Summer's Finest Cheeses - 27 East

Magazines

Magazines / 2280930

Summer's Finest Cheeses

icon 21 Photos
The Bethmale, from the French Pyrenees,

The Bethmale, from the French Pyrenees,

The cabricharme from Belgium.

The cabricharme from Belgium.

The Sofia ashed goat cheese, from Indiana.

The Sofia ashed goat cheese, from Indiana.

Michael Cavaniola at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Michael Cavaniola at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Summer's Finest Cheeses

Summer's Finest Cheeses

Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Patrons at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Patrons at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Patrons at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Patrons at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor.  DANA SHAW

Various cheeses at Michael at Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. DANA SHAW

Summer's Finest Cheeses

Summer's Finest Cheeses

Summer's Finest Cheeses

Summer's Finest Cheeses

The cheese vending machines accessible 24 hours a day.

The cheese vending machines accessible 24 hours a day.

The cheese vending machines accessible 24 hours a day.

The cheese vending machines accessible 24 hours a day.

authorStaff Writer on Aug 12, 2024

In the sweet summertime, “people love buttery, creamy cheeses,” said Michael Cavaniola, and his Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop responds accordingly with a healthy offering of domestic and imported cheeses.

Cheeses of the Burgundy region of France are popular, he said, and pair nicely with wines of the territory.

“What grows together, goes together, they say,” he noted.

“People love truffles now,” he added, so “we sell a lot of truffle cheese and products — like truffles.”

Customers at Cavaniola’s are bathed in luxury, if one defines luxury as a plethora of superb and sublime imported and domestic cheeses. On this July day, a visitor was offered a sample of cabri charme, an enchanting raw goat’s milk cheese from Belgium.

“It’s got a good, hard flavor,” Cavaniola observed. “It’s unlike any other goat cheese — not like the stuff you’re used to.”

This was followed by a Bethmale, from the French Pyrenees, the name of which comes from the village where it is made. Another raw goat’s milk cheese.

“It’s going to be a little more tame” than the cabri charme, Cavaniola said. True, and beguiling in its own way.

Closer to home, the third offering was a Sofia ashed goat cheese, from Indiana.

“Am I a simpleton?” the sampler wondered, “palate forever dulled and conditioned by too many years of ‘processed cheese product’ common to the U.S.A.’s supermarkets? Because this one is the best of all.”

Not to worry, Cavaniola said. “We sell a lot of ash goats and stuff like that during the summer. That goes very good with crisp white wines and rosé.”

Christopher Walsh

You May Also Like:

Cotton-Candy Skies and Ceviche: A Wild, Delicious Journey Through Panama City

It was 90 degrees in the shade when we first arrived in Panama City, Panama, ... 16 Jul 2025 by Hannah Selinger

From Webster Hall to Amagansett: Karina Rykman’s Summer of Sound

To get fired up for Karina Rykman’s return to the Stephen Talkhouse this August, you ... by Emily Weitz

Where Film Meets Flavor: North Fork Arts Center Debuts Intimate Café Space

The North Fork Arts Center has opened a cozy new neighborhood café offering small plates, ... by Julianne Mosher

Lights, Camera, Action in Sag Harbor! SHC EDU Summer Filmmaking Workshop

This summer, Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center invites high school students (grades 9–12) to step ... by Staff Writer

Bridging the Gap: Greenport’s Home for Artists Connects and Sustains East End Creatives

A new art exhibition this summer, “The Bloom Room,” will showcase the breathtaking landscapes of ... by Shaye Weaver

Squid Goes Sober(ish): Kidd Squid Launches First Non-Alcoholic Beer

Kidd Squid Brewing Co., the playfully rebellious Sag Harbor brewery known for its inventive labels ... by Staff Writer

Fresh Catch, Fresh Start: Haskell’s Seafood Reimagines the Fish Market Experience

Haskell’s Seafood is keeping it fresh — and we’re not even talking about the fish. ... by Shaye Weaver

Recipe: Haskell's Hot Cajun Royal Red Shrimp Roll

Haskell’s Hot Cajun Royal Red Shrimp Roll 10 oz. Haskell’s Montauk Royal Red Shrimp, peeled ... by Staff Writer

Fun in the Sun and Sand, for Everyone, Is the Mission for East End Volleyball

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, when the parking lots start to thin out at the ... by Cailin Riley

Goat Yoga on the East End Will Have You Grazing for More

Saturdays are for the goats. Well, goat yoga, on a few Suffolk farms that have ... by Julianne Mosher