Our Visit to Fontenille France

Our partnership goes well beyond the purchase of our products.

We strive to build relationships with the producers, the farmers and the cheesemakers. Visiting our partners and building those relationships allows us to ensure that our expectations and standards are met through the entire process.

Our visit to Fontenille, France gave us the opportunity to watch the process from start to finish, whether that was observing the ageing process within the Beillvaire caves or the artistic hands of the artisanal cheesemakers. The attention to detail and the passion displayed by the 10 employees at the facility truly show through to the end product.

About Beillvaire Fontenille:

A family run business for over 40 years, Beillvaire cheese dairy was created as a company with a unique business model, bringing together the entire sector from producer to consumer. 

Beillvaire owns and operates four production facilities, three affinage cellars and have created direct and exclusive relationships with over 200 farmstead cheesemakers. Of their four production facilities, we were fortunate enough to visit their operations most recently in Fontenille, France.

Nestled in the middle of the “goat’s land” in the Poitou region, Fontenille is the specialty goat’s/sheep's milk cheese workshop. With just ten employees, everyone shares the same passion for making and producing the finest artisan products, focusing mainly on soft-ripened, geotrichum rinded cheese. Prior to production, the goat’s milk is collected from six farms surrounding the creamery, no more than 15 km away and is delivered (still warm) daily. The sheep’s milk is collected from a local group of bio sheep farmers and delivered twice a week. At Fontenille, all cheeses are made to order with pasteurized milk and hand scooped molds to ensure the freshest product possible.

Below are some of our current favorites from Fromagerie now available through Chef Cube Classics.

Long Blanc:
Made from pasteurized goat’s milk, Long Blanc has a beautiful geotrichum rind and is both dense and decadent. The flavors are perfectly balanced with slightly savory, with earthy, mineral notes and possess a zesty tang and a bright, fresh finish.

Chevre Frais w/ Herbs and Pink Peppercorns
A soft, creamy, rind less cheese with just the slightest tang of goat’s milk and an uncharacteristic sweetness. This French creation is covered in fresh green herbs - tarragon and thyme, along with pink peppercorns - all of which add a distinctive flavor to the subtle, moist cheese.

Chevre Aux Flower
A soft, creamy, rind less cheese coated in dried flowers including rose petals, cornflowers, strawberry flowers and marigolds. This creamy chevre is bright and creamy, with herbal & citrus tones, and notes of fresh herbs and grass.

Chevre Aux Fruit Cranberry
A soft, creamy, rind less cheese coated in an abundance of dried, tart cranberries.