published on November 5, 2026
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