A three-day dairy-judging contest in Wisconsin has declared the world’s best cheese.

On Thursday, judges at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison announced Beemster Royaal Grand Cru as the 2026 World Champion Cheese.

The cheese was described as a “rich, nutty, cow’s milk cheese” and is made by CONO Kaasmakers, a small cooperative of dairy farmers in Westbeemster, Netherlands, according to their website.

The cheese scored 98.68 out of 100 and beat more than 3,350 entries to win the top prize.

Executive Director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association John Umhoefer gave his congratulations to the Dutch group.

“Congratulations go to the team at CONO Kaasmakers for reaching the pinnacle of their craft with a win at the World Championship Cheese Contest, an exceptionally hard feat in a year in which our top finishers were separated by only fractions of a point,” said Umhoefer.

The two runners-up World Champion Cheeses were Appenzeller Purple Label from Appenzell, Switzerland with a score of 98.45, and Alter Fritz from Jonschwil, Switzerland with a score of 98.41.

In addition to the foreign cheesemaker taking home first place, several Stateline dairy makers participated in the contest, too.

Deerland Dairy from Freeport, Hispanic Cheese Makers – Nuestro Queso from Kent, Ludwig Dairy from Dixon, and North Sky Farm from Harvard all entered cheeses into the contest, which has been hosted by the WCMA since 1957.

Before the winner was announced, the WCMA released a list of 20 finalists. Two American cheese manufacturers, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in Seattle and Jasper Hill Creamery in Vermont, made the top twenty.

According to the contest, there were 25 countries and 34 U.S. states and territories represented this year.

American cheesemakers were said to have earned the most gold medals by country overall, securing 96 Best of Class finishes. Wisconsin led U.S. states for the most first place awards with 45.

Source: WREX.com / Will McKenna