blue vinney (or vinny) is or was a highly esteemed blue cheese made by an accidental mould infection of Dorset cheese (a notably hard skimmed-milk cheese). Historically, most of Dorset’s milk went to cream or butter production, and the cheese was a way of using the skimmed by-product. The modern cheese has protected status under the name Dorset Blue Cheese.
The name ‘vinney’ comes from an Old English word meaning ‘mould’. There are various picturesque tales about how the mould in question came from old boots or saddles etc. and it may well be true that maturing was sometimes done in harness rooms.
