Flying the flag for Queensland cheesemakers

It's the great dessert divider, but if you believe a cheese platter shouldn't follow dinner, perhaps you've simply not found the right fromage?

Wine's partner in crime is more than just a Sunday afternoon staple but, while the origins of a drop of vino are often a top priority, the source of cheese is not given the deliberation it so deserves. Enter Fino Food and Wine's Michael Dalton, who is on a mission to bolster the love for local cheese.

From the pointy end of the state to the deep south, Queensland is churning out cheeses in a diversity of styles. White, blue, soft, hard – there's a world of mouldy and melty goodness out there.

For cheese novices, Dalton's greatest tip is to rate quality over quantity. "If you're going to do a cheese platter, buy one beautiful piece of cheese," he says.

"Everyone thinks you've got to have a blue, a cheddar and a white mould, but you absolutely don't. One beautiful piece of cheese is a great place to start – and allowing it to come to room temperature is important."

When he first swapped his "sensible job" to start Fino Food and Wine more than a decade ago, Dalton saw a gap in the market for higher-quality artisan food that wasn't reserved for special occasions.

"What the movement in Australia has been all about is if you can relate your food to a local producer, it enriches the experience enormously," he says.

While pioneer Barambah Organics continues to get plenty of play on deli shelves and reap industry accolades for its fresh quark and marinated feta, there's a new wave of cheesemakers putting their stamp on the state's cheese scene.

"The Queensland cheese industry has grown over recent years, particularly at the artisan end of the spectrum," Dalton says.

"In recent years there's been a growth with companies like Olympus Cheese, who've always made cheese locally, and newcomer White Gold Creamery, who are doing some really interesting things and developing a strong connection to the farmers. There's also Woombye Cheese in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. They make a full range of white mould cheese and feta, but are probably best known for their washed-rind cheese."

Other Queensland cheesemakers who have started up in the past 10 years include Fromart on the Sunshine Coast, Gallo and Mungalli Creek in the Atherton Tablelands, Towri sheep's cheese near Beaudesert, Kingaroy Cheese at Kingaroy, Witches Chase at Mount Tamborine, Cedar Street Cheeserie and Maleny Cheese in Maleny, Kenilworth cheese in Kenilworth, Emmo's near Mulgowie, and more.

Cheesemaking – or caseiculture – is a deep-rooted vocation. Pasteurising, inoculating, knowing your curds from your whey – it's a pain-staking process that requires a great deal of passion.

Trevor Hart of Cedar Street Cheeserie can testify to this. The former musician gave up a life of touring to enjoy the rural spoils of the Sunshine Coast hinterland, but Hart is just as hands-on with his work now as he was in his trumpeting days.

Hart errs towards the traditional side of cheesemaking, describing it as a "sensory process".

"I tend to use less and less instruments," he says. "I'm relying more on my senses of smell, sight, taste and touch to see how the batch of cheese is coming along."

Cedar Street's creamy buffalo milk cheeses prove there is clearly method in his madness, but what makes an accomplished muso swap a life of travel for one in white gumboots?

"I thought cheesemaking would be a challenge," Hart says. "Rather than starting up a business just for money making, I wanted something that would keep my interest and would allow me to keep learning.

"There's always something to learn in cheesemaking – it's a simple thing but it's a complex thing and it's still a rewarding challenge."

Cheese and wine matching tips

It's the age old-question, what wine should you serve with cheese? Wine writer Tony Harper of Craft Wine Shop in Red Hill says that generally it's not red.

"Lots of people get to the end of the meal, bring out the cheese and crack open a bottle of red, but it's the worse thing you can do - it just kills the cheese.

"Generally go for a white and something like a racy riesling, which will span the whole range from fresh curd cheese to pungent goat's cheese. A dry chenin blanc with an acid spine and tight fruit works well too."

Harper suggests the following pairings.

Blue cheese: A botrytis or an off-dry riesling.

Triple cream: Something bone dry like a young riesling.

Haloumi or feta: An off-dry or fruity riesling or a sauvignon blanc.

Goat's cheese: Sauvignon blanc.

Cheddar: This is when you can bring out your red, especially when it's an aged cheddar. The classic English match would be pomerol or a lush red but a juicy temperanillo would do the job.

​Cheesy does it during Queensland Good Food Month, presented by Citi, with For the Love of Wine and Cheese events at various venues until Sunday, August 9, brisbane.goodfoodmonth.com.