Out of 5,244 entries, Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial over 18 months was named as the best cheese in the world at the 2025 World Cheese Awards.The Gruyère AOP category calls for strict methods of production, often yielding award-winning cheese like this 18-month-aged wheel.One American-made cheese was honored as a top-14 cheese, a bandage-wrapped, cave-aged cheddar from Murray’s Cheese.

It’s been a good year for Gruyère. Following its Best in Show accolade at September’s Mondial du Fromage for Fromagerie la Côte-aux-Fées’ Le Gruyère AOP Vieux, another Gruyère has taken top honors at the annual World Cheese Awards, which transpired in Bern, Switzerland, on November 13. 

Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial over 18 months, a raw cow’s milk cheese made by Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen, beat out over 5,200 cheeses from around the globe to earn the prestigious designation of World Champion Cheese.

How cheeses are judged at the World Cheese Awards

To evaluate thousands of cheeses and determine the top contender, the United Kingdom’s Guild of Fine Food recruits scores of cheese experts from around the world. This year, 265 judges — representing affineurs, professional cheese graders, retailers, journalists, and more — worked in teams of two or three to each blind taste dozens of cheeses from the 5,244 entries. 

According to cheese author and educator Patrick McGuigan, who co-hosted the final presentation of the top 14 cheeses, this is the first time that over 5,000 cheeses have been presented for consideration in the 37 years of the World Cheese Awards. 

Flavor and mouthfeel carry the most weight during the evaluation, with appearance, aroma, and texture all factoring into whether a cheese is deemed worthy of a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Super Gold distinction by the initial teams of judges.

In the second round of judging, all of the 110 cheeses that have been designated as Super Gold are tasted by a Super Jury of 14 top global cheese experts. Each of the 14 jury members puts forward a favorite cheese, making the case in a live presentation for it to be this year’s World Champion. The top 14 cheeses are given a final numerical score by all 14 judges, and the one with the highest score is crowned the winner. 

An 18-month-aged Gruyère AOP earned the top honors

Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial over 18 months is a raw cow’s milk cheese made by Piuz Hitz of Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen in Hinterfultigen, Switzerland, in the foothills of the Alps. The cheese is dry-salted before its extended maturation period begins. The wheels of Gruyère rest on raw spruce planks as they age, resulting in a complex and umami-driven cheese studded with savory tyrosine crystals.

Perry Wakeman, CEO of U.K. cheesemonger Rennet and Rind, championed the cheese during the final round of judging, describing it as familiarly brothy and meaty with a beautiful flinty texture. “This kind of cheese is what gets people into cheese,” Wakeman emphasized during the live-streamed judging. “It is massive. It makes an impact. Anyone who eats it… just gets excited about it and wants to go back for more.”

Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial over 18 months was named the best cheese in the world.

Courtesy of Guild of Fine Food (KARGO Kommunication)

With strict specifications and exacting standards set by the appellation in order to ensure quality, Gruyère expressions frequently fare well in international cheese competitions. Another Gruyère AOP earned the title of World Champion Cheese at the World Cheese Awards in 2022, and Le Gruyère AOP Vieux was named the winning cheese at this year’s Mondial du Fromage.

The winning cheesemaker, Hitz, explained during the presentation of the World Champion Cheese trophy that the designation is an honor for the seven-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year commitment that the cheese requires. 

“It’s an honor for all the time that the cheese spends with us, around 20 months,” Hitz detailed. “The whole team will be very proud, and I am really looking forward to seeing how this impacts our business.” The team from Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen, the dairy responsible for the number one cheese, also had another mountain cheese in the top 14: its Gantrisch Bergkäse.

How did the United States fare at the 2025 World Cheese Awards?

Among the top 14 cheeses this year, only one hailed from the U.S. Stockinghall, a bandage-wrapped cheddar from Murray’s Cheese, was granted the fifth-highest overall score. Stockinghall is made with pasteurized cow’s milk collected from New York State dairies and aged for 12 months in Murray’s Long Island City-based caves. 

On the Super Jury, Svein Erik Backlund, a cheese training officer from Norway’s Oluf Lorentzen, described the cheese as “perfect.” “First of all, the smell has a sweetness to it,” he detailed during the live-streamed presentation. “The cheese is really well balanced, with a saltiness that’s quite pleasant,” Backlund noted, also calling out its creamy mouthfeel and long, brothy aftertaste.

“We are thrilled to continue to challenge international perceptions about the quality of American artisan cheese with our delicious and exceptional Stockinghall,” says Murray’s associate director of caves, Josh Windsor. On its website, Murray’s describes the cheese as having complex flavors of bacon, sour cream, and “surprising hints of pineapple.” 

Also representing the U.S. at the World Cheese Awards was Joey Wells, the principal specialty product development and innovation project manager from Whole Foods Market, who was among the 14 members of the expert Super Jury. 

American cheesemonger Hanna Lee was also recognized by the Academy of Cheese with the Young Cheesemonger of the Year award, which bodes well for the future of the U.S. cheese industry.

Top 14 Cheese at the 2025 World Cheese Awards

 Cheese
 Score
 Producer
 Country

Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial over 18 months
 85
Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen
 Switzerland

Crémeux des Aldudes aux fleurs – Etxaldia
 84
Etxaldia
France 

Appenzeller® Edel-Würzig – aged 9 months, Käserei Ifang, Christian Tschumper
83 
SO Appenzeller Käse
 Switzerland

Gantrisch Bergkäse
81
Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen
Switzerland

Königs-Chäs Rezent
78
Rüttiberg Käse AG
Switzerland

Ossau-Iraty AOP pasteurised sheep milk cheese
78
Agour
France

Stockinghall
78
Murray’s Cheese
United States

Aged Rutland Red
76
Long Clawson Dairy
United Kingdom

Hechizo
76
Quesería La Zarcillera
Spain

Montana Intenso
76
Maaz Cheese
Netherlands

Sparkenhoe Red Leicester
75
Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Company
United Kingdom

Pave Cobble
74
White Lake Cheese
United Kingdom

Yozawa Yagi
73
Yozawa Goat Farm
Japan

Eniquem Maly princ 4 months
69
Eniquem Cheese
Slovakia