8th Annual Vermont Cheesemakers Festival
Smashing  Success

Thirty-five Vermont cheesemakers, 5 regional cheesemakers, two regional guilds, 19 Vermont wineries, distilleries, brewers, cideries, and one Meadery, and 72 artisan food vendors gathered for one incredibly beautiful day for the 8th Annual Vermont Cheesemakers Festival at the Coach Barn at Shelburne  Farms.  With over 1750 attendees, 100 volunteers and 150 sponsored guests, 45 Press, and over 300 vendor table attendants were in attendance, this year’s festival hit maximum capacity.The exciting developments for the 2016 edition of the Festival included the return of long time board member Lisa Battilana.  Lisa returned to assist the Festival Committee with operation of our Festival Store which brought in over $5000 in sales.  Our Platinum Sponsor, Yankee Magazine worked with long time sponsor and Festival participant, Vermont Beef Industry Council along with the South Dakota Beef Industry Council, as well as Kenyon Grills, Wozz! Kitchen Specialties, Green Mountain Mustard, and Vermont Bread Company, along with Shelburne Farms to create the Ultimate Vermont Burger.  Free sliders were available to festival attendees and participants.  Yankee Magazine food editors Amy Traverso and Aimee Seavey prepared recipes in the Cooking Demo Tent with Alison Hooper and Vermont Creamery products.

Seminars included “Similar but Different” Cheddar Tasting moderated by Rory Stamp.  The tasting consisted of a tasting of three cheddars all made from the milk of different breeds of cow by different companies- Grafton Village Cheese Company, Jasper Hill Farm and Shelburne Farms.  Each cheese was paired with an additional flavor: dried cured sausages from Greensboro, mustard and chocolate. Along with the Cheddars, ice wines were served from Eden Ice Cider, Shelburne Vineyard, and Boyden Valley Winery.

There was a beer and cheese tasting moderated by Ruth Miller, Vermont’s own “Beer and Cheese Maven.” Ruth pared 5 different cheeses with multiple beers.  The tasting was an in-depth exploration of the the flavor components of beer from Idletyme Brewing Co. and Fiddlehead Brewery with distinctive cheeses from Mt. Mansfield, Shelburne Farms, Taylor Farm, Spring Brook Farm and Jasper Hill Farm.

Finally, the last seminar of the day was a chance to pair blended milk cheeses and Shacksbury Ciders together.  Moderated by Rachel Fritz Schaal from Parish Hill Creamery, the blended milk cheese pairing included sheep and cow, as well as goat and cow milk cheeses from soft to aged cheeses.  Cheeses from Bonnieview, Twig, Lazy Lady Farm, and Vermont Shepherd were paired with the ciders of Shacksbury.

The Vermont Cheese Council and The Vermont Cheesemakers Festival announced the winners of the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival’s annual “Best of the Fest” winners chosen by the attendees of the festival.  Winner for Best Cheese was Maplebrook Farm’s “Burrata;” Best Artisan Food Product was Laughing Moon Chocolates; and Idletyme Brewery’s “Danube” was named Best Beverage.