Step Aside, Chocolate — Whole Foods's Christmas Countdown Includes 12 Days of Cheese

Kicking off Whole Foods's 12 Days of Cheese is Klare Melk Truffle Gouda. A Whole Foods Market exclusive, cheese lovers will be able to taste velvety notes of sweet cream and butter. This semi-firm cheese pairs nicely with prosciutto.

Recognized as a top prize winner, Uplands Cheese Company Pleasant Ridge Reserve is the only cheese to win the American Cheese Society's "Best in Show" three times. To best enjoy the milky cheese's nutty and grassy flavors, Whole Foods Market recommends pairing it with sesame flatbread, salami, and cranberry jam. Oh, and a glass of Pinot Noir.

Made with sheep milk from Spain, Mitica Cordobes is more of a rich cheese but with a subtle nutty undertone. This is an exclusive to Whole Foods Market.

For its lingering savory finish, the Cowgirl Creamery Organic Hop Along is washed in local cider, then aged for 45 days. Pour a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, and indulge in this silky cheese along with a bite of salami, sour cherry jam, or flatbread.

Made from a melting pot of cow, sheep, and goat milk, Caseificio dell'Alta Langa La Tur is best with champagne and prosciutto or a sweet spoonful of pear rosemary compote.

Sweet Grass Dairy Thomasville Tomme may be the second semi-firm cheese on the menu, but unlike its rich buttery counterpart, this raw cow's milk cheese is tangy and earthy with a fine salty finish. The made-by-hand cheese pairs nicely with red wine, caramelized walnuts, salami, and crisp crackers.

Because the MonS Gabietou goes through such an intricate cheese-making process, like being washed with water and rock salt from local warm springs, it falls on the more decadent and dense side. With a balanced earthy and fruity flavor, the cheese tastes best with Cabernet and pâté de campagne.

As hinted in the name, The Cellars at Jasper Hill Farm Harbison, Prosecco Washed is a soft-ripened and sweet cheese that is washed in Prosecco for an overall citrus finish. Paired best with a flute of Proescco, this buttery cheese goes with prosciutto and caramelized onion jam.

Emmi Kaltbach Cave-Aged Le Gruyère is a raw, grass-fed cow's milk cheese. With both a punch of nutty and fruity flavor, this aged cheese goes with dark chocolate, salami, and hazelnut coca cracker crisps.

Nicknamed "a true American Original," Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog boast herbal and floral overtones with a fresh buttermilk and cream flavor. Whole Foods Market recommends enjoying the soft-ripened goat cheese with a Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, a fig spread, prosciutto, and cranberry hazelnut cracker crisps.

Neal's Yard Dairy Sparkenhoe Red Leicester is the delicious product of traditional, farmstead Red Leicester with raw milk from heritage cows. The complex cheese goes perfectly with a bottle of Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Hard Cider, almonds, gingerbread cracker crisps, and uncured soppressata.

A Whole Foods Market exclusive, Rogue Creamery Organic Enraptured Blanc is an organic buttery cheese washed in white wine. The fruit flavored cheese has a rather soft texture, which can be enjoyed best with Chardonnay or New Belgium Sour IPA, orange blossom honey, and salami.