The Best Cheeses of 2026: culture’s Annual List

Butterbloom
Briar Rose Creamery | Dundee, Oregon

The line between some bloomy rind cheeses and butter is often a thin one, especially when the bloomy rind in question presses the issue in its own name. Made from the milk of a local Guernsey herd, which is known to have high levels of fat and Beta-carotene, Butterbloom is a sunny, custardy, “butter bomb,” with notes of buttermilk, creamed corn, buttercream frosting, and an undercurrent of heady tropical fruit and earthy mushrooms. This ample 1-pound wheel has a generous paste-to-rind ratio; it’s a va-va-voom oozy stunner that won First in its category at the 2025 ACS. PV

‘Europa
Arethusa Farm Dairy | Litchfield, Connecticut

This year, Arethusa Farm Dairy’s Europa made history with its second consecutive US Champion crown at the 2025 USCCC. Crafted in the style of Dutch gouda, this domestic delicacy features a golden paste that’s equal parts luscious butterscotch and nutty umami flavor. Europa starts with pasteurized cow’s milk sourced from local Connecticut dairy farms. Once wheels are formed, they’re aged for six to 12 months, which gives the cheese its signature depth of flavor and gorgeous golden hue. Its dense paste makes it easy to grate atop all sorts of dishes, but Europa is equally delicious when eaten as a simple snack. MT

Barely Buzzed
Beehive Cheese Company | Uintah, Utah

This zippy rubbed-rind cheese is no stranger to the award circuit; in 2025, it took First in its category at ACS. The base starts with pasteurized cow’s milk from Jersey cows. Once the cheese is formed, it’s rubbed with a combination of ground espresso and lavender, which enhances the bright nuttiness of the cheddar without overpowering it. While addictive on its own, Barely Buzzed is another flavored cheese that lends itself incredibly well to pairing. Robust sips like Cabernet Sauvignon and stout beer enhance the depth of flavor in the floral, coffee-forward rind, while bites of chocolate and toasted nuts bring out the cheddar’s caramel notes. MT

Shakerag
Sequatchie Cove Creamery | Sequatchie, Tennessee

This Tennessee twist on French Roquefort took Second in its category at the 2025 ACS. Sequatchie Cove Creamery owners Padgett and Nathan Arnold describe this wheel as a labor of love that showcases the uniqueness of their southern home. Made with pasteurized cow’s milk from a nearby dairy, the initial wheel is relatively mild before hitting the aging room where lots of time, cool temperatures, and a temporary wax rind help the flavors develop. However, the real magic of Shakerag comes from Chattanooga Whiskey-soaked fig leaves that are wrapped around the cheese once the wax is removed, imparting a bold, earthy flavor. MT

Langres AOP
Laiterie Rians | France

Langres AOP was built to toast its own success—a small-format cheese from France’s Champagne region with a pronounced dimple that serves as an ersatz chalice for the local bubbly. Taking Gold at the 2024–2025 WCA, it certainly has reason to celebrate. Producer Laiterie Rians will also celebrate 125 years in business in 2026, starting from humble beginnings as cottage cheesemakers. Wrinkled and wildly orange with a purposefully uneven shape, Langres is nonetheless refined in its bold flavor: pungent and meaty with earth and spice. PV

Pleasant Ridge Reserve
Uplands Cheese | Dodgeville, Wisconsin

This Alpine-style cheese is made in the heart of America’s Dairyland, where rolling hills create ideal grazing pastures for cows. Pleasant Ridge Reserve is only produced during the summer months when cows graze on fresh grasses. Raw milk is transformed into natural, washed-rind wheels that perfectly encapsulate seasonality, much like the alpage—French for “mountain pasture”—cheeses Beaufort and gruyère. This cheese is complex and salty with a light fruity finish because of those summer grasses. Since its creation in 2000, Pleasant Ridge Reserve has become one of the most decorated American-made cheeses in existence, having taken home multiple awards at ACS, USCCC, and WCA. MT

Marieke Gouda Reserve
Marieke Gouda | Thorp, Wisconsin

No stranger to culture’s Best Cheeses issue, Dutch cheesemaker Marieke Penterman, who operates her “cow spa” within Wisconsin’s high-quality dairy framework, earns her spot this year with her Gouda Reserve. Limited edition and one-of-a-kind—fitting, given the memorable personality of its maker—Marieke Gouda Reserve is aged for over 1,000 days. Lying in wait for two-and-a-half years transforms the cheese into a near-geode of crystalline crunch while still retaining a rich and creamy foundation, earning it a Super Gold at the 2024–2025 WCA. PV

