Author Archives: News

Maine Wine Pavilion at the Union Fair

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For those of you who could not stay for the visit to Savage Oakes Winery after the meeting on Monday, here is part 2 of the meeting.

The Maine Wine Guild sponsors a Wine Pavilion at the Union Farm, August 21-27. Last year, they sold tickets for $8 for which attendees received samples of several different Maine wines. It was a huge success, and this year, they would like to add in a Maine Cheese Plate. They will purchase the cheese — they are not looking for donations — and Fair Volunteers will assemble the plates. They are looking to us for cheese suggestions as to what cheeses to put on each plate, and a suggested ticket price. With enough cheesemakers participating, it won’t even add up to that much cheese to commit. Last year, they sponsored a winery a day, with a representative of that winery on hand to answer questions. They would like to do that with cheesemakers, to have a cheesemaker or two a day on hand. They would also welcome the Cheese Guild’s display, and would make the suggested wine and cheese pairings.

I think this is a tremendous opportunity to spotlight Maine cheese with a minimum of effort on our part. I would be willing to be the drop-off point for any cheeses (I’m only five miles away from the Fairgrounds).

If you are interested, either let me know, and I will pass along your contact info, or contact Elmer and Holly Savage directly at [email protected]

Caitlin

Meeting: Appleton Creamery, June 20

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We’ll be firing up the pizza oven, so bring your favorite toppings! After the meeting is over, we have a tour scheduled at nearby Savage Oakes Winery, so bring some of your cheeses to taste against their wines. It should be a fun-packed day! Also to discuss: updates to the ACS conference, Common Ground Fair, and our non-profit paperwork.

See you there!

Yogurt Shelf Life?

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This just came into the Guild mailbox:

“I make yogurt in a licensed creamery and we’ve been seeing huge (infinite?) shelf lives for our yogurt, upwards of four weeks in the fridge, with a tangier taste but nothing evil going on. We’re currently putting a 2-week expiration date on our yogurt that we sell in stores, but we are tempted to make this date longer or to change wording so that retailers feel comfortable letting stock hang around. I’m curious to see if anyone in the cheese guild has had any experience with this issue, as there apparently aren’t any state guidelines to which we can refer, and the MMDC doesn’t bring up shelf life, either.

Thanks very much for any help you can offer.”