MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin Cheese is always a popular gift, especially during the holiday season. In fact, according to the
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, the week before Christmas is the biggest week of the year for cheese sales. With 600 varieties, types and styles of cheese produced in Wisconsin, there's no shortage of options for entertaining and gift giving. Brie, edam and specialty blues from Wisconsin are particularly popular this time of year. Some Wisconsin companies also release limited edition cheeses for the holidays, such as Hook's 15-year cheddar and cinnamon-spiked Cannella BellaVitano.
Wisconsin retailers offer a wide variety of holiday baskets and other gift options for the cheese lovers on your list.
Fromagination, an artisan cheese shop in Madison, Wisconsin, is a favorite of shoppers on the Capitol Square, and their newly launched online store also makes it easy to shop from home. Choose from a selection of gift baskets, such as the Cheddarpalooza! featuring four variations on this classic Wisconsin Cheese—Dunbarton Blue, Bleu Mont Bandaged Cheddar, Red Rock and Hook's Five-Year Cheddar—as well as apple and pear crisps. For the ultimate cheese aficionado, consider the Cheese of the Month program, available in 3-month, 6-month, 9-month and 1-year subscriptions.
West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe in Milwaukee makes it easy to find a good home for a selection of "cheese orphans" – small cuts of cheese perfect for snacking and sampling. Each recipient receives 10 individually wrapped cheese orphans and a certificate of adoption – asking them to promise to savor and enjoy each bite until all is gone. It's a promise that's deliciously easy to uphold.
Door County's
Schoolhouse Artisan Cheese has created a "County Collection" of gift boxes designed to highlight Wisconsin counties where artisan cheese is made. These include the Langlade County Collection featuring Sartori MontAmore and the Clark County Collection with Marieke Gouda.
For a full list of Wisconsin cheese companies, creameries and specialty stores offering mail order cheese and gift baskets, visit
www.EatWisconsinCheese.com/MailOrder.
Download a photo of
Fromagination's Cheddarpalooza! gift basket. For more hi-res images, contact Joanna Miller,
jmiller@stephanbrady.com, (608) 692-3234. For additional information, contact Heather Porter Engwall,
hporterengwall@wmmb.org, (608) 203-7235. For more information about Wisconsin Cheese, visit
EatWisconsinCheese.com.