3 Vermont Creamery Cheeses Won Gold At The 2022 World Cheese Awards

Someone at Vermont Creamery needs to tell us how to get a job judging the best cheeses at the World Cheese Awards. This year's World Cheese Awards were held in Wales, with the competition involving over 4,000 unique cheeses from more than 40 countries that were judged by a panel of experts. Chefs, retailers, producers and other industry professionals lucky enough to land one of the judging spots assessed cheeses based on numerous criteria including color, texture, and taste. The best cheeses were then awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals, with a special "super gold" reserved for the best cheese each panel tasted. Sounds like pretty good work for people with a track record of recommending great cheese.

The World Cheese Awards have been going on for over 30 years, and according to CNN, winning a medal can be a big commercial boon for cheesemakers. Although the cheeses are tasted blind, many big name cheese companies enter the best products in hope of recognition. Victory can be the difference between continuing to work in obscurity or finding a place on grocery store shelves around the world. Given the stakes and the commitment of the cheese lovers doing the judging, Vermont Creamy must feel pretty good about the results it got this year.

Vermont Creamery was born in 1984, and grew on the back of its fresh cheeses, including its famous goat cheese. According to a press release sent to Tasting Table they were big winners at this year's World Cheese Awards, taking home six total medals, including three gold. Their goat cheese earned its "classic," name with one of the golds, while the other two honorees to take home the top prize were an aged cheese, Bonne Bouche, and Vanilla Crème Fraîche. Vermont Creamery even worked with one of our favorite grocery stores, Wegmans, to produce three more cheeses that ended up winning silver and bronze medals.

Vermont Creamery stood at the forefront of the growing artisanal cheese movement in the United States, seeking to make cheeses on par with the best traditional European producers have to offer. American cheese makers have clearly made a lot of progress, as not only was Vermont Creamery honored, but the best cheese in the U.S. was also named one of the top 16 in the world by this year's final judging panel. When your country's cheese is on a list with a pecorino from Italy and a cave chèvre from France, you know they are doing something right. So, give these cheeses the best honor possible: Break out some crackers, grab a good California wine, and celebrate the growing stature of America cheese.