GRAFTON — Grafton Village Cheese, a business of the nonprofit Windham Foundation in Grafton, was awarded the Best in Show Second Place for Bear Hill and additional ribbons for its cheeses at the 30th annual American Cheese Society Awards held recently in Madison, Wis.
Grafton Village took home second place for Vermont Clothbound Cheddar in the Cheddar Wrapped in Cloth (up to 12 months) category, first place for Eweden Apple Pie in the Marinated Sheep's Milk Cheese category, and first place for Bear Hill in the Open Sheep's Milk Washed Rind Cheeses category.
Bear Hill went on to take Best in Show Second Place at ACS. Overall Best in Show went to fellow Vermont company Cellars at Jasper Hill for its Winnimere; third went to Bleu Mont Dairy of Wisconsin in a tie for its Bandaged Cheddar and Big Sky Grana.
Bear Hill, named for the bluff overlooking Grafton Village, is a washed-rind alpine style cheese, made with 100 percent sheep's milk. Its flavor is gently fruity and nutty, and offers a smooth, milky mouthfeel.
Vermont Clothbound Cheddar is a classic-milled curd cow's milk cheddar wrapped in cheesecloth while it ages slowly in Grafton's own aging caves for a minimum of six months. It delivers a very bold taste with both nut and mushroom notes.
Eweden Apple Pie is a sheep-and-cow original cheese spiced with cinnamon, ginger, clove, and nutmeg, then marinated in Eden Ice Cider (West Charleston, Vt.). This smooth and creamy cheese has a pleasing dairy tang and aromatic spicing.
The American Cheese Society is a not-for-profit trade organization founded in 1983 to support the North American artisan and specialty cheese industry. This year's ACS competition was its largest ever, with 257 companies submitting 1,794 different products.
Separately, at the end of July, Grafton Village took home seven awards at the 116th Annual International Cheese Show in England. The competition featured 27 countries with a total of 4,286 entries.
Among Grafton's awards was the National Sheep Association Trophy for Bear Hill, designating it as one of the world's best sheep's-milk cheeses.
Additional awards included: Gold for Bear Hill and Truffled Bismark; Silver for Bismark and Leyden; and, Bronze for Shepsog. Grafton's Four-Year Aged Cheddar also received a Very Highly Commended award.