It’s Vacherin Mont-d’Or Season! The Seasonal Swiss Cheese and Its Perfect Wine Pairings

Sylvia Fonalka
Nov 24, 2025
8 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

👩‍🍳— Jump to recipe, but fair warning: you’ll miss all my brilliantly unnecessary (and deeply entertaining) ranting.

High in the Vaud Alps, Switzerland’s unhurried, broad-shouldered cows spend their summers meandering through wildflower meadows, casually converting mountain herbs and hours of Alpine sunshine into the milk behind Le Gruyère d’Alpage AOP.*

When autumn draws its first cool line across the ridges, everything shifts. The cows leave the high pastures and return with milk that’s richer, denser, and simply too luxurious for the big alpine wheels of Gruyère d’Alpage. And that’s when another cheese takes its turn: Vacherin Mont-d’Or, the soft, spoonable winter specialty the Swiss await each year with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for a limited-edition seasonal release.

Elegant, fleeting, and just a touch theatrical, Vacherin appears only in the colder months, turning cold evenings into an alpine ritual of warmth, aroma, and slow-melting luxury.

*For cheese, the European Union’s Appellation d’Origine Protégée—AOP—is the same certification system used for wine.

I lived in Switzerland, right in the Canton of Vaud, where this cheese is born, for nearly a decade, and in that time I picked up a pretty solid appreciation for the local dairy magic. I’m no official expert, but I am a devoted cheese enthusiast, and if I ever had to choose between cheese and… well, most other things, cheese would win with embarrassing ease.

And Vacherin Mont-d’Or? That wasn’t merely cheese. It was a seasonal ritual—a cultural countdown. Every autumn, the moment it reappeared on shop shelves, the Swiss didn’t just smile (a noteworthy event on its own); they positively beamed.

In wine terms, it carried all the fanfare of Beaujolais Nouveau: that annual “It’s here!!” frenzy. Only instead of sprinting for the first bottle, everyone hurried toward a spruce-bound box of gloriously molten dairy.

So yes, I may have moved away, but Switzerland’s most eagerly awaited winter cheese still lives rent-free in my heart… and, if we’re being honest, almost certainly in my cholesterol.

One note: these seasonal superstars shouldn’t be confused with Le Gruyère AOP, one of the world’s most celebrated cheeses and essentially Switzerland in dairy form. It, too, takes its name from the medieval town of Gruyères—long considered one of the country’s great cheesemaking centres, where expertise has been honed and handed down for generations.

Speaking of Gruyère, here’s a fun little anecdote: I jokingly call myself an honorary Gruyèroise, and for a mildly ridiculous reason.

When my sister and I visited the region, we went for a stroll and somehow got mistaken for locals by a group of very enthusiastic Japanese tourists. They were absolutely convinced we were “authentic Swiss mountain women,” even though we’re Hungarian and about as Alpine as a paprika plant. They insisted we pose in their photos.

So somewhere in Japan, several families have immaculate Swiss holiday albums featuring cows, emerald hillsides, and… two girls from Budapest smiling like we’ve just stepped off the packaging of an artisanal Swiss chocolate bar. Iconic, honestly! (They snapped a photo for us too - Arigatō!)

A Brief (and Very Mysterious) History

Vacherin Mont-d’Or has been crafted in the Vallée de Joux for over a century, though no one can quite agree who invented it. One local tale claims a French soldier marched in during the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and basically said, “Bonjour, here’s a recipe.” This seems plausible since the French Jura next door makes a very similar cheese. But then-plot twist-evidence showed the Swiss were making it as early as 1812. So the mystery remains, and the cheese refuses to explain itself. France later shortened the name to “Mont d’Or,” while Switzerland politely refused and kept the full, dignified “Vacherin Mont-d’Or.”

So basically, Vacherin refers to a group of cheeses from both France and Switzerland.The key difference is that the French version, the Vacherin du Haut-Doubs is made with unpasteurized raw milk, while the Swiss version Vacherin Mont d'Or AOP is made with thermized milk (heated to 57–68 °C /135–154 °F for at least 15 seconds , this isn’t the same as pasteurization, since it doesn’t eliminate all harmful bacteria.)

