New Wisconsin Sheep Cheeses!

Wisconsin is known as America's Dairyland for a reason. It has an excellent environment in which to raise dairy livestock, especially sheep! We love Wisconsin cheese, and we have some new sheep cheeses from two Wisconsin producers that are just outstanding.

Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative
By September of 1997, the Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative was fully formed and registered as a cooperative in the state of Wisconsin. Sheep milk producers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and even Iowa all send their milk to the WSDC to be made into cheese. One of the cheeses made there is Dante, an all-sheep's milk cheese aged at least 6 months. It is made from pasteurized milk and still won second place in the open category of aged sheep's milk cheeses at the 2008 American Cheese Society awards. Slightly sharp and nutty, the firm, dry Dante also exhibits some rich brown butter notes. It goes very well with young fruity reds, some sherries, and even semi-sweet white wines.

Hidden Springs Creamery
Hidden Springs Creamery, located in Westby in west central Wisconsin, is still a newcomer on the artisanal cheese scene. But what an entrance! Run by Brenda and Dean Jensen, Hidden Springs has already garnered ACS awards for two of their cheeses: Driftless, a fresh sheep's milk cheese, and Ocooch Mountain, an aged sheep's milk cheese. They milk solely Lacaune and East Friesian sheep, and do all the heavy work around the farm with Percheron draft horses instead of using tractors.
Ocooch Mountain is a 3 to 4 month aged, raw milk cheese whose rind is washed occasionally during aging to help deepen the flavor of the cheese. It has a nutty, earthy and slightly tangy flavor with a rich texture. Ocooch Mountain will go well with a variety of wines. One to try would be a nice clean-flavored Albarino.
Bad Axe, named for a river near the creamery which was the site of the 1832 Battle of Bad Axe, is a 1 to 2 month aged pasteurized milk cheese. It is creamy and tart in flavor and semi-soft in texture. The cheese is dipped in black wax to help it retain moisture. A crisp white or even a sparkling wine would be a great match for Bad Axe!