If you planned a trip all around cheese, where would you go? Some of our cheesemaker friends do just that, and it doesn't take much to get them talking about where they think a cheese lover should travel for a dairy-lightful vacation. Here's what 11 of them recommend for others—and where they're itching to visit themselves!
Book it to the Balkans
I’ve been very fortunate to have visited many cheesemaking regions during my career. I’d love to visit some Greek and Balkan producers as there’s a resilience there that I find endearing. As for a cheese lover, I would send them to France. Probably Tours on the edge of the Loire Valley, and I'd connect them with Rudolphe LeMunier, who is an affineur and selector of some of the best dairy products in France. — Tom Perry, Shelburne Farms
A meet-and-cheese tour
A dream of ours is to go out and visit small-scale producers around the world. It's such a joy to sit with a maker and taste cheese with them while sharing tales of what they do, what brought them there, how things change and what stays the same, and what makes it all worth it.
Here's what we recommend if you're planning a trip that touches on cheese. Frequent shops and talk to mongers. Ask them what they are enjoying and why. Taste everything! More than once! Meet cheese people you already like and folks you don't know yet! Learn about the people that make the cheese you like, who the farmers are, who milks the cows, and who actually makes the cheese! — Rachel Fritz Schaal, Parish Hill Creamery
Old and New England
It would be amazing to visit both Great Britain and Italy. And there are so many cheesemakers in New England! — Kerry Gewalt, Cobb Hill Cheese
A case for Wisconsin
Of course, I have a special place in my heart for the Netherlands, where gouda has been made for centuries and where you can still see traditional cheesemaking and aging, so for learning purposes the Netherlands. For diversity I would pick Wisconsin, which has become one of the most exciting places for artisan cheese, with passionate cheesemakers and beautiful milk. A cheese lover could spend weeks exploring creameries here and still not see it all, because Wisconsin has preserved many traditional cheesemaking practices brought by immigrants who settled here.
But if I had to choose another destination beside Wisconsin and the Netherlands, I would probably go to France. Due to my love for soft-ripened cheeses, I would try it all and preferably in those amazing history-holding caves full of character. — Marieke Penterman, Hollands Family Cheese
Up and down the Boot
Italy for some reason—I have been drawn to that area. — Anne Doe, Boston Post Dairy
Jet to the Jura
Our cheesemaker, Helen, visited the Jura in France while she was developing our cheese. There's always more to explore there, and all of us would love to go back! — Kat Feete, Meadow Creek Dairy
A Latin American tour
The type of cheese that I would most want to explore would be Central and South American. It's something I don't know anything about and am interested in. I also think there will be a big market for those cheese styles in the coming years. There's not a ton of import, and of course they're big into goat cheese, just like us. — Dan Porter, FireFly Farms
Parade through the Piedmont
Our head cheesemaker, Mariano Gonzalez, says he would love to explore—and would recommend to other cheese lovers—the Piedmont area of Italy. This region has diverse geography, a variety of dairy animals and milk types, and a long tradition of cheesemaking that all contribute to a rich cheese culture. — Meg Gonazalez, Grafton Village Cheese Co.
Ascend the Swiss Alps
My favorite cheese region is in the Alps of Switzerland. I love those styles of cheese and all the little complexities that come with them. — Chris Roelli, Roelli Cheese Haus
Italy! No wait...Vermont!
We bet a lot of people say Italy, but we'd have to say...Italy. It would be amazing to spend a good chunk of time exploring those northern Italian cow's milk cheeses; like going to visit our Pawlet's family back in the old country.
Honestly, though, cheese lovers should head to Vermont. There's something special going on here. It's this amalgam of European styles and traditions with innovation that isn't bound by what's always been done or what the "rules" of this or that type of cheese are. Always learning, sharing, questioning. It's both rooted in place and really exciting. And we love to work together on events like the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival in September, where we get to share all of that with folks willing to make the trip. — Kate Leach, Woodlawn Creamery
A Pyrenees pilgrimage
I would love to explore the Pyrenees region. Pyrenees brebis is Shaleena's favorite and Willy really loves Carles roquefort, so France is a region I wish we could explore. Where would we send a cheese lover? Doesn't every cheese lover need to go to Switzerland? We've never been, but I see all the cheese heads raving about it and it looks so beautiful. — Shaleena Bridgham, Four Fat Fowl
Thanks to all the cheesemakers that participated in this roundtable! Learn more about all of them in our Farm Focus profiles, and shop our bestselling artisan cheeses here.
Photos courtesy of Parish Hill Creamery, Hollands Family Cheese, Woodlawn Creamery, and FireFly Farms.
