The best award-winning cheeses to try — acclaimed, competition-winning cheeses worth seeking out, and how cheese awards can guide you.
Cheese competitions celebrate the world's finest cheeses, and award-winning cheeses are a great guide to exceptional quality. Here's a guide to the best award-winning cheeses to try and how awards can help you discover great cheese.
Why Award-Winning Cheeses
Cheese competitions — like the World Cheese Awards, the American Cheese Society competition, and others — judge thousands of cheeses and recognize the finest. Award-winning cheeses have been judged exceptional by experts, making them a reliable guide to quality and a great way to discover outstanding cheeses worth trying. Seeking out award-winners (or cheeses from acclaimed producers) leads you to some of the world's best cheeses. Here's a guide to the best award-winning cheeses to try and how cheese awards can guide your choices. (Specific winners change yearly, so this focuses on the value of awards and acclaimed examples.)
Major Cheese Competitions
Several major competitions recognize the best cheeses. The World Cheese Awards is one of the largest international competitions, judging thousands of cheeses from around the world and naming a World Champion Cheese each year. The American Cheese Society competition is the most prestigious in the US, with its Best of Show award. Other national and regional competitions (in the UK, Europe, and beyond) also recognize excellence. These competitions, judged by experts, identify exceptional cheeses. So major competitions like the World Cheese Awards and American Cheese Society awards judge and recognize the world's best cheeses, providing a guide to outstanding quality.
Acclaimed Award-Winning Cheeses
Many cheeses have won top honors. Examples of acclaimed award-winners include Rogue River Blue (an American blue that won the World Cheese Awards' top prize, becoming World Champion Cheese), Pleasant Ridge Reserve (which has won the American Cheese Society's Best of Show multiple times), Cabot Clothbound Cheddar (an ACS award-winner), and many fine artisan and traditional cheeses recognized in competitions worldwide. These acclaimed cheeses are proven exceptional and well worth trying. So acclaimed award-winners like Rogue River Blue, Pleasant Ridge Reserve, and Cabot Clothbound Cheddar represent the kind of exceptional, competition-recognized cheeses worth seeking out.
How Awards Guide You
Cheese awards are a useful guide to discovering great cheese. An award-winning cheese has been judged exceptional by expert panels, indicating quality, so trying award-winners (or cheeses from award-winning producers) is a reliable way to find outstanding cheeses. Awards can introduce you to cheeses and producers you might not otherwise find, from both famous and small artisan makers. While taste is personal, awards point you toward proven quality. So use cheese awards as a guide to quality — trying award-winning cheeses and producers leads you to exceptional cheeses. Awards are a great discovery tool for finding the world's best cheeses.
Finding Award-Winning Cheeses
To find and try award-winning cheeses: look up recent winners of major competitions (World Cheese Awards, American Cheese Society, and others); ask your cheesemonger about award-winning cheeses they stock (they often know and carry acclaimed cheeses); look for award mentions on packaging (some cheeses note their awards); and seek out acclaimed producers. Specialty cheese shops and online retailers often carry award-winners. So find award-winning cheeses through competition results, your cheesemonger, packaging, and acclaimed producers. Seeking out these recognized cheeses connects you with some of the finest cheese available.
A Fitting Finale: Try the Best
Award-winning cheeses are a wonderful way to experience the pinnacle of cheesemaking — cheeses judged among the world's finest by experts. Trying acclaimed cheeses like recent World Champions and Best of Show winners, or cheeses from award-winning producers, lets you taste exceptional quality and discover new favorites. Whether a famous classic or a small artisan triumph, award-winners reward seeking out. So treat yourself to award-winning cheeses to experience the best of cheesemaking. As a fitting finale to exploring cheese, trying the world's acclaimed, award-winning cheeses is a delicious celebration of this remarkable food — and a reminder of just how exceptional cheese can be.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best award-winning cheeses to try?
Acclaimed competition-winners like Rogue River Blue (a World Champion Cheese), Pleasant Ridge Reserve and Cabot Clothbound Cheddar (American Cheese Society winners), and recent winners of major competitions are exceptional and worth trying.
What are the major cheese competitions?
The World Cheese Awards (a large international competition naming a World Champion Cheese), the American Cheese Society competition (the top US awards, with Best of Show), and various national and regional competitions.
How do cheese awards help me choose cheese?
Award-winning cheeses have been judged exceptional by expert panels, indicating quality, so trying award-winners (or cheeses from acclaimed producers) is a reliable way to discover outstanding cheeses and new favorites.