Life

Whole Foods Is Putting A Different Cheese On Sale For 12 Days This Holiday Season

by Mia Mercado
Whole Foods' 12 Days of Cheese Deals is back for 2019.
Courtesy of Whole Foods

Cheese fiends and lactose-tolerant friends, feast your eyes on this good and cheesy news: the Whole Foods’ 12 Days of Cheese deal is back for yet another year. If you’re looking to up your cheese board game — or just need an excuse to stock your fridge with every dairy product available — this is the deal you seek.

Starting Dec. 12 and running through Dec. 23, Whole Foods is offering up to 50% off of select artisanal cheese. Yes, ~artisanal~ cheeses. You’re not getting half-off deals on some low-fat string cheese or a block of pseudo-American cheese that reads more as “yellow chemicals” than cheese. The deal includes cheese from award-winning makers like Rogue Creamery, which won the 2019-2020 World Cheese Award. (It was the first time an American cheese won the award. It is basically cheese royalty.)

Like in years past, you’ll have to act quickly if you see a cheese you like as each of the 12 cheeses is only on sale during their one designated day. “Our team is thrilled for the return of 12 Days of Cheese because we have the opportunity to showcase some truly delicious, diverse and innovative cheeses at an incredible value,” Cathy Strange, Whole Foods Market’s vice president of specialty, product innovation and development, said in an emailed press release. “The list of 12 cheeses that we’ve curated includes a few award-winning cheeses and a few exclusive cheeses you can only get at your local Whole Foods Market. Each one is unique and will make a delicious addition to any holiday occasion.” Each cheese will hold a special cheese place in your special cheese heart. Or, at the very least, a generous portion of your plate this holiday season.

Whole Foods

Without further ado, let’s meet the cheeses:

  • Dec. 12: Roth Pavino. Whole Foods describes this cheese as “rich, earthy, medium-firm Alpine cheese with notes of sweet hazelnut.” It’s also a Whole Foods exclusive.
  • Dec. 13: Istara P’tit Basque. This is a creamy and smooth aged sheep milk cheese. It’s got a mild nutty flavor and a subtly sweet finish.
  • Dec. 14: Uplands Cheese Pleasant Ridge Reserve. If you like Gruyère and Beaufort and want to expand your cheese palate, this is the cheese you should try.
  • Dec. 15: Neal’s Yard Dairy Keen’s Cheddar. This is dense, creamy cheddar with flavors, as Whole Foods describes, “ranging from fruity to sweet butterscotch.”
  • Dec. 16: Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog: This is a goat’s milk cheese that has a ribbon of edible ash through its center. In other words, she’s a statement cheese.
  • Dec. 17: Emmi Cave Aged Le Gruyère. This firm, almost crumbly, Alpine cheese has notes of fruit and nuts.
  • Dec. 18: Sweet Grass Dairy Thomasville Tomme. This is a semi-firm cheese with earthy flavors.
  • Dec. 19: Mitica Cordobes. This is Spanish cheese is rich, buttery, and exclusive to Whole Foods.
  • Dec. 20: Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue. This cheese comes from the aforementioned award-winning Rogue Creamery.
  • Dec. 21: Klare Melk Truffle Gouda. What cheese board couldn’t benefit from a creamy, buttery gouda? Add the earthy truffles and you’ve got yourself a near-perfect cheese.
  • Dec. 22: Cellars at Jasper Hill Harbison with Prosecco. Exclusive to Whole Foods, this cheese has notes of mustard and citrus. Also, it probably goes great with a glass of Prosecco.
  • Dec. 23: MonS Mary dans les Étoiles. The final 12 Days of Cheese deal is a goat cheese with light citrus notes.

Per an emailed press release, each cheese was chosen by a team of global experts in partnership with Whole Food’s “Certified Cheese Professionals.” In addition to the 50% off deal, Amazon Prime members can also get an additional 10% of the discounted price during 12 Days of Cheese. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be marking my calendar with the cheese emoji and Googling “how to become a certified cheese professional.”