Herve du Vieux Moulin AOP
Fromagerie du Vieux Moulin | Herve, Belgium

The only Belgian cheese with protected status, this little cow’s milk square is small in size but mighty in flavor. Similar to Limburger, its beer-washed rind gives way to a straw-colored interior that’s buttery and becomes increasingly runnier with age. The rind exudes a pungent aroma, but it’s a bit of a red herring for the semi-firm paste, which is relatively mild with lightly sweet and somewhat fruity aromas. Traditionally, Herve du Vieux Moulin is enjoyed on rye bread with a cup of coffee on the side. Up the ante by pairing with a Belgian beer, pickled veggies, and crusty bread. MT

Sharp Provolone Mandarino
BelGioioso Cheese | Green Bay, Wisconsin

The Italian cheese experts at BelGioioso churned out another winner with its Sharp Provolone Mandarino, which took Best of Class in its category at the 2025 USCCC. Crafted using traditional methods, this aged cow’s milk provolone is known for its sharp flavor and mandarin-like shape. This cheese is aged for a minimum of seven months, which creates its signature piquant bite. Grate onto your favorite cheesy dishes (think: pasta and pizza), dice into cubes on a cheese plate, or pair alongside briny olives, cured Italian meats, and your favorite full-bodied red—Chianti, anyone? MT

Original Blue
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. | Point Reyes Station, California

You can’t go wrong with a classic. Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. has been producing this raw cow’s milk cutie for over two decades, cementing it as what is now known as a classic California-style blue. This ultra-creamy wheel packs a punch from the blue-green veins throughout yet maintains a distinctive freshness because it’s only aged for three-and-a-half months. Since its debut in 2000, Original Blue has won myriad awards, and this year was no exception—it ranked among top three cheeses at the 2025 GFA. MT

Brunost
Eleftheria Cheese | Mumbai, India

Mumbai-based cheesemaker Eleftheria makes its Brunost much like the Norwegian original—by boiling down whey until it’s fudge-like—but with a signature twist. Each block of Brunost is embossed with the cheesemaker’s name in Devanagari script, much like the artisanal Indian milk sweet known as peda. This cheese is a mix of savory and sweet with intense salted toffee notes and a thick and luscious texture. It won Super Gold at the 2023–2024 WCA (coincidentally, Norway hosted that year) and landed among the top five best cheeses in the world at this competition. MT

** Not available in the US **

Nero Fumè
Moro Formaggi | Oderzo, Italy

Nero Fumè—or “smoked black” in Italian—is exactly the kind of name you’d expect for a cheese that’s aged in barrels with black tea. Sergio Moro, third-generation owner of Moro Formaggi, is known for his experimental blue cheeses, and this tea leaf-coated wheel is no exception. It starts with locally sourced pasteurized cow’s milk and is smoked during the 60-day aging process, which produces a complex, earthy, and robust flavor. The rind is dark and smoky while the paste is rich and creamy. Whiskey, black tea, chocolate, and dried fruits are perfect pairings to enhance this blue’s natural flavors. MT

Red Hawk
Cowgirl Creamery | Petaluma, California

This washed-rind triple cream is made using organic pasteurized cow’s milk sourced from local farms in Petaluma, California. Red Hawk’s amber exterior is reminiscent of the red-tailed hawk it’s named after, and is a sign this cheese was washed during the aging process. The paste is soft and smooth and tastes like cured meats and ocean air—a bit milder than the cheese’s pungent aroma would suggest. Serve it on a cheese plate alongside charcuterie, pickles, and roasted nuts, or enjoy with everything from barrel-aged sours to funky pet-nats. Red Hawk took First in its category at the 2025 ACS. MT

Quark Cheese
The Creamery at Pleasant Lane Farms | Latrobe, Pennsylvania

A popular cheese in central and northern Europe, quark is becoming a stateside star. The Creamery at Pleasant Lane Farms has won multiple awards in recent years for this soft, spreadable cheese, including Second in its category at the 2025 ACS, and Best of Class in its category at the 2025 USCCC. Made from pasteurized cow’s milk from the farm’s own herd, this cheese has a gentle tanginess that lends itself to savory and sweet applications, much like Icelandic skyr or cottage cheese. Mix it into desserts like cheesecakes and trifles, or swirl it into your favorite pasta dish for extra-creamy oomph. MT

Jack’s Blue
Parish Hill Creamery | Westminster West, Vermont

Parish Hill Creamery operates with a “natural cheese done right” ethos, where every step of the operation is farmstead in nature, including starter cultures selected from specific cows for each cheese. “Done right” also manifests in the creamery’s award-winning cheeses. Jack’s Blue—a variant of Parish Hill’s “decadent monster” West West Blue—is a smaller Gorgonzola-style wheel that includes curds from raw cow’s milk collected on the first day of West West Blue’s two-curd make. Described by Parish Hill as an “unexpected crowd-pleaser,” Jack’s Blue is creamy, dense, earthy, and gently spicy, and the recipient of a Super Gold at the 2024–2025 WCA. PV

