The Best Award-Winning Cheeses to Try

The latest champions are Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial (World Cheese Awards, November 2025), Beemster Royaal Grand Cru (World Championship Cheese Contest, March 2026) and Winnimere from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont (ACS Best of Show, July 2026).

Each contest scores cheese its own way, so a medal means something a little different depending on where it came from. Treat one as a snapshot of a single cheese in a single year and category: a good reason to taste it, not proof that it is the best cheese in the world. Every winner named here comes from the organizers' own results pages, listed at the end.

The three big cheese competitions

The three big cheese competitions differ in who runs them, who may enter and how a cheese earns its score.

The next World Cheese Awards judging is set for November 12, 2026 in Córdoba, Spain, so the newest champion will change within weeks. The next World Championship Cheese Contest is planned for February 2028.

Recent award-winning cheeses at a glance

Recent award-winning cheeses show a pattern, with aged firm cheeses from the Alps and the Netherlands taking most of the top places at the two international contests while the ACS podium is more varied.

Award-winning cheeses worth buying

Award-winning cheeses worth buying fall into a few styles, and the style tells you more about what you will taste than the medal does.

Aged Alpine cheeses: Gruyère AOP and Appenzeller

Gruyère AOP and Appenzeller took first and third at the 2025 World Cheese Awards, and an aged Appenzeller was runner-up at the 2026 World Championship contest. Judges praised the champion's crystalline texture and brothy, umami flavor, and it was the sixth time a Gruyère has won the title. That champion was an 18-month cheese from a single dairy, so look for Gruyère AOP Réserve, which its producers' association describes as matured more than 10 months, firm, slightly crumbly and fruity; Classic, at 6 to 9 months, tastes softer and more refined. For Appenzeller, ask for the oldest one offered, and break either cheese into chunks at room temperature so the crystals crunch. Weak spot: a young wheel will not taste like the champions, so check the age first.

Aged Gouda and Dutch-style cheeses

Aged Gouda and other Dutch-style cheeses have won at both the American and world contests. Nati Gouda placed third at the 2026 ACS, aged 16 to 20 months in an old-world style that develops full flavor and a crystallized texture; the extra-aged Artikaas Vintage Lot 18 was runner-up at the 2024 World Championship Cheese Contest; and Beemster Royaal Grand Cru, a rich, nutty Dutch cheese, took the 2026 world title. Wisconsin Cheese describes aged Gouda as hard, tangy and crystalline, against mild and creamy when young, so look for a stated age of a year or more. Weak spot: the word Gouda alone says nothing about age.

Washed-rind cheeses: Winnimere, Hornbacher and Alter Fritz

Washed-rind cheeses are the surprise on the podium, with Winnimere, Hornbacher and Alter Fritz all finishing there. Winnimere won the 2026 ACS Best of Show. It is made from raw winter cow's milk and wrapped in spruce bark, so expect a seasonal supply, and the ACS describes it as aged to a spoonably soft texture with a rich, woodsy flavor. Hornbacher won the 2024 World Championship Cheese Contest and Alter Fritz took third there in 2026. Gourmino AG, the Bern company Hornbacher is made for, compares its taste to a baked potato rind with roasted nuts, caramel and onions. Spoon Winnimere at room temperature. Weak spot: small seasonal batches, so ask your cheesemonger when the next one arrives. Washed rinds smell stronger than they taste; the stinky cheese guide ranks the pungent ones.

Blue cheeses: Rogue River Blue and Withersbrook Blue

Blue cheeses have taken the World Cheese Awards title many times, and Rogue River Blue from Oregon is the only American cheese on the Guild's list of champions. The Guild's directory calls Rogue River Blue seasonal and cave-aged. Jasper Hill Farm's raw-milk Withersbrook Blue took second place at the 2025 ACS. A small wedge goes a long way, so pair it with honey or pears and put one milder cheese beside it; the guide to choosing blue cheese explains the styles. Weak spot: blue is not for every guest.

