Wisconsin is a world of cheese in just one state, earning 92 total awards in 52 different classes at the 2024 American Cheese Society Competition Awards Ceremony held in Buffalo, N.Y.  

In 2005, it was David Gremmels himself who petitioned ACS to introduce a Lifetime Achievement Award. The organization’s first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award honored Gremmels’ mentor, Ignazio “Ig” Vella, now remembered as, “The Godfather of Artisanal Cheese.” 

Photo by Lew Harrington