Alpenhorn
Elsa Group–Mifroma | Switzerland

Distributed by Switzerland’s Mifroma, Alpenhorn—or Hornkuhkäse in its native German—was the highest-ranking Swiss cheese at the 2024–2025 WCA, winning Super Gold and receiving the second-highest overall score. Named for the horn Alpine shepherds used to communicate with, it’s also made from the milk of horned cows, a relative anomaly for dairy cows even in Switzerland, with cream added to the thermized milk base for an especially decadent texture. Otherwise, the cheese trumpets with the flavors one expects from a top-of-its-class Alpine: wild onions, broth, and hazelnuts. PV

Morro Azul
Queijos Pomerode | Pomerode, Brazil

Named after Brazil’s Morro Azul (or “blue hill”), which is covered with blue hydrangeas in the spring and summer months, this cheese is a tribute to the region’s idyllic landscape. The soft cow’s milk cheese is wrapped in oak bark, which gives it structure and imparts a unique woodsy aroma. The result is a creamy, buttery, rich wheel that pairs beautifully with everything from a malt-forward beer to a crisp Chablis. (Pro tip: Queijos Pomerode recommends heating it in the microwave or oven for an extra-melty experience.) Morro Azul won Best Cheese in Latin America at the 2023 WCA. MT

**Not available in the US**

Gruyère AOP Margot Alpage
Margot Fromages | Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland

Variations of Gruyère have frequently topped competition lists, taking best in show at the WCA five times since the early 1990s. This 2024–2025 WCA Super Gold Gruyère, which also landed the award for Best Le Gruyère Cheese, is an Alpine selection whose miniature, seasonal operation is situated between the Jura Mountain’s Lac de Joux and Mont Tendre. Small herds graze on mountainous pastures with abundant botanical diversity, and the milk is tended to with deep, ancestral knowledge, resulting in an utterly complex, savory wheel. PV

Maker’s Reserve 11-Year Extra-Sharp White Cheddar
Tillamook County Creamery Association | Tillamook, Oregon

Tillamook County Creamery proclaims that their secret ingredient is time, reflecting a century of cheesemaking in their farmer-owned association model. But time is the not-so-secret ingredient in a cheese that’s not only aged 11 years to perfection but also vintage-dated. The 2014 Maker’s Reserve took Gold and the award for Best Cheddar Cheese at the 2024–2025 WCA. The cheese’s pronounced tang is balanced by notes of butter and pear from an intentionally high butterfat content, making this cheddar more memorable than anything else from 2014. PV

The Doe
Deer Creek Cheese | Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Deer Creek Cheese’s Chris Gentine, founder of The Artisan Cheese Exchange, is somewhat of a wizard when it comes to flavored cheese, and this magical wheel is no exception. The Doe, which claimed First in its category at the 2025 ACS, is a flavored cheddar that combines local cow’s milk with freshly ground whole Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans for a stunning marbled finish. This wheel is carefully bandage-wrapped and aged so the vanilla can properly infuse, imparting a savory, semisweet, woodsy finish to the velvety cheddar. This cheese tastes great on its own, but Gentine encourages exploration when it comes to his creations—he recommends adding it to everything from grilled cheese to apple pie. MT

Bayley Hazen Blue
Jasper Hill Farm | Greensboro, Vermont

Among the top 14 cheeses in the 2024–2025 WCA, Jasper Hill Farm’s Bayley Hazen Blue earned the third-highest overall score, winning Super Gold and the Best American Cheese category. One of the Vermont creamery’s original cheeses, Bayley Hazen Blue was named for an American Revolutionary War road in the area and has been leading cheese connoisseurs toward Jasper Hill since its inception in 2003. This moderately-veined, raw-milk blue is complex and approachable in equal parts—sturdy and creamy, sweet and spicy; it’s a cheese worthy of a revolution for the blue-timid. PV

Quesillo Navarro
Quesos Navarro | Jalisco, Mexico

Hailing from western Mexico, this pasteurized cow’s milk cheese placed First in its category at the 2025 ACS. Quesillo Navarro—or queso Oaxaca, as it’s known in metropolitan areas like Mexico City—is formed by rolling soft, spun paste made from freshly skimmed milk into a yarn-like ball. The resulting cheese is easy to unravel and is known for its meltability. Its texture is buttery and smooth while its taste is mild and lightly salty, making it a top-notch candidate for dishes such as quesadillas, chile rellenos, and more. MT

Comté AOP Fort des Rousses, 24 Months
Fromageries Arnaud | Les Rousses, France

Do cheeses aged in a former military fortress established by Napoleon Bonaparte naturally acquire strength? Given 24-month Comté AOP Fort des Rousses’ recent 2024–2025 WCA Super Gold win, an argument could be made. Fort des Rousses, once France’s second-largest military fortress, is now the largest maturation cellar—housing over 140,000 wheels—for traditional Comté, helmed by multigenerational master cheesemakers Fromageries Arnaud. Within this cathedral of flavor and the slow, continual air movement the unique architecture provides, the winning Comté is supple and lactic, even in its advanced age, with persistent aromatics of fruits, nuts, and spice. PV

