Every year, thousands of affineurs and creameries submit their cheese for consideration as The

World’s Best Cheese.

The competition is evaluated by 250 judges who are expert taste testers. The judges evaluate the entries based on smell, appearance, taste, texture and body. This past year the event was held in Bern, Switzerland. They have multiple categories such as Best Artisan Cheese, Best Raw Milk, Best Female Cheesemaker, Best of each country. They then announce one overall winner.

The reigning 2025 champion is Le Gruyere AOP from the Vorderfultigen mountain cheese dairy in the foothills of the Alps in the small village of Hinterfultigen. Only ten wheels in total were shipped to the United States. A typical wheel weighs 35 kg. The cheese is firm with a dry-salted and complex crystalline crunch. The aroma is earthy, nutty but rich. The taste is savory and meaty but also intense, typical for a Gruyere cheese.

However, at the 2025 World’s Best Cheese Awards, Murray’s Cave-Aged Original Stockinghall

Cheddar (New York) was named the Best American Cheese. It also ranked as one of the top five

cheeses in the world. This Cheddar was recognized for its notes of pineapple, bacon and sour

cream.

During some years, the World’s Best Cheese is a very small creamery such as the 2024 winner Quinta do Pomar in Protugal which produced a raw sheep’s milk cheese Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado. The cheese is soft, buttery and creamy created using a vegetarian thistle rennet. This creamery is so small that it only has 12 employees. They only produce about 16,000

wheels/year and none of them reach the United States. The best American cheese in 2024 was

Bayley Hazen Blue of Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont. In fact, of the 11,000 cheeses produced around the world, only about 1,000 reach the USA.

In 2022, the Leuenberger Gruyere from the Vorderfultigen dairy in Switzerland was named The

World’s Best Cheese, however, only 2 fromageries in the entire United States carried it. Gruyere has a pleasant sharpness and wonderful aroma with notes of herbs and fruits. One needs to be very careful with buying a Gruyere and they should sample it first before buying. Gruyeres are unique and a cheesemonger should stand in front of the freshness. There are many outstanding Gruyeres that would come in second place, but the cheesemonger should allow you to taste first before buying. While Gruyere can be great with a rich red wine, it is an intensely-flavored and versatile cheese that is excellent on French onion soup, cheese fondue, potatoes Au Gratin and Quiche Lorraine.