World's Best Cheese On Display In Vermont, With Wines To Match

World’s Best Cheese On Display In Vermont, With Wines To Match

Vermont produces world-class, award-winning cheeses in a wide array of styles. Photo: Sabin Gratz

Maple syrup may be Vermont’s best-known product among the general public, but for years those in the dairy industry have watched the state’s meteoric rise as one of the very best cheese producers on earth. Vermont cheddars, the cornerstone of the state’s cheese making history, have repeatedly beaten the best cheddars of other top cheese producing states like Wisconsin, along with the birthplace of the cheese, England, in prestigious tasting competitions. After taking home the ”world’s best cheddar” title on several different occasions, Vermont spread its wings and now produces all kinds of world-class cheeses, especially those made from goat and sheep milk, alpine-style cheeses in the tradition of Switzerland and higher-altitude parts of France, and soft cow’s milk cheeses in similar style to French brie or camembert. These artisanal cheeses are sold at top gourmet retailers across the nation and increasingly seen by name on the menus of some of the country’s finest restaurants. Despite being one of the smallest states in the nation (sixth) with the second-least inhabitants, Vermont just took home half a dozen gold medals at the 2011 World Cheese Championships – more than some entire countries.

By most estimates the Green Mountain State has more cheese makers per capita than any other place, and about 45 producers belong to the Vermont Cheese Council. The state is home to the nation’s largest cheese aging cave, a 22,000 square foot facility consisting of seven underground vaults. It is owned by Jasper Hill Farm, one of the most acclaimed dairies in the cheese-mad state, but shared and used for aging by several artisanal cheese makers.

Numerous dairies along the Vermont Cheese Trail offer samples for tasting. Photo: Sabin Gratz

Now Vermont is doing more than just making and selling great cheese, they are using it to drive tourism and educate the public. The Vermont Cheese Trail (downloadable as a pdf file) includes about 20 diaries open to the public and offering some sort of tour, many with cheese tasting, and these dot the state in a visitor-friendly manner from the southern border to the Canadian border, east, west and central. There is no spot in the state far from a cheese maker. The Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company just opened (last month) an impressive new public facility showcasing both its own production and the sale of cheese from numerous Vermont artisans, plus an ice cream stand, in an industrial complex in Windsor that is already home to the Simon Pearce glassblowing plant and very popular Harpoon Brewery with tours, beer tasting and a restaurant.

Cheese fans should put Sunday, July 22 on their calendars. That’s the date of the Vermont Cheesemakers’ Festival, an annual event featuring more than 200 Vermont cheeses, along with other locally made artisanal foods, wood fired pizza, Vermont beers, and award-winning Vermont wines. There will be a live cooking show and cheese making demonstration, plus two seminars, How Cheese Works and Matchmaking Vermont Style, which pairs the state’s best wines and cheeses. The festival is held at Shelburne Farms just outside Burlington, and general admission is $40, or $50 with a beer, wine and spirits tasting ticket.

Vineyards in Vermont? Yes, there are dozens of wine producers now active in the state, many with tasting rooms along the Vermont Wine Vine Trail.

Wines have not received quite as much publicity as the excellent cheeses and many top craft breweries found in Vermont, but the number of vineyards and quality of wines has been growing quickly, and last year the state put the finishing touches on an upgraded Vermont Wine Vine Trail that couples nicely with the Cheese Trail to offer visitors two distinct culinary experiences in one drive. The map includes more than thirty producers, mostly of traditional still wines but also hard apple ciders, a state specialty, mead, and even ice cider. They are offering a passport program where visitors who collect enough stamps from visits to these wineries are entered in a drawing to receive prizes.

Vermont is already one of the most beautiful and naturally unspoiled states in the nation, a great place for a driving road trip, and now visitors have these two great options for eating and drinking their way across the state. Maybe it’s time to hit the road?

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