FRESNO, Ohio — Pearl Valley Cheese, of Fresno, won the first of three contests in the Ohio Swiss Cheese Association’s competition to determine the grand champion and reserve champion cheesemakers for 2019.
The first contest was held June 5 at Pearl Valley Cheese.
Cheesemakers were awarded for two classifications: Swiss Class and Open Class (various cheeses that do not fall in the Swiss classification).
In addition to Pearl Valley, winners for the Swiss Class were: Second place, Guggisberg Cheese Co., Millersburg; third place, Broad Run Cheese, Dover.
Winners for the open class were:
First place: Guggisberg Cheese Co., Maasdam; second place: Bunker Hill Cheese, A2 Jersey; and third place: Pearl Valley Cheese, Gouda.
Other varieties of cheese entered were:
Colby and mild cheddar from Middlefield Original Cheese Co-op; farmers and cheddar from Bunker Hill Cheese; and colby and marble from Pearl Valley Cheese.
The cheese was judged Grade A by Mike Felton, John Jorg and Tom Mueller, former cheesemakers; and Dave Yaggi and Paul Chervenak, cheese buyers.
The second of the three contests, the Ohio State Fair contest, will be held July 10.
