2020 World Championship Cheese Contest Winners, Scores, Highlights March 3-5, 2020 | Madison, Wisconsin ® presented by the Cheese Reporter and the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association World Cheese Contest ® Champions 2020 1998 1976 MICHAEL SPYCHER & PER OLESEN RYKELE SYTSEMA GOURMINO AG Denmark Netherlands Switzerland 1996 1974 2018 HANS DEKKERS GLEN WARD MICHEL TOUYAROU & Netherlands Wisconsin, USA SAVENCIA CHEESE USA France 1994 1972 JENS JENSEN DOMENICO ROCCA 2016 Denmark Italy TEAM EMMI ROTH USA Fitchburg, Wisconsin USA 1992 1970 OLE BRANDER LARRY HARMS 2014 Denmark Iowa, USA GERARD SINNESBERGER Gams, Switzerland 1990 1968 JOSEF SCHROLL HARVEY SCHNEIDER 2012 Austria Wisconsin, USA TEAM STEENDEREN Wolvega, Netherlands 1988 1966 DALE OLSON LOUIS BIDDLE 2010 Wisconsin, USA Wisconsin, USA CEDRIC VUILLE Switzerland 1986 1964 REJEAN GALIPEAU IRVING CUTT 2008 Ontario, Canada Ontario, Canada MICHAEL SPYCHER Switzerland 1984 1962 ROLAND TESS VINCENT THOMPSON 2006 Wisconsin, USA Wisconsin, USA CHRISTIAN WUTHRICH Switzerland 1982 1960 JULIE HOOK CARL HUBER 2004 Wisconsin, USA Wisconsin, USA MEINT SCHEENSTRA Netherlands 1980 1958 LEIF OLESEN RONALD E. JOHNSON 2002 Denmark Wisconsin, USA CRAIG SCENEY Australia 1978 1957 FRANZ HABERLANDER JOHN C. REDISKE 2000 Austria Wisconsin, USA KEVIN WALSH Tasmania, Australia Discovering the Winning World’s Best Dairy Results Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association was honored to host an international team of judges and an impressive array of samples of 2020 cheese, butter, yogurt and dairy ingredients from around the globe at the 2020 World Championship Cheese Contest March 3-5 in Madison. World Champion It was our largest event ever, with a breath-taking 3,667 entries from Michael Spycher, Mountain 26 nations and 36 American states. Every category received more Dairy Fritzenhaus support from dairy manufacturers: sheep and goat’s milk entries rose, yogurts and dairy ingredients grew, and many categories of cow’s milk Gourmino Le Gruyère AOP cheese swelled, led by growth in extra aged gouda from Europe and Gourmino AG the U.S. Dairy innovation and the growth of value-added products is exciting to see. Urtenen-Schoenbuehl, Bern, A near-perfect wheel of Gruyere from Switzerland, submitted by Switzerland Gourmino for cheesemaker Michael Spycher at Mountain Dairy Champion Round Score: Fritzenhaus, rose to earn best of show – the World Champion Cheese! And more amazing than that, Mr. Spycher is a second-time World 98.81 Champion – the first repeat winner in the history of this 63-year-old competition. Our congratulations to this extraordinary cheesemaker. The World Championship Cheese Contest is hosted by our nonprofit association to advance the art of cheesemaking and promote the 2020 craftsmanship of dairy product makers around the world. Beyond First Runner Up the efforts of our dedicated staff, led by contest manager Kirsten Strohmenger, hundreds of industry volunteers make this massive Hardegger Käse Team endeavor a reality. Gallus Grand CRU It begins with our 62 judges from 19 countries and 14 states in the U.S. These experts are unpaid, and with the support of their employers, Hardegger Käse AG leave their busy work behind and fly at their own expense to spend a week evaluating entries. We are indebted to them, and the Jonschwil, St. Gallen, organizations that sponsor them. Switzerland No one works harder than our core team of volunteer judge leaders – Champion Round Score: the Red Hats – who spend months creating the Contest with WCMA. 98.70 Thanks here to Jim Mueller, our Contest Chief Judge, to Assistants Stan Dietsche, Sandy Toney, Tim Czmowski, Mariana Marques de Almeida, Josef Hubatschek and Bill Schlinsog, our chief judge emeritus. Brian Eggebrecht leads our B-Team of volunteers as Contest Chairman. And we extend best wishes to Bob Aschebrock, our former 2020 chief judge recuperating from a back injury. Second Runner Up Literally hundreds of busy industry cheesemakers, suppliers, marketers and enthusiasts drop everything in March to make this Team Lutjewinkel contest possible. A special shout out to Randy Swenson at Wisconsin Lutjewinkel Noord Hollandse Aging and Grading Cheese Inc., Jerry Wicker at WOW Logistics, Jim Mueller, Gary Vidlock, Larry Bell and Richard Wold who devoted Gouda PDO weeks, not days, to contest logistics (and heavy lifting). And a tip Royal FrieslandCampina- of the hat to MCT Dairies, who stepped in and worked diligently to Export release entries from U.S. Customs with great success. The Championship Cheese Contests are a pleasure to host, because Lutjewinkel, Netherlands this effort, all in the name of improving the industry, building morale Champion Round Score: and putting cheesemakers on the map, has molded friendships and created moments of laughter and camaraderie that our