This Month Cheese Club features 3 Quebec cheeses. La Normandinoise is a family-run Fromagerie from Normandin QC, Fromagerie Rang 9 located in the Plessisville region at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains and Located in La Sarre in Abitibi, La Vache à Maillotte. Enjoy!
FROMAGERIE LA NORMANDINOISE, Normandin, QC
La Normandinoise is a family-run Fromagerie budding from the family dairy farm dating back to 1979. In 2006, the couple Hélène Cadieux and Yvon Fortin founded the fromagerie to integrate their sons, Vincent and Maxime, into their company and thus continue the adventure with the third generation. The cheese factory produces farmhouse type cheese, made only from milk from the family farm.
Le Maria Chapdelaine
- Type of milk: pasteurized cow’s milk
- Texture: Soft
Tasting notes
This soft cheese with with a white and fluffy bloomy rind is made from whole pasteurized milk. Its interior ranges from cream to ivory in colour with a smooth, creamy and velvety texture. This brie type is mild, buttery with a subtle taste of almonds.
Pairing opportunities:
The best way to savour le Maria Chapdelaine would be with a fresh baguette and a full-bodied Chardonnay . If you want to drink red, go for a medium-bodied Pinot Noir. Beer drinkers may want to pair it with a blonde ale.
FROMAGERIE RANG 9, Plessiville , Québec
Fromagerie Rang 9 is located in the Plessisville region of Quebec at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains. This area provides the ideal climate for growing forage crops, and as a result produces dairy cows of exceptional quality. It is from these local dairy farms that Fromagerie Rang 9 buys the high-quality milk used to make their cheeses.
Le Louis Dubois
- Type of milk: pasteurized cow’s milk
- Texture: Semi-firm
Tasting notes
Le Louis Dubois is ripened on pine wood boards, and the result is a deliciously pronounced savoury flavour and aroma, as well as a uniform rind with a pleasing colour. Made from a milk of incomparable quality, this lactose-free cheese is aged, hand-rubbed and hand-washed with an expertly blended enzymatic that leaves an array of tastes on the palate, going from lightly fruity to hints of wild mushrooms, always maintaining its slightly woodsy bouquet. 
Pairing opportunities:
This cheese pairs well with a light citrusy beer such the previously suggested ale. When choosing a white wine, the previously suggested Chardonnay would be good choice. A pinot gris is also a good choice. If you prefer a red wine, try the previously suggested Pinot Noir or Beaujolais.
Fromagerie La Vache à Maillotte, La Sarre, Québec
Located in La Sarre in Abitibi, La Vache à Maillotte is the very symbol of Quebec country cheeses made with sheep’s milk and raw cow’s milk. The company sets itself apart by its creative and innovative approach that is deeply rooted in the countryside’s traditions – the same traditions used in the art of creating, making and introducing people to quality cheeses of unparalleled taste.
Le Batisseur
- Type of milk: non-pasteurized cow’s milk
- Texture: Firm
Tasting notes
Le Bâtisseur is a firm washed natural rind with a pale-yellow, firm paste dotted with a multitude of small, irregular openings. This cheese has buttery, lightly fruity aromas, with notes of nuts, mace, and malt. However, closer to the rind, aromas of wild mushrooms can be detected.
Pairing opportunities
Again, this cheese would pair well with the previously suggested white and red wine and the blonde ale.