CHEESE WINE GLASSES . . . THEY’RE A THING

LAST YEAR saw the introduction of Cheez Whiz glasses – little shot glasses carved out of cheese designed to hold a shot of wine.  Although it was widely mocked the fad still went viral on social media.  Things have been taken up a notch this year with the limited release of $5OOO glasses that are, yes, made of edible cheese.  A Finnish cheese monger has produced a limited edition run of glassware made from Gouda and Gruyere cheese – priced at $5OOO – to mark 1OO years of Finnish independence.  Finlandia, a Finnish cheese brand, commissioned sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton to handcraft the wine and beer glasses made out of cheese to commemorate Finland’s independence, which was achieved 1OO years ago, on December 6th.  The edible set included a 16-ounce beer glass and one eight-ounce stemless wine glass, with each one featuring an embossed Finnish flag.

The beer mug was sculpted out of imported gruyere, and is ideal with bocks, stouts, wheat beers, and hefeweizens, while the wine glass is made from Gouda.  Justifying its price tag Victor noted that he could probably make three in a day, such is the skill involved in carving a glass from a solid block of cheese.  “Gruyere is harder, so it’s easier to carve than Gouda, but it also has more of a grain so it can have faults in it – like the Earth.  Gouda is softer, but it doesn’t have the grain.”  The glasses were only available on December 6th – no word on how many sold but hopefully they at least came with some crackers and wine to enjoy!