Wisconsin Cheese Originals has announced a stunning line-up of dairy farm and creamery tours for the Fourth Annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival, offering attendees the opportunity to tour some of the state’s finest artisan and farmstead creameries.
The Fourth Annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival is set for Nov. 9 & 10 at the Monona Terrace in downtown Madison. The event draws more than 1,000 cheese lovers from around the country, all of whom descend on Madison for a weekend of tours, seminars, dinners and the popular Meet the Cheesemaker Evening Gala.
Tickets for all events go on sale in September and sell out early, so attendees should make plans now to attend. Each tour, set for Friday, Nov. 9, is limited to 20 people, allowing attendees to experience places most people never see, with time for personal conversations with cheesemakers at a casual and enjoyable pace. Tours return to Madison by 5 p.m. Tickets are $115. Tours include:
Driftless Cheeses of Wisconsin Tour
It’s been called the Napa Valley of the Midwest, and for good reason. With its sweet soils and limestone-filtered water, the unglaciated corner of southwest Wisconsin is dairy paradise. Start at Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville, where you’ll meet Cheesemaker Andy Hatch and tour the farmstead creamery crafting the best-known cheese in America: Pleasant Ridge Reserve. Then motor to Cedar Grove Cheese in Plain for a tour and meet Bob Wills, Wisconsin’s chief incubator of up-and-coming cheesemakers. After lunch at the General Store in downtown Spring Green, cruise to Dreamfarm in Cross Plains to meet Cheesemaker Diana Murphy and taste her farmstead goat’s milk cheeses. Scenic views of rolling hills and winding rivers included for free.
Green County Cheese & Beer Experience
Saddle up for a day of eating cheese and drinking beer. Motor to Green County, home to more than a dozen cheese plants in a 585-square mile area. First up: a tour and tasting with Cheesemaker Myron Olson at Chalet Cheese Cooperative, home to World Champion Baby Swiss and the only cheese factory in North America still making Limburger, the king of stinky cheese. Cleanse your palate at the next stop: Minhas Brewery in downtown Monroe, with a 1-hour tour and tasting of some of the finest craft beers made in Wisconsin. Lunch is up the street at Baumgartner’s, one of Wisconsin’s best-loved and historic taverns. Round out the afternoon at Emmi Roth USA in Monroe with a tour of the company’s impressive Gruyere aging rooms, and an exclusive cheese tasting in their elegant Culinary Center. Bring a pillow, as you’ll most likely be napping on a full stomach on the way home.
Wisconsin Farmstead Dairy Backstage Pass
More than 20 farmstead dairies have sprouted in Wisconsin in the last 10 years, and this tour gives you a backstage pass to two of the best. Start with Cheesemaker George Crave at Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese in Waterloo, with a tour of the cheese factory, followed by a farm tour and opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with farm cows and calves. Afterward, enjoy an elegant cheese tasting and lunch in the Craves’ new on-farm Culinary Center. Next, motor to Sassy Cow Creamery in Columbus for a dairy plant tour of milk bottling and ice cream making with owner James Baerwolf and tour the Baerwolf dairy farms. End the day with a private cheese tasting at Fromagination in Madison, and taste a half dozen of the best farmstead cheeses from Wisconsin. We promise you won’t go home hungry.
Additional festival events include:
Friday Evening Meet the Cheesemaker Gala: Shake hands and talk shop with 40 Wisconsin rock star cheesemakers. Sample 150 original cheeses, network with foodies and enjoy your favorite wine or microbrew. Metcalfe’s Market will offer hundreds of cheeses on-site for sale. Tickets: $29.
Saturday Seminars: New in 2012, attendees may purchase an all-inclusive Saturday pass providing VIP access to a full day of tasting and talking about Wisconsin artisan cheese. Includes a morning keynote with Ari Weinzweig, author, super-foodie, owner and co-founder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, who will lead a morning talk on “Wisconsin Cheese: Past, Present and Future.” Also includes an elegant lunch in the Grand Terrace, and two afternoon tasting seminars, including one pairing session. Tickets: $85
Saturday Night Artisan Cheesemaker Dinners: Experience a culinary sensation at one of 12 participating Madison Originals restaurants. Each chef will partner with a local cheesemaker and host a one-of-a-kind three-course dinner. You’ll join the featured cheesemaker at a private table for 16. Tickets: $75.
Tickets for the Nov. 9-10 events go on sale to members of Wisconsin Cheese Originals on Sept. 17, with remaining tickets available to the public one week later. All events will sell out. Want to make sure you get the tickets you want? Join Wisconsin Cheese Originals for $35 and get invited to similar events year-round. Visit www.wicheesefest.com to learn more.
Wisconsin Cheese Originals wishes to thank all sponsors of the Fourth Annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival, including Marquee Sponsor Emmi Roth USA; Gold-Level sponsors Arla Foods, Klondike Cheese, Sartori, World Import Distributors, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board; Silver-Level sponsors BelGioioso Cheese, Fromagination, Organic Valley, Uplands Cheese; Bronze-Level sponsors Carr Valley Cheese, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, DCI Cheese Company; and Supporting Sponsors Hook’s Cheese and Widmer’s Cheese.
Source: Wisconsin Cheese Originals