family of 98.66 volunteers will never forget. See you next year! Complete Contest results are John Umhoefer available at: WCMA Executive Director WorldChampionCheese.org Contest Results Team Meister 4, Meister Cheese, Muscoda, Team Middlebury, Cabot Creamery Class 1. Cheddar, Mild Wisconsin, United States, Mild Cheddar | Cooperative, Middlebury, Vermont, United (0 to 3 Months) 98.5 States, Mild Cheddar BEST OF CLASS Nate Huser, Foremost Farms USA, Marshfield, Bongards North 2, Bongards, Perham, Wisconsin, United States, Mild Cheddar Minnesota, United States, mild cheddar Team Middlebury, Cabot Creamery Team Meister 3, Meister Cheese, Muscoda, Team Chateaugay, McCadam Cheese, Cooperative, Middlebury, Vermont, United Wisconsin, United States, Mild Cheddar Chateaugay, New York, United States, Mild States, Mild Cheddar | 99.65 SWC Cheese Team, Southwest Cheese LLC, Cheddar SECOND AWARD Clovis, New Mexico, United States, White Team Chateaugay, McCadam Cheese, SWC Cheese Team, Southwest Cheese LLC, Cheddar-1 Chateaugay, New York, United States, Mild Clovis, New Mexico, United States, Colored Team Meister 1, Meister Cheese, Muscoda, Cheddar Cheddar | 99.6 Wisconsin, United States, Mild Cheddar Glanbia Nutritionals Blackfoot, Blackfoot, THIRD AWARD Team Cabot, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Idaho, United States, Colored Cheddar Mild Team Cabot, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Cabot, Vermont, United States, Mild Gomez Santiago, Glanbia Nutritionals, Twin Cabot, Vermont, United States, Mild Cheddar Falls, Idaho, United States, Cheddar Mild Cheddar | 99.55 Team Cabot, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Team Meister 2, Meister Cheese, Muscoda, Glanbia Nutritionals Blackfoot, Blackfoot, Cabot, Vermont, United States, Mild Wisconsin, United States, Mild Cheddar Idaho, United States, Colored Cheddar Mild Cheddar Balderson Cheddar Team, Lactalis Canada, | 99.25 SWC Cheese Team, Southwest Cheese LLC, Winchester, Ontario, Canada, Balderson Mild Team Darwin, Agropur, Weyauwega, Clovis, New Mexico, United States, White Cheddar Wisconsin, United States, Cheddar, cut from Cheddar-2 Team Cheese-Jim Falls, AMPI, Jim Falls, 640 | 99.2 Team Middlebury, Cabot Creamery Wisconsin, United States, Color Cheddar Andy Follen, Lynn Dairy Inc, Granton, Cooperative, Middlebury, Vermont, United Rick Anderson, Burnett Dairy Cooperative, Wisconsin, United States, Mild Cheddar | States, Mild Cheddar Wilson, Wisconsin, United States, Mild 99.05 Richard Lechner, Lynn Dairy Inc, Granton, Cheddar Team Chateaugay, McCadam Cheese, Wisconsin, United States, Mild Cheddar Team Middlebury, Cabot Creamery Chateaugay, New York, United States, Mild Dan Stearns, Agropur, Weyauwega, Wisconsin, Cooperative, Middlebury, Vermont, United Cheddar | 98.8 United States, Cheddar, cut from 640 States, Mild Cheddar Timothy Stearns, Agropur, Weyauwega, Quesos Navarro, Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico, Team WNYCE, CROPP/Organic Valley, La Wisconsin, United States, Cheddar, cut from Cheddar Joven Farge, Wisconsin, United States, Organic Pst 640 | 98.65 Team Chateaugay, McCadam Cheese, Mild Cheddar Team 2, Agropur-Jerome, Jerome, Idaho, United Chateaugay, New York, United States, Mild Tim Karr, WNY Cheese Enterprise LLC, States, Mild Cheddar | 98.6 Cheddar PAVILION, New York, United States, Mild Cheese Team-Jim Falls, AMPI, Jim Falls, Craythorn Whitney, Glanbia Nutritionals, Twin Cheddar Wisconsin, United States, White Cheddar Falls, Idaho, United States, Cheddar Mild Bongards North1, Bongards, Perham, | 98.5 Minnesota, United States, 40lb block Pennland Pure, Hancock, Maryland, United States, Braddocks Crossing Partner Sponsors | World Championship Cheese Contest AND D OD AIR FO Y E IN H D T U R S O T F R S Y N F O O I R T O U V L E O R S 6 G 0 N I Y D I E V A O R R P S 2 | World Championship Cheese Contest L’Ancetre Team, Fromagerie L’Ancetre, Kiel Cheesemakers, Land O Lakes, Inc., Kiel, Dan Stearns, Agropur, Weyauwega, Wisconsin, BÉCANCOUR, Québec, Canada, L’Ancetre Wisconsin, United States, Medium Cheddar United States, Cheddar, cut from 640 Organic Mild Cheddar | 98.75 Bothwell Cheese Inc., New Bothwell, Manitoba, SWC Cheese Team, Southwest Cheese LLC, Team Cabot, Cabot Creamery, Cabot, Vermont, Canada, Non-GMO Project Verified Medium Clovis, New Mexico, United States, Colored United States, Medium Cheddar | 98.65 White Cheddar Cheddar Team Chateaugay, McCadam Cheese, Patty Beattie, Great Lakes Cheese of NY, Huremovic Senada, Glanbia Nutritionals, Twin Chateaugay, New York, United States, Adams, New York, United States, Cheddar Falls, Idaho, United States, Cheddar Mild Medium Cheddar | 98.6 Mark Stahl, Great Lakes Cheese of NY, Adams, David Meyer, Lynn Dairy Inc, Granton, Team B, Tillamook County Creamery New York, United States, Cheddar Wisconsin, United States, Mild Cheddar