Shullsburg Earns High Marks in U.S. Championship Cheese Contest

A popular cheese made in Shullsburg, WI was named one of the 20 finalists in the 2023 United States Championship Cheese Contest. The contest was judged from February 21st through 23rd, with a winner being announced on the 23rd.

Roelli Cheese Haus' Select Cheddar managed to be named one of the 20 finalists, going up an excess of 2,200 entries this year. Roelli Cheese Haus has been crafting fine cheeses for over 100 years, according to their website:

Roelli Cheese Haus is located East of Shullsburg, Wisconsin on State Highway 11 and has a family tradition of making hand-crafted specialty cheese for nearly 100 years. Adolph Roelli came to this area of Lafayette County Wisconsin from Switzerland in the 1920s. From that time, four generations of the Roelli family have been in the cheese business at this location, building on Adolph’s commitment to quality, service, and customer satisfaction. This long-standing commitment continues to be the cornerstone of our business.

While Roelli Cheese's entry unfortunately didn't finish in the top three, its inclusion in the top 20 is reason enough to celebrate. An aged gouda cheese named "Europa" was crowned the winner after nabbing the highest score in the contest. Europa is made by Arethusa Farm Dairy in Bantam, Connecticut.

The silver-lining is the two cheeses that rounded out the top three are from Wisconsin; Appleton and Blair, WI, respectively.

Of the 113 total classes being judges, Wisconsin took home 54 of the "Best of Class" finishes, which was the most of any state by a long-shot. California and Idaho placed second and third with nine wins and eight wins, respectively. Even without a first place victory in the U.S. Championship Cheese Competition in 2023, Wisconsin remains the undisputed king of dairy!

Per the Telegraph Herald, several other cheese operations saw their creations finish in the top three in 118 cheese categories. Some of these were:

Sharp cheddar, aged six months to one year: Second, Foremost Farms USA, Lancaster, WI
Traditional waxed cheddar, mild to medium: Best of class, Roelli Cheese Co., Shullsburg, WI
Cream cheese: Third, Prairie Farms Cheese Division, Luana, IA

Check out the United States Championship Cheese Contest on Facebook!