Waitrose have launched the first British cheese washed in English sparkling wine and it’s made in Henley.

Nettlebed Creamery has been banging Henley’s foodie drum for quite sometime now with their award winning cheeses Bix, Highmoor and Witheridge made at the creamery in Nettlebed.

They can now add premium supermarket Waitrose’s No.1 Leckford Wash Cheese which is rind-washed in Leckford Estate Brut to their line up of outstanding cheeses.

The Leckford Wash cheese is lovingly made by Nettlebed Creamery, a family run, organic farm in Henley-on-Thames, owned by Rose Grimond which is on the farm her great-grandfather bought in 1901. Their herd of cows produce organic milk which is used to create this delicious, creamy cheese.

Waitrose Leckford Sparkling Brut is added to a brine solution and each cheese is individually washed by hand. This process is repeated twice weekly to build the depth of flavour, texture and colour – creating a delicious rind which encases the creamy, semi-soft cheese. 

Sarah Miness, Cheese Buyer at Waitrose, said: “We’ve been selling our own label French cheese rind-washed in alcohol since 2013 when we launched Saint Vernier, washed in white wine followed by Berthaut’s Epoisses AOP, washed in Marc de Bourgogne. Being big supporters of British produce, we wanted to create a British rind-washed cheese, to offer our customers variety for their cheese boards and what better to wash the cheese in than our very own Leckford Sparkling Brut.”

Will Torrent, Senior Development Chef at Waitrose, said: “We had fun with the team at Nettlebed experimenting with cheese and different flavour combinations. Wine and cheese is always a winning combination and once we had tried with our fizz we were so excited with the finished product – we wanted our customers to try it!

“This cheese takes a total of three weeks to make and everything is done by hand, so you can be sure your cheese has been made with time, care and a little bit of love.  For best results, let the cheese soften up at room temperature, so the flavours and texture can develop and enjoy by itself, or for a real treat eat it with a glass of Leckford to enhance the flavours even further.”

The tradition of washing cheeses originated in the 16th century when French monks used the method to preserve their cheese, preventing bad rinds. Wine-washing is also common in Northern Italy – the lack of olive oil inspired cheesemakers to preserve wheels in wine instead, with Ubriaco al Prosecco being a traditional ‘drunken’ cheese in Italy. Rind-washing encourages the growth of desired bacteria and leads to a strong aroma and flavoursome cheese. 

Waitrose No.1 Leckford Wash Cheese (£6.50/150g) is available to buy in 281 shops and online from 26th July.

Image credit: Waitrose