Cheese
Where it began
When we purchased the winery in 2011 there was an existing 800 square foot space at the North end of the building that was perfectly suited for a small cheesemaking facility. The decision couldn’t have been easier, Shana Miller (co-owner/head cheesemaker) having previously helped design and produce cheese at Poplar Grove Cheese, jumped at the chance to do it again and designed the present Creamery to meet the rigorous standards of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) SFFC and for optimal production and facilitation of affinage (the process of caring for ripening cheese).
Our focus
In this small space we are able to have separate caves in which to age our small batch hand-crafted artisan cheese. Each batch is meticulously cared for by our team of experienced cheesemakers. Our focus is on our bloomy, washed and blue rind cheese, but we also play with natural, ashed, wine soaked rinds when it suits our fancy! We have Canada’s only Wine & Cheese Club so we love sharing our creations with our valued Club members. You will find our cheese in our retail shop, online and in select restaurants and retail locations. For wholesale inquiries please email cheeseATupperbenchDOTca
Our process
Our cheesemaking process begins with the highest quality ingredients including 100% pasteurized milk that we source directly from D Dutchman Dairy. The milk is transformed into curd, then into cheese by the end of the day (or two depending on the particular cheese being made). The cheese is then salted and moved to one of our caves to age (ripen) over a period of time, each cheese requires different affinage. Our cheesemakers carefully control temperature and humidity to coax the best out of each batch of Upper Bench cheese.
