The Curious Case of the Mimolette Cannonball
By John Yanes
Mimolette is a cheese traditionally produced around the city of Lille, also known as Boule de Lille.
When I first joined Le Vigne Winery, I was instantly captivated by the depth of the wine, the beauty of the vineyards, and the rich legacy woven into every bottle. I took every opportunity to soak it all in—peppering our winemaker with questions about terroir, varietals, and vintage stories. And when it came to cheese, I turned to our brilliant cheesemonger, Zina Miakinkova, whose knowledge seemed as aged and complex as the wheels in our pairing flights.
At the time, my cheese knowledge was, admittedly, limited—think plastic bottles of grated parmesan and those neon-orange singles wrapped in cellophane. My palate had some catching up to do.
A halved wheel (or ball) of Mimolette.
That changed one morning in early 2012.
Mimolette had just made its debut on our wine and cheese pairing flight—a striking, sunset-orange wheel with a mysterious cratered rind. Curious, I asked Zina to tell me more. She didn’t disappoint.
She began by explaining that Mimolette dates back to the 1600s, when Louis XIV commissioned it as a patriotic alternative to the Dutch Edam during the Franco-Dutch War. But then came the twist.
With a glint in her eye, Zina told me about a legendary battle in which French forces, having run out of cannonballs, supposedly loaded Mimolette wheels into their cannons and fired them at the advancing Dutch. “You can’t shoot cheese from a cannon,” I said, laughing. She smiled. “Its nickname is ‘the little cannonball.’”
I was hooked.
From that day on, I shared the story with guests who came in for tastings, adding a touch of whimsy and history to their pairing experience. Mimolette became more than just a cheese—it became a conversation starter.
Battle of Montevideo (1823)
The naval Battle of Montevideo (Portuguese: Batalha Naval de Montevidéu) of 21 October 1823
It was during these years of conflicts that the story of Commander Coe and his crew encountering the Brazilian fleet was first documented.
By Trajano Augusto de Carvalho, Public Domain
When Mimolette briefly disappeared from our offerings due to FDA import restrictions, I missed telling its story. But when it returned in 2013, so did my tale—refined and ready for a new round of guests.
One afternoon, a curious visitor suggested we Google the cannonball anecdote. Within minutes, we stumbled across a book titled The Best, Worst and Most Unusual by Bruce Felton and Mark Fowler. There, under Most Unusual Cannonball, was a strikingly similar story—this time about a naval battle between Uruguay and Brazil, where cheese was indeed loaded into cannons. According to the account, the Uruguayan navy, short on ammunition, fired cheese rounds that actually splintered the mast of a Brazilian ship, forcing it to retreat.
Mimolette, seen here with the 2019 Estate Nikiara.
Still skeptical, I couldn’t resist a deeper dive.
That evening, armed with a glass of wine and a sense of mission, I turned to the internet. Lo and behold—Mythbusters had aired an episode titled Greased Lightning – Cannonball of Cheese. There it was: the age-old question finally tested in modern times. I practically fell off my chair, shouting at the screen, “It’s true! It’s true!”
To this day, I continue to ask Zina about cheese—because there’s always more to learn. Mimolette, with its bright color, caramelized nuttiness, and storied past, remains one of my favorite discoveries.
In our May Wine Club shipment, we’ve paired Mimolette with our 2019 Nikiara—a bold, elegant red blend that complements the cheese’s rich texture and earthy character. It’s a pairing that honors both palate and legend. And now, you can share the story too.
Because at Le Vigne, every pairing tells a tale—and some are more legendary than others.