Yorkshire Wensleydale Triumphs at Global Cheese Awards

Celebrated Yorkshire cheesemaker, The Wensleydale Creamery, is celebrating further recognition of its famous cheese range having picked up two Golds, a Silver, plus a trophy at the 2013 Global Cheeses Awards at the 152^nd annual Frome Agricultural and Cheese Show in Somerset.

The Creamery took the top spot in the Wensleydale class with Gold for its Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese and Gold in the Smoked Cheese Class with its Naturally Oak Smoked Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese. The real coup for the Dales cheese-maker was winning the Best Territorial Cheese for its Yorkshire Wensleydale, beating all other territorial (regional) cheeses, such as Cheshire, Lancashire and Red Leicester, to the cup.

Judges sampled over 700 entries across the 167 classes, before cementing the Wensleydale Creamery’s reputation as the producer of the authentic, handcrafted Wensleydale cheese with two golds, and a silver, as well as announcing it as the best territorial cheese at the show.

Based at Hawes in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, The Wensleydale Creamery handcrafts its cheese to a time-honoured recipe, using milk from local family farms to ensure the quality and authenticity of its cheese. Dating back to the 1150, when Cistercian monks first settled in the Dale, The Wensleydale Creamery is a decorated cheese-maker owing heritage and provenance to its taste too.

Maintaining their traditional skills and values, the award winning Oak Smoked Yorkshire Wensleydale is naturally smoked using oak chips for around 18 hours.  The cheese maintains all the texture characteristics of Yorkshire Wensleydale whilst adopting a subtle, smoked flavour and golden beech colouring to its rind.

David Hartley, Managing Director of The Wensleydale Creamery, commented on the success: “We’re delighted to have been recognised with by the judges at this year’s Global Cheese Awards. It’s an honour to see our skilled team of master cheese-makers, and indeed our family of Dales farmers who keep us in good supply of locally sourced, quality milk, rewarded with these awards. It is evidence of the consistently high standard and real team effort that goes into producing every slice of authentic Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese.  

“As a result, we feel that it is important for us to continue to distinguish Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese from other Wensleydale cheese on the market, so cheese lovers can be assured that they’re buying the authentic product, traditionally handcrafted with integrity in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.”