Pleasant Ridge Reserve

Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Uplands Cheese in Wisconsin shows how long a great cheese can keep winning. The ACS winner archive lists it as Best of Show in 2001 and 2005, and its extra-aged version in 2010. The Pleasant Ridge Reserve guide covers the cheese itself. Weak spot: those wins date from 2001 to 2010, so ask what it has won lately.

What most award-winning cheese lists get wrong

Most award-winning cheese lists stop at the names and get the context wrong, and the context decides how much a medal tells you.

Winners are separated by fractions of a point

Winners are often separated by fractions of a point, so the cheese in third is not a lesser cheese. At the 2026 World Championship Cheese Contest the top three scored 98.68, 98.45 and 98.41 out of 100, with four-hundredths of a point between second and third. At the 2025 World Cheese Awards the runner-up lost by a single point, according to the Guild. Read a podium as a tie among excellent cheeses.

A medal depends on the rules of the contest

A medal depends on the rules of the contest that gave it. The World Championship contest starts at 100 and deducts for defects, which favors flawless, consistent cheese. The ACS pairs a technical judge with an aesthetic judge who awards points for outstanding qualities. At the World Cheese Awards, each finalist is championed by a Super Jury member in front of a live audience, which rewards a cheese that makes its case at the table. Eligibility shapes the pool too: ACS entries must come from member companies and use milk from the Americas, so no European cheese can win its Best of Show.

A medal belongs to one entry in one year

A medal belongs to one entry in one year, so check which cheese, category and year a sticker refers to. The ACS lets each product enter once per calendar year, even under different labels, and its 2025 contest used 136 categories, so a first place can mean best in a narrow class. Seasonal cheeses vary too: Winnimere uses winter milk, and the champion Gruyère was a single dairy's 18-month cheese, so the same style on a shelf is not the same wheel. The guide to reading a cheese label shows what else to check.

A cheese without a medal is not a lesser cheese

A cheese without a medal may simply have stayed out of the contest, because makers choose to enter and pay to do it. The 2026 World Cheese Awards fee is £61 per cheese for a small business (turnover under £1 million), £76 for a medium one and £101 for a large one, before VAT, and ACS entrants must be members whose cheese has been on sale for at least six months. Even among entries, only about one in four won an ACS medal in 2025: 407 awards across 1,588 entries.

Questions about award-winning cheeses

These are the questions about award-winning cheeses that come up most, answered from the organizers' own pages.

What are the best award-winning cheeses?

The best award-winning cheeses to try are recent top finishers such as Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial, Beemster Royaal Grand Cru, Appenzeller, Winnimere and Rogue River Blue. Pick the style you already like.

Who won the World Cheese Awards in 2025?

The 2025 World Cheese Awards were won by Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial, aged 18 months, from Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen in Switzerland, which topped 5,244 entries from 46 countries in Bern on November 13, 2025.

What does Best of Show mean at the American Cheese Society?

Best of Show at the American Cheese Society is the contest's top overall placing, awarded for first, second and third; in 2026 it went to Winnimere, Artze and Nati Gouda.

Which cheese competition is the most prestigious?

No single cheese competition is the most prestigious, because each claims a different title. The World Cheese Awards call themselves the largest cheese-only competition, the World Championship Cheese Contest the largest technical dairy products evaluation, and the ACS the largest event of its kind for American-made cheeses.

How do you check an award-winning cheese claim?

Check an award-winning cheese claim on the organizers' own sites. The Guild of Fine Food directory lists the last three years of World Cheese Awards results, the ACS posts winner lists back to 2000, and the World Championship site carries results for every class.

Where to start with award-winning cheeses

Start with award-winning cheeses in a style you already like: a Gruyère AOP Réserve or an aged Gouda if you like firm and nutty, a washed rind like Winnimere if you like soft and savory, or a blue like Rogue River Blue if you like salty and rich. Taste two side by side, and use the questions to ask your cheesemonger to learn which year's batch won. After the World Cheese Awards judging on November 12, 2026, check the Guild's directory for the new champions.