Price range: £2.95 through £17.70
Fresh, crumbly and wonderfully moreish, Yorkshire Wensleydale PGI has a gentle milky sweetness and distinctive lemony tang. A proper Yorkshire classic — and one Wallace would certainly approve of.
There are some cheeses that are so firmly connected to a place that it’s almost impossible to imagine one without the other, and Yorkshire Wensleydale is definitely one of them.
Its story goes all the way back to the 12th century, when Cistercian monks settled at Jervaulx Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales. They brought their cheesemaking knowledge with them and began making cheese using sheep’s milk from the surrounding farms. Over time, cow’s milk gradually took over, but the tradition of making this wonderfully fresh, crumbly cheese remained.
When the monasteries were dissolved in the 16th century, cheesemaking didn’t disappear with the monks. Local farmers carried on making Wensleydale in their own farmhouses, passing the skills from one generation to the next.
Like so many of our traditional British cheeses, however, Wensleydale had a rather rocky 20th century. Production became increasingly industrialised and in 1992 the creamery at Hawes actually closed. Thankfully, a group of local businessmen bought it just a few months later and cheesemaking returned.
And then, rather unexpectedly, along came a man in a green knitted tank top and his dog…
Wallace & Gromit have become so closely associated with Wensleydale that it’s difficult to talk about the cheese without mentioning them.
Creator Nick Park reportedly chose Wensleydale partly because he liked the way the word sounded when Wallace said it. Wallace’s enthusiasm for the cheese went on to introduce Wensleydale to a whole new audience and helped give sales a very welcome boost.
Not many cheeses can claim that a Plasticine inventor and his remarkably patient dog helped secure their future.
But Wensleydale can.
Yorkshire Wensleydale was awarded Protected Geographical Indication status in 2013, protecting the connection between the cheese and the area in which it is made.
The protection means that cheese carrying the name Yorkshire Wensleydale must be produced within the designated area of Wensleydale in North Yorkshire and made according to the agreed specification.
It’s essentially a guarantee that when you buy Yorkshire Wensleydale, you’re buying a cheese with a genuine connection to the place that gave it its name.
Yorkshire Wensleydale is one of those cheeses that doesn’t need to shout to get your attention.
It has that wonderful crumbly-but-moist texture that Wensleydale is famous for. Break a piece off rather than slicing it perfectly and you can see the lovely open texture inside.
The flavour starts fresh and milky, followed by a gentle lactic tang and that distinctive lemony brightness. There’s a little sweetness too, sometimes almost honeyed, with delicate grassy notes underneath.
It isn’t a huge, powerful cheese and it doesn’t need to be. What I love about Wensleydale is its freshness. It’s clean, bright and incredibly easy to go back to.
Jen’s note: I can’t hear the word Wensleydale without hearing Wallace say it in my head. I suspect I’m not alone. There can’t be many cheeses whose fortunes have been helped quite so much by a man made of Plasticine and his dog.
Sizes and Prices
Storage Advice
Delivery and Collection
Ingredients (Allergens are listed in capitals)
MILK, salt, starter cultures, vegetarian rennet
Normal opening Monday – Saturday 9am – 4pm until:
Sunday 22nd 9am – 4pm
Monday 23rd 9am – 4pm
Christmas Eve 9am – 12pm
Christmas Day Closed
Boxing Day Closed
Friday 27th Closed
Saturday 28th 9am – 4pm
Sunday 29th Closed
Monday 30th 9am – 2pm
Tuesday 31st 9am – 2pm
New Year’s Day Closed
Thursday 2nd January Closed
Friday 3rd 9am – 4pm then open as normal
After Christmas our courier delivery slots start from 8th January.
