Six Places Cheese Lovers Should Visit

Ancient caves, monasteries, and other must-sees for fromage fans

- Sam O'Brien

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT CHEESE that elicits a kind of passion and loyalty unrivalled in the culinary world. That might be why people are willing to traverse mountains, wander through caves, and milk even the most mighty beasts, all in the pursuit of a delicious dairy product.

Beyond the storied, classic purveyors of Brie and burrata, however, there's a vast network of adventurous cheesemakers and afficionados. Here are six places where fans can fulfil their love for fromage.

1 KALTBACH, SWITZERLAND

Kalbach Cave

IN THE UNDULATING green sprawl of an Alpine valley not far from Lucerne, where clouds swim against snowcapped mountains and placid cows graze on verdant meadows, a cave formed from a prehistoric seabed carries a glorious culinary secret.

Many shoppers browsing cheese aisles in grocery stores around the world will recognize the little wedges of Emmi Kaltbach Le Gruyère, with their distinctive black labels featuring a blue company logo and Swiss cross. But few know that the cheese is meticulously aged in the Kaltbach Cave, a tunnel-like sandstone formation inside Santenberg mountain with climatic conditions that are just right for ripening cheese. The cool subterranean labyrinth, said to be 22 million years old, is the natural incubator for up to 1,20,000 wheels of cheese, mostly Gruyère and Emmental.

Stacked shelves stretching more than one-and-a-half kilometers hold the cheese at a temperature of 12.5 degrees Celsius year round, and the cool waters of the river (Kaltbach means 'cold river') that runs through the cave keep humidity levels at around 96 per cent. The cave's unique climate and the interaction between the sandstone's mineral deposits and the cheese create a distinctive flavor and aroma, and give the rinds their signature dark brown color.