US Edition‘Three Cheeses on, We Could Still Taste It’: Swiss Gruyère Crowned the World’s Best Cheese
An aged Swiss Gruyère from Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen won after scoring highest among 5,244 cheeses judged by 265 experts in a blind tasting.
- On Thursday, the World Cheese Awards in Bern anointed an aged Swiss Gruyère as the best cheese for 2025, with Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen championed by Perry Wakeman of Rennet & Rind.
- Shortly before 10 a.m., blind tasting teams stripped cheeses of labels and awarded points for appearance, smell, taste, texture and mouthfeel, advancing 'super gold' selections to a final tasting.
- An army of 265 cheese experts judged 5,244 cheeses from 46 countries at Bern's Festhalle, arranged across 110 rows, with each judge tasting at least 40 cheeses in two- or three-person teams.
- Past winners' sales spikes aside, the dairy said production increases are unlikely to protect the Gruyère market, and organisers said leftover cheese would be recycled into energy.
- Amid health and import hurdles, judges signed waivers under the contest's special import license while many rivals navigated tricky import legislation and a US shutdown; organisers acknowledge a host-country 'home advantage' though locals do not always win, and the contest will move to Córdoba, Spain.
63 Articles
63 Articles
Hold your nose: thousands of dairy delicacies do battle at World Cheese Awards in Switzerland
As the 37th edition – part competition, part a celebration of cheese – kicked off in Switzerland on Thursday, some visitors might wish the offerings had more holes. With descriptions of odours including 'stinky socks' and 'sick dog,' it's clearly a festival – and a challenge – for the nose as much as mouths, fingers and eyes.
At the World Cheese Awards, the title of world cheese champion 2025 was awarded on Thursday 13 November to a "perfect and unforgettable" gruyère, in front of a creamy Aldudes with flowers.
On Thursday, Swiss cheese Gruyère, named after the town of Gruyères, was voted the world's best cheese for 2025, beating out more than 5,000 competitors from 46 countries.
Among 5244 cheeses from 46 countries, the best cheese has been selected – and a Swiss cheese has been won.
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