This Paso Robles creamery makes the best goat cheddar cheese in the country

A Paso Robles cheesemaker sliced up the opposition at an international cheese competition last month.

Central Coast Creamery scooped up three first-place wins — more than any other California cheesemaker — and two third-place honors at the American Cheese Society Judging & Competition, July 24 and July 25 in Denver. The contest brought together more than 280 artisan cheese producers from Canada, Colombia, Mexico and the United States.

“We call this the Oscars of cheesemaking,” said Reggie Jones, who launched Central Coast Creamery in 2007 with his wife, Kellie.

The company, which produces 180,000 pounds of cheese a year using locally sourced milk, took first place at the American Cheese Society competition for its Goat Cheddar, made with goat milk; Bishops Peak, an Alpine-style cow-milk cheese; and Dream Weaver, a washed-rind goat-milk cheese.

Winning third-place honors were Ewereka, made with sheep milk, and Holey Cow, a cow-milk cheese with Swiss-style holes.

Jones noted that two of the award winners — Ewereka and Dream Weaver — are relatively new products for Central Coast Creamery. “We have been making them for about six months,” said the cheesemaker, who plans to scale up production.

According to Jones, the company has been entering the American Cheese Society contest since 2010. Last year, Central Coast Creamery took home second-place wins for its Goat Gouda and Holey Cow cheeses — the same year its Ewenique sheep-milk cheese won best in class at the World Championship Cheese Contest.

For more information, visit www.centralcoastcreamery.com.

This story was originally published August 6, 2017 at 11:53 AM with the headline "This Paso Robles creamery makes the best goat cheddar cheese in the country."