RICHMOND, Va. — Wisconsin lived up to its name last week at the 2019 American Cheese Society Conference in Richmond, Virginia, taking home over 122 awards from 36 dairy farms in the state. The next closest competitor was California with 81 awards.
The American Cheese Society hosts "the foremost educational conference and world-renowned cheese competition in North America with over 1,300 cheese professionals, purchasers and influencers" attending annually, according to their website.
Every Wisconsin dairy farm that entered the competition took home at least one first, second or third place award. The Artisan Cheese Exchange from Sheboygan took home five first place awards, the most in Wisconsin.
2019's First Place Best of Show went to Murray's Cheese of New York. In 2016, Wisconsin took home Best of Show from Roelli Cheese Company in Little Mountain, Wisconsin.
The people with arguably the best job in the world work in teams of two, judging the technical and aesthetic properties of the cheeses. All 1742 entries are presented without labeling and points are deducted from a perfect 50 for aroma, texture and appearance.
For a list of all the winners, visit the ACS website.
Looking to increase your cheesy vocab? Learn different ways to describe the dairyland favorite before you share your next cheese plate.
