U.S. cheese champion: Best cheese is from Connecticut, but the cheese maker is from Wisconsin

Richard Ryman, Green Bay Press-Gazette
·3 min read
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ASHWAUBENON – The best cheese in the United States isn't from Wisconsin, but the head cheesemaker is.

An aged Gouda made by Arethusa Farm Dairy in Bantam, Connecticut, was named the best entry in the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest Thursday, but Arethusa's head cheesemaker, Eric Schmid, is a recent Wisconsin transplant originally hailing from Monticello.

"Europa is a traditional style Gouda. We make it about as traditional as we can," said Schmid, whose family immigrated from Switzerland in the 1850s. "They might have been making Emmentaler or big wheel Swiss, but it was still hand-made. That's what really drew me into the artisan side of things."

Second place went to a vintage cupola American original cheese made by Door Artisan Cheese Co. of Egg Harbor for Red Barn Family Farms in Appleton.

Arethusa Farm Dairy's Eric Schmid speaks via Zoom after the Bantam, Conn.-based cheesemaker's aged Gouda called Europa was named winner of the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest on Feb. 23, 2023, at the Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon, Wis.
Arethusa Farm Dairy's Eric Schmid speaks via Zoom after the Bantam, Conn.-based cheesemaker's aged Gouda called Europa was named winner of the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest on Feb. 23, 2023, at the Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon, Wis.

'We hope this honor and this award will draw attention not only to just this great cheese, and the wonderful quality of the cheese, but also to the mission of our brand," said Paula Homan, co-owner of Red Barn, "... to help support and sustain small family farms and advocate for ethical dairy farming."

The third-place cheese was a medium cheddar made by Dillon Sylla of Associated Milk Producers Inc. in Blair.

First and third place were separated by 0.185 points. Each cheese begins with 100 points and judges deduct points for defects across a broad range of attributes. Arethusa scored 98.739, Red Barn got a 98.613 and Associated Milk Producers received 98.554. That's not unusual. The spread for the previous contest, in 2019, was 0.153.

"All of these cheeses were exceptional, within a tenth of a hundredth of a point in some cases," said Cathy Strange, one of the judges. "That cheese (the Gouda) was the right age, really clean milk, healthy animals on the farm. It just brought it. It tasted amazing this week."

Schmid said he entered the Europa in earlier contests and it didn't make an impression.

"Time. Time. You have to age it out. I entered Europa in its younger state and it wasn't even close. You've got to let that bacteria do its thing in the cheese. You've got to let it ripen." Schmid said.

An aged Gouda called Europa by Arethusa Farm Dairy in Bantam, Connecticut, was named the winner of the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest on Feb. 23, 2023, at the Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon.
An aged Gouda called Europa by Arethusa Farm Dairy in Bantam, Connecticut, was named the winner of the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest on Feb. 23, 2023, at the Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon.

Red Barn's American Original was just that, original. Strange said it didn't taste like any other cheese.

"It had this fruity sweetness to it, but a maturity with levels of complexity that just kept coming at you. That's what you want is a visceral food memory," she said.

Wisconsin, which fancies itself the cheese capital of the United States (if not the world), made its case with 54 Best of Class finishes among 113 total classes. That was the most gold medals among the 35 states entered. California was second with nine Bests of Class awards.

More:Door County cheese is second-best in country, Kewaunee County cheese maker wins four classes

More:Cheese Makers Association looks to the future at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Ashwaubenon

Wisconsin swept the top three spots in 2017 and claimed seconds and thirds in the 2019 contests. The biennial contest wasn't held in 2021 because of the COVID pandemic.

The three-day contest, held at Resch Expo, was challenged by the predicted winter storm, which proved to be less disruptive than expected. Judging was completed in two days instead of pouring over into day three, as planned. Although not entirely weather-related, the finalists were on Zoom instead of attending in person.

Assistant Chief Judge Tim Czmowski holds up a vintage cupola American original cheese made by Door Artisan Cheese Co. of Egg Harbor for Red Barn Family Farms in Appleton. The cheese took second place overall during the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest on Feb. 23, 2023, at the Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon.
Assistant Chief Judge Tim Czmowski holds up a vintage cupola American original cheese made by Door Artisan Cheese Co. of Egg Harbor for Red Barn Family Farms in Appleton. The cheese took second place overall during the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest on Feb. 23, 2023, at the Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon.

"We used to do the big event. COVID really took us out of that," said John Umhoefer, executive director of Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association. "We kind of encouraged them to just go on Zoom. What a great winner we had from Connecticut. We could have never gotten him here in time. I think we'll always do this because of that."

The 2023 contest included 2,249 entries, mostly cheese, but also butter, yogurt and whey. The event included 42 judges and 200 volunteers. This was its first time at Resch Expo, having previously been held in the Lambeau Field Atrium.

Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Best cheese is from Connecticut, but cheese maker from Wisconsin