VT Cheesemakers Win Big!

Hi, Friends! I love cheese. Especially Vermont cheese. I was thrilled to see that two local cheesemakers, Maplebrook Farm + Ploughgate Creamery in North Bennington and Woodlawn Creamery in Pawlet, won big at the recent American Cheese Society’s annual conference. 

Photo courtesy of the Vermont Cheese Council

Make no mistake: Vermont cheeses and dairy have proven their mettle on the national stage for quite some time now. Vermont cheesemakers took home a record-breaking 54 awards across 15 Vermont cheesemakers and producers at this most recent competition! Every Vermont cheesemaker who entered won an award. Not too shabby!

Behold the local award-winners:

Maplebrook Farm + Ploughgate Creamery: Cultured Maple Butter, 1st Place; Feta, 1st Place; and Mozzarella, 1st Place

Woodlawn Creamery: Emerson, 3rd Place and Rupert, 3rd Place

Other award highlights include Cabot Creamery Cooperative in Waitsfield, VT, which took home 14 awards, and Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, VT, which took home 1st Place Best in Show!

Congratulations to all cheesemakers across Vermont!

Official Press Release from the Vermont Cheese Council

The Vermont Cheese Council (VCC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the cheesemaking community of Vermont and the Vermont cheese brand, announced that Vermont Cheesemakers took home 54 total awards across 15 Vermont cheesemakers and producers. 

The American Cheese Society (ACS) is the leading organization supporting the understanding, appreciation, and promotion of farmstead, artisan, and specialty cheeses produced in the Americas. Founded in 1983, ACS hosts North America’s foremost annual cheese-based educational conference, and world-renowned cheese judging and competition.

Seth Leach, Kate Leach, and Leslie Tyminski of Woodlawn Creamery

15 Vermont cheesemakers submitted cheeses for judging at the prestigious competition in Louisville, KY this year, due in part to the VCC’s program for ACS entry fee reimbursement. The state of Vermont boasts more cheese companies per capita than any other state in the nation. There are currently 40 members of the Vermont Cheese Council making over 150+ varieties of cheese.

Cheesemakers range in size from producers for local farmers markets to producers selling in regional, national, and international markets. Vermont remains the heart of the region’s dairy industry, home to nearly half of all farms in New England. Vermont cheese creates $542,242 of economic output per job, and each Vermont dairy cow provides $8,676 in economic activity to the state annually.

Our local winners:

Maplebrook Farm

Ploughgate Creamery

Woodlawn Creamery