The big winner at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin is a Swiss Gruyere.
The contest is the most important of its kind in the world. It is the largest international cheese and butter competition. This year, 2,318 cheeses from 20 countries took part.
Cheesemaker Cedric Fragniere from Fromagerie de la Brévine took top prize for his Swiss Gruyere. It received a total of 98.79 points out of a possible 100 in the last round of votes.
Bill Schlinsog, one of 30 judges, said, "It’s very smooth, it’s aromatic and it has a very clean cheese flavour. It has a burst of flavour and then it settles down very nicely in the mouth."
The second place winner was also Swiss. Andeer Sennerei won for a smear-ripened hard cheese called an Andeerer Traum. This runner-up had 98.52 points.
Third place went to Austrian Alois Pesendorfer of Gmunden, Austria, whose Gmundner Berg Premium semisoft cheese picked up 98.46 points.
The judges particularly liked the winning Gruyere’s creamy texture and the light hint of herbs.
This can translate into serious financial compensation for winners as winning cheeses see a serious spike in their demand.