It sports a balsa bark girdle to hold all that creaminess in, as well as to augment the cheese's natural woodsy, pungent and smoky aromatics. The cheese is produced during the winter months from the farms herd of 45 Ayrshire cows as their fresh, raw milk achieves peak richness. These conditions are perfect for making Winnimere, a washed-rind cheese that is reminiscent of the famous French Vacherin Mont D'Or. A washed-rind cheese wrapped in bark cut from the spruce trees on Jasper Hill Farm, Winnimere is known for its complex flavor, texture and strong aroma. Cheese Sherry Gray - Jasper Hill 22.95 Walden - Sequatchie Cove 15.95 Winnimere - Jasper Hill 36.95 Old World Collection 110 Northeast. During the winter months, the butterfat in the milk skyrockets, due to the fact that the cows are mostly in the barn, being protected from the harsh elements of the northeast kingdom of Vermont. Winnimere is made from the winter milk of Mateo and Andy Kehler's herd of Ayrshire cows up at Jasper Hill Farm.****I’m just kidding you guys! I still love you. ***cough, cough - cop-out - cough cough.*** **Let’s pause to remember than Canada is a country, not a state, for comparison purposes. *Have any of you ever heard this pear thing? I don’t know if I am buying it. We will talk about the judging process, discuss what judges look for, and taste a lot of 1st place cheeses.) You’ll have to wait on three out of four of the Best of Show winners but the class will be great.
(I mention the unavailability of these cheeses in the top 4 because, once again, I am teaching a cheese class on the judging. Still there’s hope for all you folks who “only carry American cheese” but make an exception for Parmigiano Reggiano.*** This cheese is awesome: The Cheddar is available, but the Grana was an experiment (like Willi’s 3rd cheese that I had in my top rankings, the Alpine Renegade) and also not available right now. Sweeter than I would expect for that style but probably the best US-made hard Italian cheese I have ever had. One of the best traditional Cheddars made in the US: earthy, grassy, dank, fruity, and sharp. Willi had built amazing caves to age cheese but makes his cheese with other Master Cheesemakers like Kerry Henning and Chris Roelli. Tying for 3rd place were the two cheeses I ranked 2nd and 3rd.īoth of these were Willi Lehner cheeses. 100% “Alpine Style” sheep milk cheese… we are getting some in, but again, not for a couple of months. I didn’t vote for Bear Hill but I had it (unofficially) ranked 4th or 5th in my head. Not just a Cheddar-maker anymore, Grafton has been working on sheep cheeses and different styles. #2 in the Best of Show voting was Bear Hill from Grafton Village Cheese Company. Congrats Jasper Hill folks! This was a well-deserved win.Īnd no, you cannot have any until November-ish. This has long been a favorite of mine anyway and it was nice to see it arrive for judging tasting as good as it does in the store. Perfectly ripe, grassy, beefy, mustardy, rich, oozy, and complex.
It’s a seasonal cheese, but they made a special batch just for the competition. My clear #1, though, was Winnimere from Jasper Hill. Imagine my shock when I realized that three of my top six cheeses were from the same company!
#Jasper hill winnimere code
The cheese company code is always the first number. While entries are anonymous, they have codes on them so that we can place our votes. I narrowed it down to about eight cheeses and then gathered a piece of each, sat in a corner of the room, and tasted them off against each other. When I was judging for the Best of Show I did what I usually do. Doing this in the heart of Wisconsin definitely struck a nerve because I was later pointedly informed by Wisconsinites that Canada took more ribbons than California.** I was also told that they would “take the high road” and not visibly display Wisconsin pride at the awards ceremony in Sacramento next year.
In an earlier workshop someone tried to hand me a California flag.* As a judge, who would be sitting in the judge’s area, I felt like I had to refuse but I have to admit it amused me that every time a California cheese won a ribbon, Californians yelled and waved their flags. I mean c’mon, I haven’t even talked about the award ceremony yet. But… I have a few more posts about ACS to make before I let it go away completely. The rarefied atmosphere of Cheese Camp is something I think we all try to hold onto a little, but real life intrudes.
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