**Does not ship to US**

Extra-Mature Mimolette
Isigny Sainte-Mère | Isigny-sur-Mer, France

With its cantaloupe shape and fiery orange hue, mimolette is more than just a visual stunner. Nor is it defined by its most unique talking point: the microscopic mites that contribute to its almost perforated texture. Behind all that style is substance, and because of this, Isigny Sainte-Mère’s Extra-Mature Mimolette was awarded Super Gold at the 2024–2025 WCA. The Normandy-based dairy cooperative has been crafting exemplary cheeses and other dairy products since 1909. Along with a nearly crimson hue after at least 18 months of aging, this cheese evokes caramelization with butterscotch notes, enhanced and underscored by a toothsome firmness and tyrosine crunch. PV

Shadow Blossom
Hofkäserei Kraus & Restaurant Schattbuch | Ebersbach bei Obergünzburg, Germany

For this cheese, teamwork makes the dreamwork—namely, the collaboration between German cheesemaker Albert Kraus and the folks at Michelin-starred Restaurant Schattbuch. Shadow Blossom begins as a traditional Allgäu, a semi-hard cheese the region and cheesemaker are known for. Since 1999, Hofkäserei Kraus has produced cheese using milk from nearby herds of Brown Swiss cows. Unlike its sister cheese that’s coated in wildflowers, this wheel is coated with wild Madagascar peppercorn, long pepper, tailed pepper, Kampot pepper, pink berries, and cardamom, lending a bright, spiced taste to the paste closest to the rind. MT

Setana
Cheesedom | Japan

After only three short years of cheesemaking, Emiko Nakayama’s Camembert-style creation won big internationally. Setana—named for the town on Hokkaido—won Super Gold and Best Japanese Cheese at the 2024–2025 WCA. This rich cheese begins with milk from cows that graze on seaside pastures rich in minerals, which ensures each wheel is imbued with Japanese terroir. Setana’s paste is butter-like in color and texture. It has a clean taste that defines many Japanese cheeses in production today. MT

** Not available in the US **

Beemster XO
Beemster Cheese | Westbeemster, Netherlands

A relative of Gouda with extreme regional specificity, Beemster cheeses are made from the milk of cows grazing on the mineral-rich grasses of the Beemster polder—once submerged land in the low-lying Dutch province of North Holland. Crafted by CONO Kaasmakers, a cooperative of cheesemakers in Middenbeemster, this pasteurized, washed-curd wheel ages for at least two years; the result is nothing short of cheese candy, redolent of salted caramel in both flavor and bite, with whiskey and pecan overtones. Beemster XO received Super Gold at the 2024–2025 WCA. PV

Pawlet
Woodlawn Creamery | West Pawlet, Vermont

Meet Pawlet: in one sense, it’s a brand-new cheese, but it’s also been made in Vermont for almost two decades. The Italian-inspired washed-rind wheels were previously made and distributed by now-closed Consider Bardwell Farm. Today, seventh-generation Woodlawn Creamery owner Seth Leach, along with his wife Kate and cheesemaker Leslie Goff Tyminski, have breathed new life into Pawlet, crafting the cheese with raw milk from Woodlawn’s entirely pastured Holstein Friesian herd. The resulting Taleggio-style cheese—grassy, earthy, and sweet—reflects the care and concern it takes to save something too good to leave behind. PV

Marco Polo Reserve
Beecher’s Handmade Cheese | Seattle, Washington

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese is best known for the classic cheddar that launched a thousand crocks of mac and cheese. Among Beecher’s flavored cheddar options—a category that has seen a lot of traction in recent awards—Marco Polo Reserve honors the exploratory spirit of its namesake, with green and black peppercorns added to the classic cheddar’s sweet-and-savory base. A 2024–2025 WCA Super Gold winner, Marco Polo Reserve is made by cloth-binding the peppercorn-studded truckle for extended open-air aging, resulting in a lower-moisture cheese with an exceptionally savory, umami bite. PV

Wild Garlic Yarg
Lynher Dairy | Cornwall, UK

Perhaps nothing describes Lynher Dairy’s Wild Garlic Yarg better than “moreish”—the English term for something so delicious it literally keeps you craving more. Made in Cornwall from pasteurized milk collected from a herd of Ayrshire cows, yarg is modeled after a sixteenth-century nettle-wrapped Caerphilly-style cheese. Wild Garlic Yarg swaps traditional nettles for wild garlic shoots that grow in springtime abundance in the region, creating a tidy, verdant truckle, and imbuing the semi-hard cheese with allium tang. Wild Garlic Yarg earned Super Gold at the 2024–2025 WCA. PV

