Wisconsin well represented in finalists to be judged best cheese in the United States
ASHWAUBENON – Nearly half of the finalists in the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest are from Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association released the list of 20 finalists after a day of trying to stay ahead of a winter storm. Selection of the top 20 and champion that normally would be on Thursday was completed on Wednesday. The top 20 were announced Wednesday, but the association will reveal the nation’s best cheese at 2 p.m. Thursday as scheduled. The announcement at Resch Expo will be streamed live at USChampionCheese.org and on Facebook.
Finalists hale from nine states, including Wisconsin. Among them is Guggisberg Cheese of Millersburg, Ohio, the 2019 winner with a baby Swiss. Guggisberg is back with another baby Swiss.
A team of 42 judges narrowed the field from 2,249 entries.
A row of cheese entries is on display at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest on Feb. 21 at the Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon.
Nine Wisconsin cheeses are among the 20 finalists, including two from northeastern Wisconsin: a hard cheese by Red Barn Family Farms in Egg Harbor and an aged cheddar by Lactalis Heritage Dairy of Weyauwega.
Other Wisconsin finalists include a medium cheddar by Associated Milk Producers of Blair, a traditional waxed mild cheddar by Roelli Cheese of Shullsburg, an organic copper kettle Parmesan by Schuman Cheese of Turtle Lake, a pepper-flavored Monterey Jack by Associated Milk Producers of Jim Falls, a semi-soft cheese by Schuman Cheese of Turtle Lake, a hard sheep’s milk cheese by Landmark Creamery of Belleville and a semi-soft mixed-milk cheese by Kingston Creamery of Cambria.
More:U.S. Championship Cheese Contest brings the best back to Green Bay
Other states represented among the finalists are California, Connecticut, Idaho, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
The contest was not held in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All results can be found here.
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram…
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