| American
Cheese Society 2003 Judging Results
 As
its theme promised, there definitely was “A Cheese for Every
Season” at the recent American Cheese Society’s 2003
conference in San Francisco. Hundreds of cheeses, in fact, represented
the work of artisan cheesemakers throughout North America.
The public was invited to attend the “Festival of Cheese”
that culminated the event —a grand tasting of the 615 cheeses
submitted for judging from more than 100 U.S. and Canadian producers.
Held in the gallery court of the newly renovated San Francisco Ferry
Building, the sellout event drew turophiles from throughout California.
Best
of Show award went to Cowgirl Creamery’s Red Hawk cheese:
a unique, washed rind, triple-crème cow’s milk 12 ounce
round. It’s been a favorite American original since its first
creation several years ago by Sue Conley and Peggy Smith. (Available
online from Cowgirl
Creamery, Pt. Reyes Station, California.)
The happy cows (of the California Milk Advisory Board’s ads),
goats and sheep of California must be positively gleeful: 49 ribbons
were awarded to California producers. The crew at Carr
Valley Cheese of La Valle, Wisconsin can also take
great pride: they collected 16 ribbons (six firsts, six seconds,
and four thirds)—more than any other single producer. A fourth
generation family cheesemaker, Carr Valley’s Sid Cook holds
the coveted Wisconsin Master Cheese Maker designation and obviously
deserves it.
Not surprisingly, many of the finest American cheeses are produced
in California and Wisconsin, the nation’s largest dairying
states. But there was ample proof that great cheese can be made
most anywhere, given the passion and dedication required. Prizewinners
hailed from Maine to Hawaii, Texas to Quebec, and from some surprising
states in between: Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Indiana,
and Colorado, among others. To contact producers for distribution
or to order direct, you’ll find a complete membership listing
on the American
Cheese Society’s website.
 With
so many delicious cheeses to choose from, tasting was a tough assignment.
After a few more laps around the track, we’ll share our notes.
For now, following are the judges’ decisions:
American Cheese Society 2003 Judging Results
Best of Show
Red Hawk
Cowgirl Creamery (California)
A. Fresh Unripened Cheese
(Mascarpone, Cream Cheese, Neufchatel, Ricotta, Impastata
Exempt: Fresh Goat Cheese, Queso Blanco Types, Cottage Cheeses)
AC: Cow’s Milk
1st Place: Cream Cheese, Zingerman’s Creamery (Michigan)
2nd Place: Ricotta, Calabro Cheese Corp. (Connecticut)
2nd Place: Mascarpone, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese (Wisconsin)
3rd Place: Breakfast Cheese, Marin French Cheese Co. (California)
AG: Goat’s Milk
1st Place: Chevre Log, Cypress Grove Chevre (California)
2nd Place: Fromage Blanc, Cypress Grove Chevre (California)
3rd Place: Fresh Goat Cheese, Capriole (Indiana)
3rd Place: Goat Ricotta, Mozzarella Company (Texas)
AS: Sheep’s Milk
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: Neige de Brebis, La Moutonniere Inc. (Quebec)
3rd Place: No Award
B. Soft Ripened Cheese
(White Surface Mold Ripened Cheeses—Brie, Camembert, Coulommiers,
etc.)
BC: Cow’s Milk
1st Place: Triple Cream Brie, Marin French Cheese Co. (California)
2nd Place: Triple Crème, Fromage Cote (Quebec)
3rd Place: Velvet Rose, Sweet Grass Dairy (Georgia)
BG: Goat’s Milk
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: Pipers Pyramid, Capriole (Indiana)
3rd Place: Camellia, Redwood Hill Farm Goat Dairy (California)
BS: Sheep’s Milk and/or Mixed Milks
1st Place: Vermont Brebris, Willow Hill Farm (Vermont)
2nd Place: Hudson Valley Camembert, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company
(New York)
3rd Place: Cobble Hill, Willow Hill Farm (Vermont)
BF: Flavor Added
1st Place: Tumbleweed, Bingham Hill Cheese Company (Colorado)
2nd Place: Jalapeño Brie, Marin French Cheese Co. (California)
3rd Place: Garlic Brie, Marin French Cheese Co. (California)
C. American Originals
(Cheese recognized by the Judging Rules and Awards committee as
uniquely American in their original forms. Monterey Jack, Brick
Muenster, Colby, Brick Cheese, Teleme, Liederkranz, Oka, etc. Exempt:
Brick Mozzarella, flavored Monterey Jack.)
CJ: Monterey Jack—All Milks
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: No Award
3rd Place: Jack Style, Organic Valley Wisconsin Raw Milk Cheese
(Wisconsin)
CC: Open Category, Cow’s Milk
1st Place: Virgin Pine Native Blue, Carr Valley Cheese (Wisconsin)
2nd Place: Brick, Widmer’s Cheese Cellars (Wisconsin)
3rd Place: St. Pat, Cowgirl Creamery (California)
3rd Place: Cantonnier, Fromage Cote (Quebec)
CG: Open Category, Goat’s Milk
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: Humboldt Fog Grande, Cypress Grove Chevre (California)
3rd Place: Marble Mountain, Cypress Grove Chevre (California)
3rd Place: Cardona, Carr Valley Cheese (Wisconsin)
CS: Open Category, Sheep and/or Mixed Milk
1st Place: Mobay, Carr Valley Cheese (Wisconsin)
2nd Place: Cave Aged Marisa, Carr Valley Cheese (Wisconsin)
3rd Place: Autumn Oak, Willow Hill Farm
D. American-Made International Style
(Exempt: All Cheddars, all Italian type cheeses.)
DD: Dutch Style, All Milks (Gouda, Edam, etc.)
