{"id":5542,"date":"2025-12-11T03:02:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T03:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/inside-the-world-cheese-awards-2025\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T03:02:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T03:02:06","slug":"inside-the-world-cheese-awards-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/inside-the-world-cheese-awards-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the World Cheese Awards 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On November 13th, 265 cheese experts from across the world \u2014 mongers, makers, producers, educators, and writers \u2014 descended on a Swiss arena. They entered to the sound of traditional Alpine alphorns, and found themselves in a maze of 5,244 cheeses sourced from 46 countries. They assembled for one thing, and one thing only: to taste, discover, and honor the world\u2019s best cheeses.<\/p>\n

World Cheese Awards: The Top 10 Cheeses of 2025<\/h3>\n
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  1. Gruy\u00e8re AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial, Bergk\u00e4serei Vorderfultigen, Switzerland<\/li>\n
  2. Cr\u00e9meux des Aldudes aux Fleurs, Etxaldia, France<\/li>\n
  3. Appenzeller\u00ae Edel-W\u00fcrzig, SO Appenzeller K\u00e4se, Switzerland<\/li>\n
  4. Gantrisch Bergk\u00e4se, Bergk\u00e4serei Vorderfultigen, Switzerland<\/li>\n
  5. K\u00f6nigs-Ch\u00e4s Rezent, R\u00fcttiberg K\u00e4se AG, Switzerland<\/li>\n
  6. Ossau-Iraty AOP, Agour, France<\/li>\n
  7. Stockinghall, Murray\u2019s Cheese, USA<\/li>\n
  8. Aged Rutland Red, Long Clawson Dairy, United Kingdom<\/li>\n
  9. Hechizo, Queser\u00eda La Zarcillera, Spain<\/li>\n
  10. Montana Intenso, Maaz Cheese, United Kingdom<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    World Cheese Awards 2025 World Champion Cheese Credit Guild of Find Food KARGOKommunication<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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    Stockinghall Cheddar photo credit Murray’s Cheese<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    This year was the first time the competition was held in Bern, Switzerland. It awarded medals to dozens of cheeses from across the world \u2013 from Stockinghall Cheddar<\/a> by Murray\u2019s Cheese (which won Super Gold, Best American Cheese, and Best Cheddar) to a Japanese goat cheese by Yozawa Goat Farm.<\/p>\n

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    Judging<\/h2>\n
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    World Cheese Awards Alpine Horns Credit Guild of Fine Food KARGOKommunication<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Cheese Professor contributor Kristine Jannuzzi<\/a>, better known as @nyccheesechick<\/a> on Instagram, returned for her sixth year as a judge. \u201cIt’s very dramatic when you walk in,\u201d she says. \u201c They had six musicians playing the Swiss alphorns, those long horns on the ground\u2026you’d get the chills walking into that.\u201d<\/p>\n

    They were soon broken into small teams and tasked with scoring a mixture of cheeses, from bloomy to blue, around fifty per team, over the course of three hours. The selections are anonymous. (While a judge may recognize an iconic cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano, they aren\u2019t aware of the producer.) Alongside the cheeses, water, crackers, and sliced apples were supplied to help the judges cleanse their palates between tastings.<\/p>\n

    Each cheese was scored based on its look, feel, smell, and, for the most points, taste. The more points a cheese garners, the greater the likelihood it will be awarded a medal. Bronze, silver, gold, and super gold were handed out, table by table.<\/p>\n

    \u201cAs a team, we judge each cheese individually, and you can award as many bronze, silver, and gold medals as you\u2019d like,\u201d Jannuzzi says. The super golds \u2014 the cheeses with the most points, of which there were 110 \u2014 were presented to a jury, which then chose the winner. While there was an overall winner, a Swiss Gruy\u00e8re AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial, a raw, dry-salted cow\u2019s milk cheese aged for 18 months atop raw spruce planks by Bergk\u00e4serei Vorderfultigen<\/a> (which also won back in 2022), awards for additional categories were given. Murray\u2019s Cave Aged Original Stockinghall Cheddar<\/a> won Super Gold, Best American Cheese, and Best Cheddar, for example.<\/p>\n

