April 28, 2009 by jrnorton23
After a few rounds of chatting with our publisher, the University of Wisconsin Press, it appears that we have a publication date:
November 25, 2009.
We’re planning to do a Wisconsin / Minneapolis / Chicago book tour in support of the book starting mid-November, so if you’ve got venue ideas, please drop us a note!
Posted in The Book | 2 Comments »
March 25, 2009 by jrnorton23
Posted in Cheese News | 1 Comment »
The 2009 US Championship Cheese contest announced their results, and the US Champion is John Griffiths from Sartori Foods in Antigo, WI, for his SarVecchio Parmesan. SarVecchio has long been one of our favorites – we had a great time meeting with Master Cheesemaker Larry Steckbauer at the Antigo plant – and it is wonderful to see this cheese get more recognition.
Wisconsin cheesemakers, and especially the Master Cheesemakers, are well represented on the winners lists from Cheddar to surface ripened mixed milk cheeses.
Posted in 1 | Leave a Comment »
The Seymore dairy is making some fabulous blue cheese. Even if you think you don’t like blue cheese, they make some very sweet and mild blues that might change your mind. In general, the European-style blue cheeses they are making are based off of Gorgonzola and German styles, and not the pungent Stiltons or English styles. For a real treat, find the Ader Kase Reserve.


Posted in Photos, Tasting Notes | Tagged ader kase reserve, artisan, blue cheese, cheesemakers, handmade, seymore dairy, wisconsin | Leave a Comment »
Last winter I had the opportunity to drive to southern Wisconsin and photograph Willi Lehner of Bleu Mont Dairy. Willi has constructed a cheese cave on his property where he ages his bandaged Cheddars and a few other things.

First of all, if you ever get a chance to try the Bleu Mont caved aged cheeses, take it. His Cheddars are extremely flavorful without being bitter, and he has been working on a newer washed rind/bandaged cheddar that is phenomenal. Willi is really innovating with cheeses, and he has probably the most interesting cheese cave in the state!


Posted in Photos | Tagged artisan, bandaged cheddar, bleu mont dairy, cave, cave aged, willi lehner | Leave a Comment »
We recently had the opportunity to go to the unveiling of a cheese produced by Faribault Dairy with Summit Brewing Company. The ideas was to combine blue cheese with beer, and the result was “Winter Blues” which was sold as a limited run at local Lunds and Byerly’s.
The taste was quite similar to Faribault’s Amablu cheese, which is naturally cave aged in their naturally occurring sandstone caves. The cheese had been soaked in the winter ale from Summit, which gave it a little bitter and earthy flavor on the rind.
Posted in General, Tasting Notes | Tagged amablu, blue cheese, faribault dairy, lunds, minneapolis, mn, summit brewing company | Leave a Comment »
February 17, 2009 by jrnorton23
Ever wanted to own a wire sculpture of cheese? More than 200 different unique sculptures, ranging from the expected (Roquefort) to the obscure (Ticklemore?) are available from artist C.W. Roelle via Tiny Showcase. $65 seems like a reasonable price to pay. Hat tip to Karen for the find.
Posted in Wire Sculptures of Cheese | Tagged Wire Sculptures of Cheese | Leave a Comment »
December 30, 2008 by jrnorton23
Word from the UW Press is that we’re looking at a September publication date for The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin. The good news: This positions us for an October / November publicity spree, with an eye toward putting the book under Christmas trees and menorahs in December of 2009.
Keep your eyes peeled for an update and some fresh photos from our recent Wisconsin cheese tour… We had a chance to tour Seymour Dairy Crest, the caves of Bleu Mont and the homestead operation of Saxon.
Posted in The Book | 1 Comment »