Vermont's Cobb Hill wins North American Jersey Cheese Awards

At an event the first of its kind, it was Cobb Hill Cheese's Ascutney Mountain variety that took home top honors in the North American Jersey Cheese Awards. The awards program was held during the American Jersey Cattle Association and National All Jersey annual convention. See our last blog for more about the convention. This new event, the North American Jersey Cheese Awards, was organized by U.S. Jersey staff and the World Jersey Cattle Bureau to showcase cheese produced around the continent from 100 percent Jersey milk. A similar event, the World Jersey Cheese Festival, was held at the breed's original home on the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel last year.


Seventy-seven cheese entries from 29 producers in 15 states and Quebec were submitted to the competition. Cheeses were judged on both technical and aesthetic characteristics by a panel of esteemed cheese experts and cheese enthusiasts. Kathy Guidi, a 35-year cheese expert, Dean of the Cheese Education Guild, and President of Artisan Cheese Marketing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, served as lead judge.

Medal winners were showcased at Sycamore Hill Gardens in Marcellus, NY, during an evening dinner and garden tour at the former Jersey farm. Of the group, 48 received either a gold, silver, or bronze medal award. Cheeses that earned between 36 and 40 points received bronze awards, those with between 41 and 45 points earned silver medals, and those with 46 to 50 points received gold medals. Guidi praised the Ascutney Mountain cheese from Cobb Hill for it's excellent flavor, texture and beautiful rind. The runner-up was Blau Wein Kase of Flat Creek Lodge cheese in Georgia. Second runner-up recognition was given to Tarentaise, a cheese from Spring Brook Farm, from Vermont. A photo of the winning Ascutney Mountain cheese is shown below.