The Cheese Champion of 2026 Has Been Crowned

The Cheese Champion of 2026 Has Been Crowned

In the global cheese world, a handful of competitions carry serious bragging rights. One of the biggest is the World Championship Cheese Contest, where thousands of dairy creations—from delicate bries to powerhouse alpine wheels—are judged down to the decimal point.

At the 2026 contest in Madison, the top honor went to a Dutch standout: Beemster Royaal Grand Cru from CONO Kaasmakers in Westbeemster.

The Champion Cheese

The winning wheel edged out the competition with a score of 98.68, narrowly beating the field by just 0.23 points. It competed in the open-class hard cheese category—a class packed with serious contenders.

The cheese itself is classic Dutch craftsmanship: a 12-month aged gouda-style wheel with a bold personality. Expect a deep, nutty flavor, a sturdy texture, and those coveted crunchy crystals that signal careful aging. In other words, it’s the kind of cheese that begs for a sharp knife, a good loaf of bread, and maybe a glass of something equally bold.

The Close Contenders

Two European heavyweights followed closely behind in the final rankings:

• First runner-up: Appenzeller Purple Label (98.45) from the Swiss region of Appenzell, crafted by cheesemaker Lucas Meier of Käserei Kirchberg.
• Second runner-up: Alter Fritz (98.41) by Hardegger Käse AG in Jonschwil—a semi-hard cheese that already took gold at the contest back in 2020.

The razor-thin scoring gap shows just how competitive the judging table was this year.

A Truly Global Cheese Showdown

The 2026 competition was massive. Organizers received 3,375 entries from 25 countries and 34 U.S. states and territories. While cheese takes center stage, the contest also evaluates butter, cultured dairy products, and dry dairy ingredients.

In other words, it’s essentially the Olympics of dairy—with judges carefully grading everything from flavor and texture to appearance and finish.

Finalists at the World Championship Cheese Contest

The following 20 cheeses were named finalists, representing producers from across Europe and the United States.

Class: Natural Rinded Cheddar
Cheese: Flagship Reserve
Maker: Beecher’s Handmade Cheese
Company: Beecher’s Handmade Cheese
Location: Seattle, Washington (USA)

Class: Rinded Swiss Style
Cheese: Emmentaler AOP
Maker: Marcus Hengartner and Robin Straub, Village Dairy Rohremoos
Company: Gourmino AG
Location: Lömmenschwil, SG, Switzerland

Class: Gorgonzola
Cheese: Mycella 60+
Maker: Team St. Clemens
Company: Bornsholms Andelsmejeri
Location: Klemensker, Bornholm, Denmark

Class: Brie
Cheese: Le Châtelain Brie
Maker: Fromagerie du Raival
Company: Lactalis American Group
Location: Raival, France

Class: Gouda, Young
Cheese: FriesGoud Young
Maker: A-ware Cheese Heerenveen
Company: Royal A‑ware
Location: Heerenveen, Netherlands

Class: Gouda, Mature
Cheese: Rembrandt 26 Weeks
Maker: Team Lutjewinkel
Company: FrieslandCampina
Location: Lutjewinkel, Netherlands

Class: Gruyere
Cheese: Gourmino Le Gruyère AOP
Maker: Michael Spycher, Mountain Dairy Fritzenhaus
Company: Gourmino AG
Location: Bern, Switzerland

Class: Appenzeller, Young
Cheese: Mifroma Appenzeller Silver
Maker: Käserei Tschumper
Company: Mifroma USA
Location: Degersheim, Switzerland

Class: Appenzeller, Aged
Cheese: Appenzeller Purple Label
Maker: Lucas Meier, Käserei Kirchberg
Company: SO Appenzeller Käse GmbH
Location: Appenzell, Switzerland

Class: Open Class: Alpine Cheeses
Cheese: Mifroma Alpenhorn
Maker: Urnäscher Milchspezialitäten
Company: Mifroma USA
Location: Urnäsch, Switzerland

Class: Washed Rind / Smear Ripened Hard Cheeses, Aged
Cheese: Alter Fritz
Maker: Hardegger Käse AG
Company: Hardegger Käse AG
Location: Jonschwil, Switzerland

Class: Washed Rind / Smear Ripened Hard Cheeses, Mature
Cheese: Suncatcher
Maker: Jasper Hill Creamery
Company: Cellars at Jasper Hill
Location: Greensboro, Vermont (USA)

Class: Washed Rind / Smear Ripened Hard Cheeses, Extra Aged
Cheese: Heumilch Traumkäse
Maker: Othmar Pichler and team
Company: Obersteirische Molkerei eGen
Location: Knittelfeld, Austria

Class: Raclette
Cheese: Gmunder Milk Traukirchner Raclette
Maker: Team Gmunder Molkerei
Company: Gmundner Molkerei GmbH
Location: Gmunden, Austria

Class: Hard Cheeses (Open Class)
Cheese: Beemster Royaal Grand Cru
Maker: CONO Kaasmakers
Company: CONO Kaasmakers
Location: Westbeemster, Netherlands

Class: Reduced Fat Soft & Semi-soft Cheeses
Cheese: Beemsterlite Medium 30+
Maker: CONO Kaasmakers
Company: CONO Kaasmakers
Location: Westbeemster, Netherlands

Class: Semi-soft (Semi-hard) Goat’s Milk Cheeses
Cheese: Kaltbach Goat
Maker: Emmi Kaltbach
Company: Emmi Switzerland AG
Location: Kaltbach, Switzerland

Class: Hard Goat’s Milk Cheeses
Cheese: Midnight Moon
Maker: Cypress Grove
Company: Cypress Grove Cheese
Location: Netherlands

Class: Hard Sheep’s Milk Cheeses, Mature
Cheese: Ojos del Guadiana
Maker: Manchega Ojos del Guadiana
Company: Manchega Ojos del Guadiana
Location: Daimiel, Spain

Class: Hard Mixed Milk Cheeses
Cheese: Seleccion Tostado Mixed Milk Cheese Extra Aged
Maker: Queserías Entrepinares S.A.U.
Company: Queserías Entrepinares
Location: Valladolid, Spain

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