Get Wedge-ucated!

As mentioned in a previous post, cheese luminaries Jeffrey Roberts and Laura Werlin will each be leading seminars during The Wedge, the first annual celebration of cheese at the Portland Farmers Market on Sat., Oct. 6.

In the morning, Jeffrey Roberts, author of The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese, will present a seminar on the renaissance of artisanal cheese in the United States with a specific focus on the Northwest, which will include a tasting of several Northwest cheeses. Jeffrey is a co-founder and principal consultant to the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese at the University of Vermont, and is director and treasurer of the national board and a Northeast Regional Governor of Slow Food USA.

Laura Werlin, author of The New American Cheese and the soon-to-be-released Cheese Essentials, will host a 90-minute guided tasting in the afternoon on the eight styles of cheese produced here in the Northwest, which will be paired with local wines. Her website describes her as "an ambassador for American cheese [who] hopes that by spreading the word about the cheeses made in this country, cheese lovers will develop a deeper appreciation for these cheeses as well as for the cheesemakers who work so hard to make them."

If you love artisan cheese and want to talk to two of the major movers in the country, make time for these two seminars. You'll come away with a new appreciation not just for artisan cheese, but for how the movement toward local and sustainable consumption is changing the way people live around the world.

Details: Jeffrey Roberts seminar; 10-11:30 am; $10, reservations only. Laura Werlin seminar; 1-2:30 pm; $20, reservations only. Tickets available online.