Murcia Al Vino comes from the town of Jumilla in Murcia, a region in southeastern Spain. It's made from the pasteurized milk of local Murciana goats. The whimsical name reflects its soak in the region's doble pasta red wine. It's an exceptionally creamy, bright white, semifirm goat cheese with a fruity flavor and a purple rind.
To achieve DOP certification, this specialty cheese must start with the fatty, protein-rich milk from the region's Murciana goats. The free-ranging animals feed on the wild herbs and grasses growing in the arid Mediterranean region, giving the milk a distinct flavor particularly well suited to cheese making. Starter culture and rennet added to the pasteurized milk cause curds to form. They get drained and pressed into wheels, which soak for two to three days in red doble pasta (double paste) wine, a twice-fermented, high-alcohol, deep, dark wine made with extra grape skins. After soaking, the cheese ages for two-and-a-half months.
You can eat the wine-washed rind on drunken goat cheese. It should taste mildly of wine, with a fairly soft, thin texture.
Drunken goat makes a conversation-starting addition to a cheese plate, and its relatively mild flavor puts it at the lighter end of a balanced taste spectrum. Serve it with other Spanish accoutrements such as Spanish chorizo, Marcona almonds, and olives. The sweet creaminess and grape aroma also make it a good choice for the dessert course. Fruity red wines (especially those from Spain) pair well with drunken goat cheese. But it really goes with almost anything, so feel free to enjoy it with your favorite cocktail or beer as well.