SOUTH WOODSTOCK, Vt. – Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company (VFCC) is pleased to announce that its handcrafted artisanal cheeses have received 12 top honors at recent industry award shows, including 10 gold awards and one silver award at the 2013 Los Angeles International Dairy Competition, and a bronze medal at The Big E New England Cheese Competition. The most recent honors bring the company’s total award wins to 45 as the cheese producer approaches the three-year anniversary of its establishment as Vermont’s first community-owned dairy facility.
The 10 cheeses awarded a gold medal at the Los Angeles International Dairy Competition include the Governor’s Cheddar, SugarHouse Edam, Blueberry WindsorDale, AleHouse Cheddar, BrickHaus Tilsit, WindsorDale, Windsor Blue, Cracked Pepper WindsorDale, Hot Pepper WindsorDale, and SmokeHouse Tilsit — an honor given to an outstanding product of superior character. The artisanal cheese producer’s soft-ripened Lillé received a silver award at the same competition, and its smooth textured full-flavored SmokeHouse Tilsit was awarded a bronze medal at the 2013 Big E Gold Medal Cheese Competition in a record-breaking year with more than 148 entries.
“We’re thrilled to have achieved such a high level of recognition on a national scale in just a few short years,” said VFCC Head Cheesemaker Rick Woods. “We’re so passionate about what we do and think that we’re making something really special, so it’s always nice to have validation that others think so, too.”
In addition to recent wins, the company has received top honors at other industry competitions this year, including a third-place award for its AleHouse Cheddar at the 2013 American Cheese Society (ACS) Competition and a second-place award at the 2013 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest for its Danish-style BrickHaus Tilsit. In July, VFCC’s Lillé was chosen as the People’s Choice Award winner at the 2013 Vermont Cheesemakers Festival.
VFCC’s award-winning line of cheese is available throughout the U.S. at leading retailers and restaurants, as well as online. For further information, visit: www.vermontfarmstead.com.
ABOUT VERMONT FARMSTEAD CHEESE COMPANY:
The Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company (www.vermontfarmstead.com), which began as an inspiring community effort to save a local farm and its surrounding rural landscape, is today an award-winning cheese company creating an entirely new generation of unique farmstead and artisanal cheeses.
Based in South Woodstock, VT, the farm is home to a prize-winning, multi-breed herd, with an adjoining 5,500-sq. ft. production facility. The company’s creative cheesemakers employ traditional and sustainable dairy farming practices in creating a line of the highest-quality, “old-world” cheeses with distinct Vermont authenticity and style.
Moreover, the company’s mission is to foster and support the state’s farming communities, having established The Vermont Dairy Foundation as a way to develop sustainable small family dairy farms in Vermont through education and business support. The Foundation was also created to help reverse the trend of declining dairy farms and boost the agricultural way of life in Vermont.
Source: The Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company