**Limited availability in the US**

Cave-Aged Barnstorm Blue
Murray’s Cheese | New York, New York

Barnstorm is a fitting name for a well-traveled cheese with showstopping, almost daredevil sensibilities. Created in partnership with Vermont’s Jasper Hill Farm, who supplied the base, and Murray’s Cheese, who manages the affinage, both parties sought to make one of the most technically difficult cheeses on the market: a square-format, raw-milk, washed-rind blue. Succeeding in creating a cheese that is structurally and technically sound is one feat; developing a blue cheese that wafts with the aroma of freshly baked brownies is nothing short of prestidigitation. Barnstorm Blue was awarded First in its category at the 2025 ACS. PV

Mt. Alice
von Trapp Farmstead | Waitsfield, Vermont

Named for the mountain that supervises von Trapp Farmstead, this 2024–2025 WCA Super Gold designee mimics snow-capped peaks with its delicate, bloomy rind. Made by Sebastian von Trapp and Molly Semler, Mt. Alice’s flavors evolve from bright butter and citrus in its youth to earthen and vegetal, softening into a smooth and luxuriant paste as it ages. The multigenerational dairy’s commitment to regenerative agriculture and organic farming is the basis for all the creamery’s frequently lauded dairy products. PV

Wrångebäck
Almnäs Bruk | Hjo, Sweden

Founded by monks in 1225, Almnäs Bruk has been a place for cheesemaking and dairying in Sweden on and off ever since. Wrångebäck, a raw cow’s milk cheese, is recognized as the oldest Swedish cheese ever made, with production beginning in the 1830s. Each wheel is aged for 10 months, and the rinds are washed with a salty brine during aging, which adds depth of flavor to the final product. This semi-hard cheese has notes of mushroom, umami, and a lactic bite to finish. In 2022, Almnäs Bruk Wrångebäck became the first ever Nordic cheese to receive PDO status from the European Union, officially joining other European greats. MT

Grand Trunk
Stonetown Artisan Cheese | St. Mary’s, Ontario

Canadian cheeses continued their streak of stealing hearts, minds, and palates, with Grand Trunk taking Third Place Best of Show at the 2025 ACS. This cooked-curd cheese is a popular Alpine-style melter crafted by the Swiss immigrant makers at Stonetown Artisan Cheese. Made from the raw milk of their Holstein Friesian herd, Grand Trunk’s rind is smeared with wine yeast during its extended aging, lending complex aromatics and a distinctively rustic look. Named for an equally weathered local railway bridge, Grand Trunk delivers flavors of butter, roasted nuts, and dewy summer prairies. PV

** Limited availability in the US **

Alfred Le Fermier
Fromagerie La Station | Compton, Quebec

Alfred Le Fermier is deceptively unassuming, befitting its namesake: Alfred the farmer, who established the dairy farm where this cheese is produced nearly 100 years ago. A tidy wheel with a buttery yellow paste made from raw, organic cow’s milk, this cheese won First Place Best of Show at the 2025 ACS. Crafted by cheesemaker Simon-Pierre Bolduc, who is also Alfred’s great-grandson, the cheese’s caramel-hued washed rind is more woodsy than wild, with fruit and honey among its tasting notes—appropriate for a farm with a maple grove on-site. PV

Golden Gate
Marin French Cheese Co. | Petaluma, California

Golden Gate—appropriately named for the architectural icon—is a California original brought to life by the cultures on its dynamic surface. The cheese’s golden hue is less peaceful-sunset-over-the-bridge and more neon-rave-beneath-it. During its 14-day aging cycle, the hedonistic triple cream is hand-washed with brine for a streak of wildness. Gooey, funky, and vegetal, this attention-grabbing bloomy rind placed Third in its category at the 2025 ACS. PV

Smokey Blue
Rogue Creamery | Central Point, Oregon

Inspired by Oregon’s wildfire-prevention icon Smokey Bear, this toasty blue is an homage to its namesake. The base starts with certified organic pasteurized cow’s milk inoculated with Penicillium roqueforti, then the wheel is cold-smoked over hazelnut shells, imparting a deep nuttiness with distinct notes of candied bacon and sweet spice. It’s cave-aged for 90 days before it’s ready to enjoy, which enhances its depth of flavor and mellows out some of the blue funk. Smokey Blue won a 2025 GFA, joining the ranks of Rogue Creamery’s many other award-winning originals. MT

Rueda de Sigma
Quesos de Hualdo | Toledo, Spain

Rueda de Sigma is a Spanish Alpine-style cheese made from the high-quality raw milk of Manchega sheep that’s aged for seven months. Tasting notes range from sweet to nutty to fermented, with scents of toffee intensifying as the cheese matures. Cooking with Sigma unlocks even more flavor, enhancing meat dishes and melting like a dream. This cheese won Two Stars at the 2025 GTA.

