Go on, say it!

This month is about festivity and guiltless noshing, which makes it perfect for exploring fine cheese. Enthusiasm for regional cheese-makers is at an all-time high, and there is an ample supermarket supply to encourage regular tasting at home. William Brown, cheese buyer for Baton Rouge Whole Foods Market, says he has watched local palates change significantly since the gourmet grocer opened four years ago in Towne Center. “Things we had to stop ordering then are doing really well now,” he says. “People are interested in trying a lot more varieties and styles.”

Brown was game for helping 225 design a winning cheeseboard for the holidays. When tasting, remember to organize from mild to strong, so that intense flavors don’t trump milder ones.

Spain’s Manchego is an easy, accessible cheese with a firm texture and a nutty profile. The longer it is aged, the more its peppery profile emerges. It’s great with a sweet accompaniment, like quince paste, fig preserves or fig cake.

Vella Dry Jack is a fun cheese to have around because of its versatility and history. Aged for about eight months, its harder texture makes it great for eating, cooking and grating over anything on which you normally use Parmesan. Dry Jack’s cousin, Partially Dry Jack, was revived recently with help from the U.S. Slow Foods movement.

The consistent holiday favorite Wensleydale with Cranberries provides the mild, crumbly-but-creamy texture of Wensleydale with the tartness of the dried fruit. Similarly, Stilton with Lemon, often served as dessert, imparts this sweet-tangy combination. Mild White Stilton is studded with tiny bits of candied lemon peel. It works great with good quality dark chocolate.

Among Chevres, it’s hard to beat the award-winning farmstead cheeses produced by Belle Ecorce Farms in St. Martinville, La. Cheese-maker Wanda Barras converts milk from her own herd into stellar, creamy, well-balanced wheels and logs, many of them flavored with herbs grown at her farm. They’re available at the Red Stick Farmers Market and now Whole Foods.

Brown advises including Sottocenere, the semi-soft Italian favorite rubbed in vegetable ash and ground spices, including nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon, licorice, cloves and fennel. It is aromatic and hypnotic, especially with the addition of tiny slivers of black truffle. Don’t be scared if you’re not a truffle fan. “They don’t overpower,” he says.

Nancy’s Hudson Valley Camembert is an appealing soft sheep’s-milk cheese with the addition of cow’s milk. A former World Cheese Awards Gold Medalist, it’s smooth and buttery. Fans of the cow’s-milk triple-cream Saint-André will love Delice du Bourgogne, also a triple cream. The lush, full profile has just enough acidity and nuttiness to keep it in balance.

Triple Creams made with goat’s milk are harder to find, but Chef John Folse’s Bittersweet Plantation Dairy produces two: the soft, almost runny Evangeline and the aged Gabriel, dusted in vegetable ash. Either of these works well with a drizzle of local honey or Steen’s Cane Syrup.

Finally, Brown recommends a blue cheese, even though it’s an area many people still avoid. “I don’t think it’s the taste; it’s the mold,” says Brown. The American Cheese Society winner Rogue River Blue, produced seasonally, is his favorite for tasting. “It’s creamy with just enough sweetness.” He also likes Point Reyes Blue, a California handcrafted farmstead cheese aged for about six months.