Long summer days are perfect for having a picnic and a picnic is perfect for enjoying Wisconsin Cheese! To continue our celebration of June Dairy Month, we’re giving away three wine & cheese picnic sets, equipped with cutting board, knives and wine key.

How to Enter:

Answer the question – What is your favorite Wisconsin Cheese pairing? Perhaps Cheddar and a pale ale? A crisp pinot gris and Feta? Or maybe even Muenster, apples and whole-grain crackers? (Need some help? Cheese Cupid can be your matchmaker online or on your iPhone.)

Leave a comment on this blog post about your favorite Wisconsin Cheese pairing.

• Three entries will be chosen at random.
• Contest ends Friday, June 18 at 5 p.m. EST.
• Winners will be notified by email.
• One entry per household. US only.

With spring in full-stride and summer just around the corner, it’s time to bring back those backyard barbecue beer and cheese pairings that we all love and crave during the cold winter months. Thus, without further ado, we present a tall pint of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and an array of distinctive Wisconsin semi-hard cheeses as your Cheese Cupid pairing this week. Enjoy!

Produced by the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a prominent classic-style beer. Made with top-fermenting ale yeast and brewed with Magnum, Perle and Cascade hops, this beer is known for its high notes of maltiness and superior hoppiness. It has a deep amber hue, a full-bodied taste and spicy after-notes, which have lead to several national brewing awards. Pair this brew with BelGioioso Small Style Provolone, Castle Rock Organic Farms Raw Milk Cheddar and Roth Käse Van Gogh Smoked Natural Gouda at your “cookout season opener.”

Located in Denmark, Wisconsin, BelGioioso Cheese has specialized in all-natural, award-winning Italian-style cheeses for more than 20 years. BelGioioso Small Style Provolone is made from whole cow’s milk and aged at least 60 days. Closely related to Mozzarella, Provolone is distinguishable by its fuller flavors that intensify with age. It goes well with cured meats and the sweetness of tomatoes and late-harvest fruits. These smaller cuts of Provolone are great for gift-giving or snacking on with a cold brew in hand.

Settled in the lush green valleys in Osseo, Wisconsin, Castle Rock Organic Farms concentrates on sustainable artisan cheeses, including Blue Cheese, Colby, Cheese Curds, Cheddar and Raw Milk Cheddar. Castle Rock Organic Farms Raw Milk Cheddar supports key consumers who have a passion for environmentally conscious products and it comes in an array of flavors. Try the Spinach Leek Garlic, Lemon Thyme Ginger, or Black Bean Salsa varieties. If you’re looking for something more traditional, these cheeses also come in Mild, Medium and Sharp. Pair any of these flavors with a pint of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale this week. Don’t forget the crackers!

Originally from Switzerland, the Roth family moved to America in 1911 to start crafting Eurpean-style cheeses in Green County, Wisconsin, now often known as “Little Switzerland.” Roth Käse Van Gogh Smoked Natural Gouda is made by aging the Gouda for six months and then smoking it, which adds the quintessential savory flavor to the cheese.

Make Tavern Beer Cheese with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and one of these delicious semi-hard Wisconsin Cheeses for your first outdoor affair this summer.

April has begun. Spring is in the air. What better way to start off the new season than with a bock beer as our Wisconsin Cheese Cupid Pairing of the Week? This week’s pairing is Shiner Bock from Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas.

Classified as “spring beers,” bocks have a long history of being brewed by Bavarian monks during the religious season of Lent. Shiner Bock has a deep amber color and a thin head, with a grainy smell and taste and a hint of caramel. This bock has an overall light, mellow mouthfeel, with little bitter aftertaste. Pair a pint of Shiner Bock with German-influenced Wisconsin Cheeses, such as Klondike Cheese Company Brick, Chalet Cheese Cooperative Country Castle Limburger, and Holland’s Family Farm Marieke Gouda, plain or smoked.

Klondike Cheese Company is a fourth-generation cheese company that’s home to three Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers. Located in Monroe, Wisconsin, Klondike Cheese Company gets the milk for its cheeses from 85 nearby family farms. Though best known for its distinct Feta Cheese, Klondike Cheese Company makes delicious Muenster and Brick Cheeses. Brick Cheese, a Wisconsin original, is a sweet and pungent cheese. It is a perfect cheese on dark bread – add some onions and pair with a Shiner Bock. Heavenly.

Chalet Cheese Cooperative is a farmer-owned co-op in Green County, Wisconsin. Founded in 1885, Chalet Cheese Cooperative and its Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers have won numerous national and international awards. As the only U.S. producer of Limburger, under the brand Country Castle Limburger, Chalet Cheese Cooperative is nationally acclaimed. Limburger is well-known for its strong odor. When the cheese is first produced it is firm and crumbly, similar to Feta, but within six weeks of production Limburger becomes softer along the edges though is still chalky near the center. Once it is aged for two months, the cheese is creamy and smooth and at three months, the cheese’s pungent odor becomes present. This cheese is often enjoyed in a Limburger sandwich – rye bread, raw onion, and Limburger Cheese. Another delicious sandwich to enjoy with a Shiner Bock.

Holland’s Family Farm, located in Thorp, Wisconsin, is a first-generation Wisconsin dairy farm established in 2002. The farm’s Gouda Cheese, Marieke Gouda, is a very popular Wisconsin-based Gouda Cheese, and although it has only been produced for three years, has already won numerous awards. The cheese is produced in several flavors – the plain or smoked varieties are best alongside a Shiner Bock.

At the first Isthmus Beer & Cheese Festival, this past Saturday, I was again reminded of why it’s so great to live in Wisconsin – even if the winter feels endless by late January. The beer! The cheese! All of it, wonderful.