Magnolia
Blackberry Farm | Walland, Tennessee

At Blackberry Farm, a massive luxury resort nestled in the idyllic foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, a flock of (mostly) East Friesian sheep grazes. Magnolia, the creamery’s take on a bloomy camembert, is known for its rich mouthfeel and luscious, mildly tangy flavor. Named after the grand magnolia tree that overlooks the farm and its happy sheep, this pasteurized beauty earned Best of Class in its category at the USCCC.

“Petit Agour” Sheep Cheese with Espelette Pepper
Agour | Hélette, France

Agour, maker of globally acclaimed Ossau-Iraty, won us over with this delicate wheel. The salmon-hued rind envelops a thick paste freckled with Espelette, a mildly spicy yet fruity pepper grown in the Basque region of France. This cheese packs a light heat. Pair it with another Basque delight: black cherry jam.

Fiore Sardo DOP
Caseificio Debbene | Macomer, Italy

Crumbly, straw-colored Fiore Sardo dates to the Bronze Age, when herds of sheep first grazed in the Sardinian mountains. Back then, thistle rennet was used, which may have influenced the cheese’s name (fiore means flower in Italian). Today, producer Caseificio Debbene uses lamb rennet and smokes the wheels over wood fires. A bite of Fiore Sardo yields complex umami and salt—the result of aging for about eight months and smoking in accordance with the seasons. This cheese won Super Gold at the 2024–2025 WCA.

Driftless–Natural
Hidden Springs Creamery | Westby, Wisconsin

Driftless is the flagship cheese of Wisconsin’s Hidden Springs Creamery. Its name is derived from the scenic Driftless region, where the creamery’s sheep pasture. This cheese is grassy, lactic, and spreadable like a chèvre and now comes in seven flavors—great for slathering on bagels and layering with fresh berries. Natural Driftless took home First in its category at the 2025 ACS.

Brebicet
Fromager d’Affinois | Pélussin, France

Luxurious and runny, Brebicet shows off the best qualities of Fromager d’Affinois’ double creams. This cheese is aged for two to three weeks and sold in small rectangular blocks. Its rind boasts sophisticated, striped wrinkling, and its taste is neither mild nor intense, though there is a slight tang. Melt it between two crunchy slices of sourdough for a buttery, decadent grilled cheese.

Pecora Nocciola
Landmark Creamery | Belleville, Wisconsin

Modeled after Italian pecorino, Landmark Creamery’s Pecora Nocciola is salty and fatty with flavor notes of toasted macadamias. This versatile cheese can be grated over practically anything for a bright finish or simply paired with a glass of prosecco. Pecora Nocciola has been recognized several times at the ACS Judging & Competition, but in 2025, it won First in its category; it’s another accolade for founder and cheesemaker Anna Landmark, who makes a variety of sheep’s milk cheeses and award-winning butters.

Holy Sheep
Artikaas | Heerenveen, Netherlands

This impressive sheep’s milk gouda made its debut in 2023. Just one year later, it won Gold at the 2024–2025 WCA. Aged for nine months, Holy Sheep is an amalgam of Parmigiano Reggiano, cheddar, and Swiss cheese—yet it possesses gouda’s trademark nuttiness and slightly sweet flavor, an abundance of tyrosine crystals, plus undertones of lanolin. Pair with crisp white wine for a heavenly nosh.

Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado
Queijo da Soalheira Quinta do Pomar Joaquim Duarte Alves | Soalheira, Portugal

Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado hails from a tiny Portuguese town but won Super Gold on the international stage at the 2024–2025 WCA, where it also claimed World Champion Cheese, Best Portuguese Cheese, and Best Raw Milk Cheese. Butter yellow in color with a washed rind, this humble, mild yet slightly funky cheese can be spread on bread or spooned right into your mouth.

Pecorino Bislacco al Rum e Tabacco
Caseificio Storico Amatrice | Amatrice, Italy

This pecorino was Italy’s highest-ranking cheese at the 2024–2025 WCA, landing in the top 14 overall and winning Best Italian Cheese. Crafted by Caseificio Storico Amatrice—nestled in the mountains of one of Italy’s largest national park, Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga—this stunner is wrapped in Kentucky tobacco leaves, which lends it a smoky aroma, like that of a fine cigar. It’s also treated with rum, imparting a sweet smell and intense flavor. Caseificio Storico Amatrice calls this pecorino a cheese for meditation, and we could not agree more.