Also, not to be confused with Vacherin Fribourgeois, the firmer, year-round Swiss cheese that often sneaks into fondue pots.

Why it's seasonal?

In spring and summer, the cows are out living their alpine best: grazing on wildflowers, wandering sunny pastures, and producing plenty of milk for their calves. Once autumn settles in, the calves stop coming and the milk supply naturally drops. What’s left is richer and creamier, no longer quite right for Gruyère d’Alpage but perfect for the smaller, more luxurious vacherins (their name comes from vache, French for “cow”).

Even though modern dairying could stretch the season, Swiss regulations insist that Vacherin Mont-d’Or still be made the traditional way: only in the cold months, only when the milk changes on its own. That commitment to old-school methods is exactly what earns it its AOP status.

Production is allowed only from August 15 to March 31 and Vacherin is only sold from September 10 (to be precise like a Swiss watch) to April, making it the alphorn solo of seasonal cheeses: rare, unmistakable, and loudly adored.

Every year in Les Charbonnières, the proud birthplace of Vacherin Mont-d’Or AOP, the village hosts an annual celebration honoring both the homecoming cows and its famously oozy winter cheese. Around 6,000 visitors gather for this warmly spirited alpine fête, complete with artisan stalls, hands-on workshops, and alphorn players sending bright, echoing notes across the valley like Switzerland’s most courteous loudspeakers. And naturally, the cheesemakers offer free tastings of the season’s first Vacherin, because nothing unites a crowd quite as swiftly as mountains, music, and a spoonful of molten cheese before noon.

How it's made?

Photo credit: Mignot Fromagerie — Mignot Fromagerie

Vacherin Mont-d’Or AOP begins its life as heat-treated milk from cows who dine mostly on grass and hay. The milk gets gently heated, the curd is pressed, then wrapped in a spruce band that acts like nature’s corset. After a brine bath, the young cheeses chill on spruce boards for at least 17 days while being flipped, washed, and generally pampered. Finally, each cheese is squeezed into a slightly-too-small spruce box—on purpose—so it develops those wiggly, wavy edges by adding that signature woodsy flavour.

The result is a soft, often gloriously runny cheese that tastes lightly salty, a little whey-ish, and wonderfully woody thanks to its stylish bark belt. It comes either whole in its iconic spruce box or sliced if you prefer your cheese pre-opened.

How to eat it?

Vacherin Mont-d’Or is a wonderfully versatile cheese, equally charming when enjoyed chilled with rustic bread and wine or when transformed into something warmly indulgent.

Its iconic preparation is the baked version—a wintertime favourite that delivers deep comfort with minimal preparation and almost no cleanup.

Baked Vacherin Mont-d’Or

Serves two very happy people

Ingredients:

500 g/1 lb small potatoes
Fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage—whatever smells pleasantly foresty)
1 Vacherin Mont-d’Or AOP
100 ml white wine

Instructions:

Keep the cheese in its little spruce-wood box and wrap the whole thing in aluminum foil.
Use a fork to poke a few holes in the rind, then drizzle in the white wine.
Add the herbs-tuck in little sprigs or scatter finely chopped ones on top.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C / 390°F for about 25 minutes, until the cheese is irresistibly oozy.
Boil the potatoes while you wait.
Serve it fondue-style: dip the potatoes straight into the molten cheese, or tear into some good crusty bread. Both are correct choices.

Enjoy—ideally while pretending you’re snowed in somewhere in the Vaud Alps.

Now the wines!

Chasselas - Where Alpine purity meets effortless charm

This molten Alpine marvel demands wines with character—no wallflowers allowed—and it certainly expects its companions to share the spotlight with grace.

If you ask the local Vaudois what belongs beside Vacherin Mont-d’Or, they won’t hesitate for even half a heartbeat: Chasselas.To them, it isn’t merely a pairing; it’s practically a regional law. And honestly, they’re onto something.

