The World Cheese Awards

In Bern, Switzerland, the spotlight fell on a Gruyère over 18 months old. Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen's Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen spezial had taken the 2025 World Cheese Awards title. One maker, one cheese and a particular stage of maturation now had the world's attention. Not bad for something usually admired in slices. [1][5]

You can trace that moment back to a producer's entry form. Organised annually by the Guild of Fine Food, the competition moves through blind judging and medal decisions to the final contest for World Champion Cheese. Its results introduce you to unfamiliar makers and styles, but your taste still gets the last word. [1][2]

Pick up the story in 1988

The World Cheese Awards began in 1988, according to the Guild of Fine Food. Its championship archive starts there, recording winning cheeses, producers and countries across successive editions. The original location remains uncertain, but the archive gives you a trail of names and places to follow. [3]

Behind each winning announcement sits a great deal of quieter work. The Guild publishes entry conditions and categories, coordinates deliveries, assembles judges and releases results. The aim is simple: get the intended cheese to the right table, without revealing its identity to the people assessing it. [1][2]

When an award claim catches your eye, start with the organiser's records. Keep the competition name, award level and year together. That turns “award-winning cheese” from a tempting phrase into something you can explore.

Put Córdoba in your diary

The awards travel, bringing each host nation's cheese, food tourism and culture into the picture through its work with the Guild. After the 2025 championship announcement in Bern, Switzerland, the next judging is scheduled for Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain, on 12 November 2026. [1]

For 2026, the organiser places the awards within the Andalucía Gusto del Sur International Cheese Festival, scheduled for 12 to 15 November. You have two dates to keep straight: the judging day and the longer festival around it. They belong together, but they are not interchangeable. [1]

Before planning your visit, think about what you want to do. Watch judging, attend a tasting or meet exhibitors? Find your chosen activity in the programme rather than building a trip around the festival's overall dates.

From the maker to the judging table

The cheese on the judging table must match the cheese you can buy. Every entry has to be a commercially available dairy-based cheese, made to the same standard and recipe as the product sold. Under the published 2026 conditions, food producers, importers, distributors and independent speciality retailers can enter, subject to the organiser's registration requirements. [2]

If you enter as a retailer, importer or distributor, you must identify the producer. The person or business behind the cheese stays attached to the entry, even though that identity is hidden from the judges. [2]

The May 2026 category list takes you from fresh cheeses through mould-ripened, washed-rind, blue and smoked styles to hard or semi-hard cheeses. Entries are also divided by milk species and, sometimes, age. The categories bring some order to all that variety. [4]

These categories help run the competition, the Guild explains. Cheeses are assessed on their own merit, rather than competing for a single medal within each category. Different age profiles of the same cheese can have separate entries. [4]

Then comes the journey. The Guild's consolidation system lets entrants deliver to designated collection points for onward transport. [1] If you are entering, start with the current edition's conditions, categories and individual delivery instructions, rather than last year's arrangements.

When the names disappear, taste takes over

Judges are not told the entrant's name, product name or country of origin. Under the 2026 rules, they assess flavour, rind, body, texture and appearance. For that first decision, reputation cannot help: the cheese has to make its own case. [2]

The Guild's announced 2026 broadcast programme includes Super Gold judging, the Super Jury and the championship announcement. The precise route from those first judging tables to the final remains unclear. These named stages give you a way to follow the broadcast. [1]

Read the results in layers. Bronze, Silver and Gold recognise cheeses across the wider competition, while Super Gold marks a further level before the overall championship decision. The International Supreme Jury announces the World Champion Cheese. [1][2]

If you watch the final, listen to each contender's advocate before looking at its identity. What persuades you: texture, flavour or the way the characteristics work together? The reveal means more when you have followed the argument for the cheese.

Give your next mouthful a little attention

Look, feel, smell, taste. The Guild's published blind judging criteria include rind and appearance, body and texture, and flavour. [2] You can borrow that framework without asking your cheeseboard to sit an exam.