Drunken Goat Reserva
Central Quesera Montesinos | Murcia, Spain

Hailing from Murcia, Spain, Drunken Goat Reserva is a classic Spanish goat’s milk cheese that’s been soaked in Monastrell red wine, imparting a distinctive purple rind and mellow, toasted flavor. Made from the milk of Murciana goats, Drunken Goat Reserva is aged for a minimum of 10 months, allowing the cheese to mature into a supple and mild wheel with delicate fruitiness, hints of grape-skin tannin from the wine, and a finish that’s clean and polished.

St. Germain
Blakesville Creamery | Port Washington, Wisconsin

St. Germain—which took home Second in its category at the 2025 ACS—embodies Blakesville Creamery’s quiet precision and respect for European tradition. Made on Wisconsin’s eastern shore, this semi-firm, washed-rind goat cheese is styled after the Alpine tommes of France—gentle, nutty, and deeply aromatic without being assertive. Its pale butter-hued paste is supple yet elastic, carrying aromas of toasted grain, cellar, and sweet cream. As it matures, the flavor deepens into a balance of savory warmth and lingering sweetness, finishing clean and pastoral.

Truffle Shuffle
Wegmans | Websterville, Vermont

Born out of a collaboration between Vermont Creamery’s expert cheesemakers and Wegmans’ in-house affinage team, Truffle Shuffle brings together the best of both worlds: small-batch artistry and careful maturation. This fresh goat cheese starts with Vermont Creamery’s signature chèvre base—bright, citrusy, and impossibly smooth—then gets infused with luxurious black truffle and a whisper of salt. The result is a cheese that’s both playful and elegant—creamy on the palate with an earthy depth that lingers long after each bite. Truffle Shuffle claimed Super Gold at the 2024–2025 WCA.

Valleclaro
Quesos y Besos | Jaén, Spain

This expressive Spanish goat’s milk cheese from a family-run operation in Jaén, a region known for producing impeccable olive oil, marries tradition and innovation. Made from the pasteurized milk of Malagueña goats in pastured flocks, its slow lactic-coagulation method yields a gracefully firm yet creamy paste. Valleclaro captured Super Gold and the Ann-Marie Dyas Award for Best Artisan Cheese at the 2024–2025 WCA, placing among the top 14 best cheeses in the world. The flavor offers a clean mineral edge, gentle sweet tang, and goat-milk richness, making it a standout in the world of chèvres.

Thyme & Rosemary Marinated Goat Cheese
Laura Chenel | Sonoma, California

California cheese pioneer Laura Chenel has long been crafting goat’s milk cheeses with flair, and Thyme & Rosemary Marinated Goat Cheese is no exception. This herb-laden disc snagged Second in its category at the 2025 ACS. Packaged in a bath of olive oil, this cheese is gently tangy and dotted with aromatic thyme and rosemary, enhancing the cheese’s brightness and making it a perfect choice for crumbling atop salads or spreading on crusty bread.

Coupole
Vermont Creamery | Websterville, Vermont

Coupole is one of the aged cheeses that helped define Vermont Creamery’s artistry; a soft-ripened snow-dusted dome, its name nods to its delicate “cupola” silhouette. Beneath its wrinkled Geotrichum rind lies a paste that transitions from dense and chalky at the center to lush and creamy near the edge. Each bite reveals layers: bright lactic tang, faint mushroom earthiness, and a gentle, fresh-cream sweetness. Coupole claimed First in its category at the 2025 ACS Silver and at the 2024–2025 WCA.

Montchevre Goat Milk Cheddar
Saputo Cheese, USA | Black Creek, Wisconsin

This innovative cheddar from Saputo’s Montchevre brand blends cheddar-style bite with goat milk’s subtle flavor. The texture is smooth yet confident and, upon initial taste, the flavor is fresh and bright before settling into a mellow and nutty finish. In 2025, Montchevre cheeses collected medals at key international competitions, including Best of Class at the 2025 USCCC in the Hard Goat’s Milk Cheeses category.

Original Goat Cheese
LaClare Creamery | Malone, Wisconsin

In Wisconsin’s rolling countryside, LaClare Creamery has turned humble fresh chèvre into a model of precision and purity. Made from milk sourced exclusively from local family farms, this cheese captures the freshness of the region in every bite—bright, creamy, and perfectly balanced with citrusy tang and gentle sweetness. Its clean flavor and impeccably smooth texture earned it a Best of Class in its category at the 2025 USCCC, scoring an impressive 99.7.

Midnight Moon
Cypress Grove | Arcata, California

Midnight Moon is an aged goat’s milk cheese that defies the stereotypical barnyard flavor of other goat’s milk cheeses. It’s aged for six months or more to develop its signature nuttiness, brown-butter richness, and caramelized finish akin to Alpine-style cheeses and goudas. Most recently, it captured Gold at the 2024–2025 WCA. Midnight Moon delivers depth, texture, and sophistication, showcasing goat milk’s range of flavor when aged to perfection.