1st Place: Super Aged Gouda, Winchester Cheese Company (California)
2nd Place: Sharp Gouda, Winchester Cheese Company (California)
3rd Place: Gouda, Lactalis USA Turlock (California)
DC: Open Category, Cow’s Milk
1st Place: Dry Jack, Spring Hill Jersey Cheese (California)
2nd Place: Putney Tomme, Vermont Shepherd (Vermont)
3rd Place: Aged Raclette, Leelanau Cheese Company (Michigan)
3rd Place: Mezzo Secco, Vella Cheese Company (California)
DG: Open Category, Goat’s Milk
1st Place: Capriati, Fromagerie Tournevent (Quebec)
2nd Place: Aged Cardona, Carr Valley Cheese (Wisconsin)
3rd Place: Queso de Mano, Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy (Colorado)
DS: Open Category, Sheep or Mixed Milk
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: No Award
3rd Place: Aged Marisa, Carr Valley Cheese (Wisconsin)
E. Cheddars
(All Cheddars, all milk sources.)
EA: Aged Cheddars (aged between 12 and 24 months)
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: Cheddar, Widmer Cheese Cellars (Wisconsin)
3rd Place: Cabot Private Stock Cheddar, Cabot Creamery Cooperative
(Vermont)
3rd Place: Classic Reserve Cheddar, Grafton Village Cheese Co.,
LLC (Vermont)
3rd Place: Cheddar, Fiscalini Cheese Company (California)
EF: Flavor Added, Any Age
1st Place: Cheddar with Caraway, Fiscalini Cheese Company (California)
2nd Place: Rosemary Cheddar, Rogue Creamery (Oregon)
3rd Place: Pesto Cheddar, Rogue Creamery (Oregon)
EC: Cow’s Milk (aged less than 12 months)
1st Place: Clay Burne, Sweet Grass Dairy (Georgia)
2nd Place: Premium Cheddar Grafton Village Cheese Co., LLC (Vermont)
3rd Place: Raw Sharp Cheese, Organic Valley (Wisconsin)
3rd Place: Cave Aged Cheddar, Carr Valley Cheese (Wisconsin)
EG: Goat’s Milk (aged less than 12 months)
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: Botana, Sweet Grass Dairy (Georgia)
3rd Place: Cheddar, Cypress Grove Chevre (California)
EM: Mature Cheddars (aged over 25 months)
1st Place: 8 Year Cheddar Carr Valley Cheese (Wisconsin)
2nd Place: Cheddar – 2 years, Fromagerie Perron (Quebec)
3rd Place: TN Aged Reserve Cheddar, Sweet Water Valley Farm (Tennessee)
F. Blue Mold Cheese
(All cheeses ripened with Roqueforti or Glaucum Penecilliums. Exempt:
Colorless Mycelia)
FC: Blue-Veined Cow’s Milk
1st Place: Black River Blue, DCI Cheese Company (Wisconsin)
2nd Place: Petit Bleu, Marin French Cheese Company (California)
3rd Place: Rogue River Blue, Rogue Creamery (Oregon)
FG: Blue-Veined Goat’s Milk
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: Chevre Bleu, Marin French Cheese Company (California)
3rd Place: Hopelessly Blue, Pure Luck (Texas)
FS: Blue-Veined Sheep’s Milk
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: Sheepish Blue, Bingham Hill (Colorado)
3rd Place: No Award
FE: External Blue molded cheeses – all milks
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: No Award
3rd Place: No Award
G. Hispanic & Portuguese Style Cheese
GA: Ripened Category: Cotija, Flamingo Bolla, St. Jorge
types, etc.—All Milks
1st Place: Cotija, Rizo-Lopez Foods, Inc. (California)
2nd Place: Gran Queso, Roth Kase USA, Ltd. (Wisconsin)
3rd Place: Cotija, Karoun Dairies (California)
GC: Fresh Unripened category: Queso Blanco, Queijo Fresco,
etc.—All Milks
1st Place: Panela, Rizo-Lopez Foods, Inc. (California)
2nd Place: Queso Fresco, Karoun Dairies (California)
3rd Place: Shepherds Blends, Carr Valley Cheese (Wisconsin)
GF: Flavor added – spices, herbs, seasoning,s fruits—All
Milks
1st Place: Cotija Chile, Karoun Dairies (California)
2nd Place: Panela Chile, Karoun Dairies (California)
3rd Place: Queso Blanco w/Chiles & Epazote, Mozzarella Company
(Texas)
H. Italian Type Cheese
HP: Pasta Filata Types, Provolone, Caciocavallo—All
Milks
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: No Award
3rd Place: Caciocavallo, Mozzarella Company (Texas)
HA: Grating Types, Reggianito, Sardo, domestic Parmesan,
All Milks, Romano Made from Cow’s and Goat’s Milk Only
1st Place: No Award
2nd Place: Parveggiano, BelGioioso (Wisconsin)
HM: Mozzarella Types, Brick and Scamorza—All Milks
1st Place: Farmers Rope, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese (Wisconsin)
2nd Place: Part Skim Scamorza, F. Cappiello Dairy Products, Inc.
(New York)
2nd Place: String Cheese, Sierra Cheese Manufacturing, Inc. (California)
3rd Place: Whole Milk Mozzarella. F. Cappiello Dairy Products, Inc.
(New York)
HY: Fresh Mozzarella Types, Ovalini, Bocconcini, Ciliegiene
Sizes—All Milks
1st Place: Ovaline, Calabro Cheese Corp. (Connecticut)
2nd Place: Fresh Mozzarella, BelGioioso Cheese, Inc. (Wisconsin)
3rd Place: Mozzarella, Mozzarella Company (Texas)
More>
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