What does the cut surface look like? How does the cheese feel as you taste it? Notice what catches your attention in the aroma and which flavours linger afterwards. Write those observations down before deciding whether you like it.

Be precise about the cheese in front of you. Fresh, blue and washed-rind cheeses have separate places in the competition's entry list, a useful reminder of the variety your notes need to accommodate. [4] The guide to telling cheese styles apart can help you find the words.

You do not need a competition score. Perhaps you loved the texture but found the aroma less appealing. Keep those responses separate and you will have something useful to remember next time.

Read the medals, then follow your appetite

Start with the award level and year, then find the exact entry. The organiser's published results distinguish the following recognitions. [1][2]

Recognition	What it tells you
Bronze	A medal level in the competition results.
Silver	A medal level above Bronze.
Gold	A medal level above Silver.
Super Gold	A further level; selection criteria are not specified here.
World Champion Cheese	The overall championship, selected through the final jury process.

Let those distinctions lead you somewhere new. Choose a recognised cheese in a style you already enjoy, then explore one from a category you rarely try. The awards can widen your cheeseboard without choosing your favourites for you.

Meet the people behind the palates

Technologists, graders, retailers, journalists, buyers, chefs and producers all feature among the professions on the Guild's judging panel. The Guild says it reconsiders that panel each year, rotating places between editions. You are hearing from people who approach cheese from different parts of its working life. [1]

Listen for what they notice. One may explain a cheese's construction, another its sensory qualities or how clearly its character comes through. A specific observation tells you more than an enthusiastic adjective, however warmly delivered.

The producer credit deserves your attention, too. The championship archive sometimes separates cheesemaking from maturation: its 2022 entry credits cheesemaker Vorderfultigen and affineur Gourmino individually. An affineur specialises in maturing cheese, so keeping both contributions visible tells you more than a product name alone. [3]

Let past champions lead your next tasting

The Guild's archive gives you winning cheeses and the people behind them. It uses championship-year pairings such as 2019 to 2020. The table below gives the year in which each competition took place. [3]

Award year	Winning cheese	Producer credited by the Guild	Country
2017	Cornish Kern	Lynher Dairies Cheese Company	England
2019	Rogue River Blue	Rogue Creamery	United States
2021	Olavidia	Quesos y Besos	Spain
2023	Nidelven Blå	Gangstad Gårdsysteri	Norway
2024	Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado	Quinta do Pomar	Portugal

Then comes the 2025 winner, Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen's Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen spezial. The Guild's directory lists its championship award and describes its age as over 18 months. Those details tie the title to a particular product, not simply a familiar cheese name. [5]

Treat these names as conversation starters, rather than a shopping hierarchy. What else does the maker produce? Who matures the cheese? What separates the winning entry from another product with a similar name?

For the background to the Swiss winner's cheese, read Le Gruyère. Then return to the specific producer and age. Both are part of what makes this result worth following.

Plan a Córdoba visit that suits you

The published venue for the 2026 edition is the Centro de Exposiciones, Ferias y Convenciones de Córdoba. Judging is scheduled for 12 November, within the festival running from 12 to 15 November. [1][2] Start with those details, then build your plans around the activities you want to attend.

Before making travel arrangements, check:

1. Public admission: confirm which dates and areas are open to visitors.
2. Judging access: find out whether admission includes viewing, a guided visit or neither.
3. The host programme: confirm your activities, their language and any separate booking.
4. Accessibility: ask about venue access, seating and assistance arrangements.
5. Programme changes: reconfirm your activity directly with the organiser before travelling.

Look for chances to meet local producers and learn about their work. Let those encounters shape your visit, rather than relying on the festival dates alone.

