Like a fine wine, cheese takes on the terroir, or the natural production environment, where it is produced. So, how does one begin to make excellent tasting cheese? It starts with the animal from where the milk that becomes the cheese comes, but first it starts from the grass and grains that the animal eats. In our case, I’m going to focus on sheep’s milk cheese. And so, think about the spring when the grasses are the greenest.

This sheep, pictured, is grazing at the beginning of April in Trapani province. She’s enjoying some sweet, fresh grass.