Multi-award-winning cheese-maker Ilchester, who also makes the world’s most popular Cheese Advent Calendar, has unveiled its Christmas cheese selection box for the festive season 2022.

Ilchester has selected a range of cheese flavours for its new Ilchester Festive Selection, which includes smoky and spicy cheddars, a fruity Wensleydale, and a creamy, herby Gloucester.

Lisa Harrison, Marketing Manager for Ilchester, said: “Everyone loves some cheese at Christmas and our seasonal cheeses are always very popular.

“When it comes to specialty cheeses, we know our stuff: Applewood® is the UK’s no.1 smoky cheddar, Mexicana® is the UK’s number one spicy cheddar and Ilchester Wensleydale and Cranberry is a best-selling sweet additive cheese.

“So we wanted to pull these big hitting cheeses together into a selection box to create a Christmas Selection that will please everyone in the family.

“These cheeses can work well on a cheeseboard, to nibble with crackers and a glass of wine, or can be used to complement festive dishes.”

The four cheeses come in individually wrapped 100g wheelers. And, when it comes to the perfect pairings, Norseland has some recommendations:

Applewood

Applewood is a great match to a medium bodied red wine like Carménère. With touches of blackberry flavour and green peppercorn tones, it complements the unique smoky flavour of Applewood. Serve with savoury crackers, grapes and chutneys.

Ilchester Wensleydale with Cranberries

The classic British combination of Wensleydale and juicy sweet cranberries can be enjoyed with a robust burgundy like Pinot Noir or a full bodied Port. Serve with sweet biscuits and fresh seasonal fruit.

Mexicana Spicy Cheddar

Mexicana is the UK’s favourite spicy cheese brand. With its mouth-watering flavours of jalapeño, peppers and chilli seasoning, it pairs perfectly with the fruity and spicy flavours of a Zinfandel dry red wine. Ideal for chilli cheese nachos.

Ilchester Double Gloucester with Onion and Chives

This smooth and creamy Double Gloucester with onion and fragrant chives is a traditional favourite. Its rich, mellow and buttery flavours accompany a dry white Pino Grigio or your favourite ale and warm crusty bread.

The Ilchester Festive Selection will be available in Iceland stores across the UK, as well as in more than 100 SPARs (Appleby Westward) in the southwest, 250 Heron locations in northern England and in JHF.

The Ilchester Festive Selection has an RRP of £6 for the box containing 4 x 100g wheelers when purchased from Iceland.

About Ilchester

The West Country town of Ilchester is home to the Ilchester range of cheeses which launched back in 1962 with its first-ever cheese, the Ilchester Beer Cheese.
Ilchester’s range of cheeses include: the Ilchester Cheese Selection, Beer Cheese, Mediterranean cheddar, Truffle cheese, Wensleydale and Cranberries and the World’s First Cheese Advent Calendar.
The Ilchester Vegan Melting Mature is the first plant-based alternatives to dairy cheese from Ilchester.
Ilchester is part of the Norseland portfolio of cheeses. Norseland was the first dairy company to launch plant-based alternatives to its best-selling brands.
Other brands include:
Jarlsberg®
Mexicana UK’s No.1 Spicy Cheese
Applewood UK’s No 1. Smoky Cheese
Applewood Vegan – the first plant-based cheeze from an established dairy brand. Applewood® Vegan is now available in block, slices and grated formats and is award-winning