Cannot make the journey? The Guild has announced a live 2026 broadcast covering interviews and the later judging stages. [1]

Find the result, then seek out the cheese

Start with the Guild's official awards directory. You can search by company or product name, or use filters including award year and rating. The directory says it displays awards within their three-year validity period. [6]

Search the exact cheese name first, then the producer. Note any age description alongside the award year and level. If a maker produces several cheeses or different maturation profiles, those details help you follow the right entry.

Next, ask a cheesemonger about that entry and its current availability. If you cannot find it locally, use the result to explain the characteristics you want to explore. Availability depends on the supplier; your tasting will settle what you prefer.

Read the cheese label alongside the result, especially when the counter ticket and directory entry use different names. At your own tasting, note what you enjoyed before rereading the award description, and keep both records. The judges tell you about the competition result; your response tells you what deserves another mouthful.

Similar names, different routes to a medal

The World Championship Cheese Contest sounds similar, but has a different organiser and method. Run by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, it is described in its 2026 entry kit as a biennial technical competition in Madison, Wisconsin. Judges begin at 100 points and deduct for defects. [7]

The highest-scoring entries receive class medals. Qualifying Gold-winning cheeses then progress towards the championship. That points-based route belongs to this contest, not to every competition with “world” and “cheese” in its name. The cheese world does enjoy a grand title. [7]

The American Cheese Society Judging & Competition combines technical and aesthetic evaluation. Technical judges deduct from 50 points, while aesthetic judges award up to 50 for desirable characteristics. Eligibility requires current organisational membership and milk sourced from the Americas. [8][9]

That is why the full competition name matters. When a cheese catches your attention, find the actual result, understand how it was assessed and follow the maker's story. Your lasting reward may be a cheese you would otherwise have passed by.

The Rind Question

Questions people ask

Which cheese won the World Cheese Awards in 2025?

Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen's Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen spezial won the 2025 title. The cheese was over 18 months old, and the championship was announced in Bern, Switzerland.

Where and when are the 2026 World Cheese Awards?

Judging is scheduled for 12 November 2026 at the Centro de Exposiciones, Ferias y Convenciones de Córdoba in Córdoba, Spain. The surrounding Andalucía Gusto del Sur International Cheese Festival is scheduled for 12 to 15 November.

How are cheeses judged at the World Cheese Awards?

Judges assess entries without being told the entrant's name, product name or country of origin. Under the 2026 rules, they examine flavour, rind, body, texture and appearance.

Who can enter the World Cheese Awards?

Under the 2026 conditions, food producers, importers, distributors and independent speciality retailers can enter, subject to registration requirements. Entries must be commercially available dairy cheeses made to the same standard and recipe as the product sold to customers.

How can I check whether a cheese has won an award?

Search the Guild of Fine Food's official awards directory by company or product name, or filter by award year and rating. The directory states that it displays awards within their three year validity period.

Sources

1. Guild of Fine Food, World Cheese Awards, 2026 edition information, schedule, judging panel and broadcast programme, checked November 2026.
2. Guild of Fine Food, World Cheese Awards, Terms & Conditions, published May 2026, particularly sections 2, 4, 5 and 6.
3. Guild of Fine Food, WCA: Winners of World Champion Cheese 1988-2025, championship archive, checked November 2026.
4. Guild of Fine Food, World Cheese Awards Entry Categories, updated May 2026.
5. Guild of Fine Food, Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen, producer directory record and associated 2025 championship product, checked November 2026.
6. Guild of Fine Food, Award-winning products, official directory filtered to World Cheese Awards, checked November 2026.
7. Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, World Championship Cheese Contest: 2026 Entry Kit, contest overview and judging procedure, 2026 edition.
8. American Cheese Society, Judging & Competition, judging process and official competition FAQ, checked November 2026.
9. American Cheese Society, Judging & Competition Eligibility Requirements, membership and cheese entry requirements, checked November 2026.

This piece was researched from the organisers' published conditions, categories, championship archive, directory records and competition guidance, with practical suggestions presented as editorial interpretation.

Last checked: November 2026

Last checked November 2026.