And inspiring. There were lots of great cheeses and cheesemakers – I wish I hadn’t lost my cheat sheet. For me there were definitely some standouts that got me thinking about tasty chocolate and cheese pairings.

My all-time favorite is the award-winning Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Uplands Cheese Company in Dodgeville.

It’s a French Gruyère-style cheese. So good. Since this cheese has big rounded flavor, I would pair it with a deep dark-chocolate ganache, like the one in my Rica Organica truffle.

The cheese hits all the zones in your mouth, filling it with flavor. When backed by the chocolate’s rich creaminess – delicious.

Dunbarton Blue, from Roelli Cheese Haus in Shullsburg, would make a great companion to a simple dark chocolate.

It’s an earthy Cheddar with a suggestion of Blue Cheese – but not overpowering. I think it would make an interesting truffle too. I’d like to try introducing just a bit of this cheese into a creamy chocolate center.

The Apple Jack, by Gingerbread Jersey in Augusta, had a slight apple flavor with a bit of cinnamon. This Cheddar would be a great partner for either my Cinnamon/Cayenne or Machu Picchu truffles. The Apple Jack’s creaminess would nicely tame the heat on the end of the Cinnamon/Cayenne. I tried about eight varieties of Carolyn and Virgil Schunk’s cheese. I also loved their Cranberry Horseradish Cheddar. I just thought Thanksgiving when I ate it.

The Feta from Klondike Cheese Co. of Monroe is divine. It’s soft, creamy and not overly salted. This one is just right. I’d suggest pairing it with the big flavors of an Ecuadorian chocolate. The boldness of the chocolate will stand up nicely to the Feta cheese.

And if you’re lucky enough to get a bit of Hook’s 15-year-old Cheddar – Mmm, the possibilities. It’s so delicious with those tiny grains of saltiness that I love. I can just imagine a warm, crusty baguette sprinkled with chocolate shavings. The warm bread begins melting the chocolate, and then you top it with some crumbles of that incredible cheese. Oh joy. Oh comfort.

The best advice for pairing: If you think it might be good, give it a try. Have fun and be good to yourself!

Find more Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier pairings on her Facebook Page and Twitter account.

Gail Ambrosius truffle Twitter giveaway!

Love is in the air. So is the sweet smell of Wisconsin Crave Brothers Mascarpone and Columbian Dark Chocolate from Gail Ambrosius. Cheese Cupid is helping spread the love on Valentine’s Day by giving away 15 boxes of limited-edition heart-shaped truffles with Crave Brothers Cheese Wisconsin Mascarpone created by Gail Ambrosius.

You can enter the contest on Twitter. Tweet 3 words that come to mind when you think of Wisconsin Cheese and chocolate using the hashtag #cheeseandchocolate – example: Creamy, dreamy, delicious #cheeseandchocolate. Wisconsin Cheese Cupid will randomly pick 15 winners on Wednesday, February 10. The chocolate will be delivered on Friday, February 12.

Help spread the Wisconsin Cheese love.

The New Year has officially begun. Resolutions are top of mind. Promise of good fortune is ringing throughout ears.

Start off the year on the right note, with this week’s Wisconsin Cheese Cupid pairing, Anchor Porter, by Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco, California.

Anchor Porter is a dark brew made with specially roasted dark malts and top-fermenting yeast. This porter is medium-bodied, highly hopped, and has a thick, creamy head. It has notes of chocolate and coffee. Pair this beer with strong, bold-flavored cheeses. Try Burnett Dairy Cooperative Alpha’s Northwoods Aged Cheddar, Chalet Cheese Cooperative Limburger, or Holland’s Family Farm Marieke Italian Herb Gouda.

Cheddar is a rich cheese that becomes sharp and assertive with age. Burnett Dairy Cooperative Alpha’s Northwoods Aged Cheddar is a full-bodied yellow Cheddar that is naturally aged. It is a delicious snacking and serving Cheddar.

Limburger is often known as “stinky” cheese for its pungent aroma and strong taste. It was originally produced in Belgium, but is now associated with German origins. Chalet Cheese Cooperative in Monroe, Wisconsin is the last producer in the United States of Limburger. Chalet’s Limburger is buttery, and varies with age. When young, it is crumbly and Feta-like. At two months the cheese is smooth, creamy, and sweet. Aged, Limburger is intense and musky.

Holland’s Family Farm Marieke Italian Herb Gouda is a flavored, specialty Gouda from Holland’s Family Cheese in Thorp, Wisconsin. Made with whole milk, rich, smooth and creamy, Gouda is known as a “sweet curd cheese.” Gouda develops more complex caramel flavors and a firmer texture when aged.

As winter approaches, cozy up by the fireplace with a smooth lager – the perfect beer to accompany your turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and, of course, Wisconsin Cheese platter.

This week’s Wisconsin Cheese Cupid pairing is Harp, from Guinness Brewing. Harp is a golden lager, moderate-bodied and well balanced. The nose has sweet hints of grain. It was first produced in 1960 as a bottled beer and became available on draught in 1964. Pair it with semi-soft cheeses, known for their rich buttery texture. For an even bolder taste, try semi-soft cheeses infused with flavors such as dill and pepper. Pair Harp with Roth Käse Landhaus Butterkäse, Park Cheese Company Aged Provolone or Kretschmar Swiss.

Roth Käse Landhaus Butterkäse is a buttery, mild cheese that melts in your mouth. Pair it with apples and crackers, or use it to make a comforting grilled cheese sandwich.

Park Cheese Company Aged Provolone is a firm, ivory cheese that becomes more granular with age. It goes well with cured meats and fruits.

Kretschmar Swiss is a full-flavored Swiss, buttery, nutty and with characteristic holes. It is an aged Swiss, at least 60 days. This cheese is delicious with fruit and in baked dishes.