Queso de Murcia al vino

Appearance & taste

Queso de Murcia al Vino is cylindrical, with right-angled but not sharp edges and slightly convex sides. It weighs 300 g to 2.6 kg and is at most 19 cm wide and 10 cm high. The rind is thin, smooth, firm and without cracks and has a garnet-red colour that comes from dipping in wine. The paste is firm and elastic, uniform, creamy and melting, matt white, ivory to yellowish in very ripe cheese, and usually without holes. The cheese contains at least 45 % fat and 32 % protein in dry matter.

It smells moderately of milk and goat, and at the rind of red wine or wine cellar. The taste is of medium strength but lingering, mildly acidic and slightly salty, sometimes with notes of goat’s milk, cream and butter. With ripening the acidity decreases, and the salt and aroma become stronger.

The cheese may be sold in portions, slices or grated. Each cheese carries a numbered label from the control body with the logo of the designation.

Production

The milk comes from Murcia goats on farms in the area and must contain at least 4.7 % fat and 3.4 % protein. The goats graze seasonally on the natural vegetation, dominated by bushes and shrubs; these have little nutritional value but, according to the specification, influence the sensory character of the cheese. They also regularly receive by-products of the region: cereal straw, vine leaves, olive branches, almond hulls, citrus pulp, residues from vegetable growing and the canning industry, as well as seeds and lucerne hay.

The curd is washed, pressed and not cooked; the cheese goes into brine and is dipped in red wine during ripening. Milk production, cheesemaking and ripening take place in the area. Portioning, slicing, grating and packaging may also be done outside the area, in plants that comply with the procedural protocol.

Origin & history

The area covers the whole province of Murcia. According to the specification, the region lies in the driest area of Europe; little rain and high temperatures produce a Mediterranean vegetation of shrubs and bushes, with grazing land full of esparto grass, labiates and rockroses, which is used extensively. The Murcia goat is fertile all year round, so the amount of milk varies less over the year; according to the specification, its milk is known for its high fat and protein content, which gives the cheese its creamy, delicate texture.

A book on the Murcia goat from 1922 reports that the cheese eaten in Jumilla and Yecla was also made there and sold as far as Alicante. The milk was coagulated with kid rennet preserved in wine, the paste was filled into small moulds, and during ripening the cheese was salted and repeatedly moistened with wine. A cheese handbook from 1988 records that all goat keepers in the region traditionally made goat’s cheese for the family and for local sale. According to the specification, dipping in wine is an age-old method documented in the region that distinguishes the cheese from other Spanish cheeses.