Chasselas, Switzerland’s most prominent and beloved white wine grape, and proudly homegrown, is light, clean, and delightfully unfussy, which makes it the perfect companion for a cheese that shows up in a spruce box and immediately starts melting like it owns the room. Where Vacherin is rich, cozy, and woodsy, Chasselas is refreshing and quietly clever. It balances every decadent bite without demanding attention.

Chasselas in Switzerland answering to multiple aliases: Gutedel in Germany, Fendant in Valais, and “How am I supposed to fit chocolate and cheese AND wine in my suitcase?!” from unsuspecting tourists.

Its style is delicate and nuanced, offering soft whispers of apple, pear, citrus, the occasional floral flourish, and often a fine mineral streak shaped by the Alpine terroir. It’s famous for playing nicely with food rather than overpowering it, especially classic Swiss cheese dishes and local freshwater fish. Deeply rooted in Swiss wine history since the 17th century, Chasselas thrives in cool climates and chalky soils, making it the country’s most widespread white grape, particularly in Vaud, Valais, Geneva, and the Trois-Lacs region (Neuchâtel’s Non-Filtré). Outside Switzerland, Chasselas is produced in Germany, France, as well as in Chile, Brazil, and New Zealand and Canada.

Swiss wine regions: Lavaux, Chablais and Valais:

In Canada, however, Swiss Chasselas can be surprisingly elusive. In Alberta, it feels almost mythological; even dedicated researchers of Swiss wines have trouble spotting it lately.

Thankfully, Canada has its own Chasselas chapter in the Okanagan Valley. St. Hubertus (Kelowna) produces the grape: bone-dry, crisp, and clean, with citrus and gentle grassy notes that make it wonderfully food-friendly. Founded in 1984 by Swiss-born Leo Gebert, the winery brought unmistakably Swiss winemaking sensibilities to the Okanagan.

Meanwhile, at Quails’ Gate (West Kelowna), Chasselas plays a starring role in one of their iconic white blends, joined by Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. The result is a bright, fruit-lifted wine celebrated for its lemon, pear, and honeydew character.

Now, if you can't get any Chasselas, try:

Aromatic whites : Muscat, Gewurztraminer, Viognier anything with a bit of perfume also get along famously with the cheese’s woodsy aroma. If you want something a touch more dramatic, an older dry Riesling or Semillon (the sort that’s been contemplating life for 15 to 20 years) brings smoky, layered notes that echo the cheese’s depth in a very civilized way.

Wines from Jura: Vin Jaune, Savagnin, or a Côtes du Jura Chardonnay have the kind of poised acidity that cuts through Vacherin’s richness while pretending not to notice how indulgent it is.

Champagne is always a reliable companion. Its crisp bubbles brighten the cheese, almost like someone sweeping open the curtains in a very opulent room. And if Champagne isn’t on hand, any good crémant or other sparkling wine will bring that same lively lift.
For red wine lovers, a gentle Gamay or Pinot Noir offers bright fruit without elbowing the cheese out of the spotlight.

Other beverages

Beers: Belgian ales and wheat beers pair nicely with Vacherin’s earthy character, they feel like friendly neighbours dropping by with good manners and better intentions.
Ciders: dry or lightly sweet ciders bring out the creamy, subtly woody notes, giving the whole experience a charming, orchard-in-late-autumn energy.

Vacherin Mont-d’Or pairs beautifully with non-alcoholic drinks that refresh the palate (acidic, sparkling, or bitter) or complement the cheese’s cozy, woodsy character of the cheese’s creamy, earthy richness.

– Sparkling apple or pear juice (a Champagne-like effect)

– Sparkling teas (rosé or blanc styles)

– Italian sodas or fruit spritzes

– Pomegranate juice for a tart contrast

– Herbal or black tea– Spiced apple cider

– Kombucha (bright, tangy, and bubbly)

– Non-alcoholic crisp whites