Mountain Top
FireFly Farms | Accident, Maryland

From the misty ridges of Western Maryland, FireFly Farms crafts Mountain Top—a soft-ripened, pyramid-shaped goat cheese that nods to French Valençay but speaks with an Appalachian accent. Its ash-coated rind blooms to a delicate ivory, cloaking a paste that transitions from fudgy in the center to lushly oozing near the edges. The flavor unfolds in layers: lemony brightness at first bite, a hint of mushroom and hay as it lingers, and a clean mineral finish. Sourced from local family dairies, each wheel reflects the terroir of the mid-Atlantic. Mountain Top claimed Third in its category at the 2025 ACS.

Baffalo Blu
Caseificio Defendi | Lombardy, Italy

Baffalo Blu stands apart as one of the few blue cheeses made entirely from Italian buffalo milk. Crafted by Caseificio Defendi in Lombardy, its higher-fat milk yields a luxuriously fudgy texture and mellow, rounded flavor that softens the usual blue cheese bite. Aged in 13-pound cylinders for slow, even maturation, Baffalo Blu is a good balance of intensity and sweetness, earning international acclaim, including Gold at the 2024–2025 MQB.

Marinated Buffalo Cheese
Kris Lloyd Artisan | Adelaide Hills, South Australia

Kris Lloyd Artisan, known for pushing boundaries—ant-coated chèvre, anyone?—delivers another standout with marinated buffalo feta. Made with rich, high-fat buffalo milk, this cheese is velvety and creamy, rivaling traditional sheep’s or goat’s milk counterparts. After a two-week aging period, it’s hand-cut and submerged in olive oil from Coriole Vineyards with fresh thyme and peppercorns, infusing each bite with herbal brightness and savory depth. This marinated cheese has earned widespread acclaim, including Gold at the 2024 WCA.

Seascape
Central Coast Creamery | Paso Robles, California

Made from pasteurized cow’s and goat’s milk, Seascape has a mellow, buttery base with a clean, lightly tangy edge. This semi-hard wheel is slightly crumbly with a supple texture, and is firm enough to hold its shape while staying sliceable. It won Second in its category at the 2025 ACS, a reflection of its balance and popularity among mongers and everyday cheese lovers. Produced in Paso Robles, California, Seascape mirrors the region’s vibe: approachable, friendly, and an easy favorite.

Runnymede
The Farm at Doe Run | Coatesville, Pennsylvania

Runnymede is a semi-hard, Italian mountain-style cheese made with thermized milk from the farm’s herd of cows, sheep, and goats. A grana-style cheese with a natural rind, it develops rich flavors of cream, caramel, and toasted bread over time. The firm, versatile texture is excellent for cooking yet complex enough to enjoy on its own. Named after the nearby Runnymede Sanctuary Trust, it reflects the farm’s commitment to conservation. The cheese took First in its category at the 2025 ACS, a nod to the careful craftsmanship and skill at The Farm at Doe Run.

** Very limited availability **

Cottonseed
Boxcarr Handmade Cheese | Cedar Grove, North Carolina

Cottonseed is a soft-ripened robiola-style cheese from one of the few Southern cheesemakers on culture’s Best Cheeses list. Boxcarr Handmade Cheese blends milk from its goats with local cow’s milk, giving the cheese a gentle tang, savory nuttiness, and rounded creaminess. A thin, downy rind of Penicillium candidum develops delicate mushroom and mineral notes during its roughly 20-day maturation. Winning Second in its category at the 2025 ACS, this approachable, family-made cheese is a small, shining example of Southern craft.

Mobay
Carr Valley Cheese | La Valle, Wisconsin

A Wisconsin take on a French classic, Mobay draws inspiration from Morbier—the cow’s milk cheese known for a line of ash running through its center—but instead, Mobay comprises a layer of sheep’s milk cheese and a layer of goat’s milk cheese separated by grape vine ash. Crafted by Master Cheesemaker Sid Cook and aged a minimum of 120 days, the result is a visually striking and delightfully nuanced cheese. Mobay earned Best of Class in its category at the 2025 USCCC, cementing its place as a standout in Carr Valley Cheese’s lineup.

BuonaSorte con Latte di Bufala
Luigi Guffanti | Arona, Italy

One of the newest additions to the Luigi Guffanti lineup, BuonaSorte con Latte di Bufala was first released in 2023 as a twist on the traditional 24-month cow’s milk BuonaSorte. Made from raw cow’s milk and at least 5 percent water buffalo milk (it varies each season due to limited availability) and aged for a minimum of 18 months in Guffanti’s natural caves, this grana-style cheese develops a crystalline, flaky texture and a rich, sweet mouthfeel thanks to buffalo milk’s high fat content. Its careful balance of flavor and texture earned this wheel Bronze at both the 2024 MQB and 2024–2025 WCA, showcasing Guffanti’s tradition and innovation.