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    Feedback on Cheeses<\/h2>\n
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    Josh Windsor<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Producers don\u2019t usually get much feedback on their cheese. But this year, Josh Windsor, the Associate Director, Caves at Murray\u2019s Cheese, received compliments from a Super Jury judge, Svein Erik Backlund, who championed the cheese. \u201c[He] called it \u2018perfect\u2019 and explained, \u2018First of all, the smell has a sweetness to it. The cheese is really well balanced, with a saltiness that\u2019s quite pleasant.\u2019 So that was lovely to hear!\u201d After overseeing the aging of the cheese for a year in Murray\u2019s cheese caves, it was a rewarding finish for Windsor. \u201cIt was a phenomenal year for Stockinghall,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

    Januzzi remarked on the overall winner, remembering the flavor from years past: \u201cIt’s just this amazing gruyere,\u201d she says. \u201cIt’s got the crystals and just the typical characteristics, but [the flavor is] just so intense. [It\u2019s a] beautiful, beautiful, beautiful cheese.\u201d The runner up, which scored just one point below the Gruyere, was Cr\u00e9meux des Aldudes Aux Fleurs by Etxaldia, a Brie-style cow\u2019s milk cheese with flowers pressed into the rind.<\/p>\n

    For the judges, it\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime (or for Jannuzzi, six-time) experience to taste exceptional, creative cheeses from across the world. Jannuzzi\u2019s team awarded a gold medal to an Italian blue, Briacacio Sheep\u2019s by De Magi, which is soaked in liqueur and topped with raisins, inspired by Panbriacone, a Tuscan bread soaked in wine, and studded with grapes. \u201cIt almost has a Christmassy kind of feel to it,\u201d she says. \u201cIt reminded me of Panettone.\u201d One of Januzzi\u2019s teammates was in awe over it, noting, \u201cThis was a discovery for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    Logistics<\/h2>\n
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    Kristine Jannuzzi with Alessandro Stocchi and Renato Giudici<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    There are more than a few logistics involved when amassing thousands of cheeses for judging. In the days leading up to the event, thousands of cheeses made their way to Bern, Switzerland via plane, boat, train, and car. It was a huge feat \u2014 like organizing the Noah\u2019s Ark of the cheese world.<\/p>\n

    As noted on their social media<\/a>, The UK\u2019s Guild of Fine Food<\/a>, the organizers of the awards, \u201csupports producers with a network of free delivery points across six continents. Twenty consolidated shipping points globally give entrants, however small, the chance to ship their cheeses to a local depot.\u201d This ensures that each producer who wants to be included can be, with minimal red tape.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhen you get to the table, all of the cheeses are wrapped or vacuum sealed,\u201d Jannuzzi says. \u201cYou’ve got to open them up and examine the rind. Some don’t always do so well on the transport.\u201d In a briefing prior to judging, the experts were reminded to err on the side of forgiveness when it comes to damage.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIf it’s an actual defect, that’s different,\u201d she adds. \u201cIf there’s a cheese that is, like, unfit to judge [because] it suffered too much, then, you raise your hand and you let them know,\u201d she says. As producers will send multiple samples, another that\u2019s in better condition will be swapped in for consideration.<\/p>\n

    Some cheeses were bigger hits than others. \u201cYou see, some really interesting things,\u201d Januzzi says. \u201cWe had a really strange-looking Brie-style cheese with black charcoal on the rind. And then we opened it up, it was completely black inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The awards are a chance for cheeses from producers, small and large, from the Netherlands to Latin America, to gain recognition on the world stage. And for the judges, it\u2019s a dream come true. \u201cIt’s really an honor,\u201d Januzzi says.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    On November 13th, 265 cheese experts from across the world \u2014 mongers, makers, producers, educators, and writers \u2014 descended on a Swiss arena. They entered to the sound of traditional Alpine alphorns, and found themselves in a maze of 5,244 cheeses sourced from 46 countries. They assembled for one thing, and one thing only: to … Okumaya devam et “Inside the World Cheese Awards 2025”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5542\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}