Seven in the morning comes early. We loaded the bus and headed to BelGioioso Cheese, Inc., in Denmark for our first tour. Our guides walked us through the processing plant. We started where the fresh milk from local farmers was coming in by the truckloads and progressed all the way to the wheels of cheese that were being aged on shelves and cared for by hand. Then, tasting No. 2 began. When the door opened, we were stunned. A conference table full of all their cheeses for us to experience. Cheese heaven!

Shortly after brunch, we headed back to the bus for stop No 2. Seymour Dairy Products in Seymour—makers of 100% blue cheese. The owner greeted us outside; we took lots of pictures and headed in to tour his plant. After the tour, you guessed it, tasting No. 3! Having our fill of blue cheeses, we returned to the bus for stop No. 3 for the day. Watching out the window as we drove through beautiful farms and hills, we came upon Saxon Homestead Creamery in Cleveland. We toured the farm and met the girls who were producing the milk for the cheeses. The cows get lots of time out in the fields feasting on the green grasses. We walked up the hill to the barn for tasting No. 4. Saxon’s makes several cheeses, but my favorite was Big Ed’s Gouda. It was smooth and creamy with a distinct Gouda bite.

We wrapped up day one at Sprecher’s Restaurant & Pub in Madison for dinner and beer. That night I swear I dreamt I was a wheel of cheese sitting in a cave just waiting for the right moment when I could share my flavor with the world.

Day two started with breakfast at the hotel before we headed to Uplands Cheese Company in Dodgeville. It was another beautiful ride to Uplands. This husband-and-wife team has a large farm and produces some fantastic aged Gruyère cheese called Pleasant Ridge Reserve.

The next short jaunt on the bus took us to Hook’s Cheese Company, Inc., in Mineral Point. Although the plant was not in operation that day, we still enjoyed a nice tour and learned about cheese cultures. Tasting No. 6 was filled with more blues and some aged cheddars. Hook’s Tilston Point cheese is a washed-rind blue with a nutty flavor—a favorite of the group.

Lunchtime Tuesday took us to Monroe to Roth Käse USA Ltd. for a tour and lunch. Their plant is huge and very sanitary. Everyone had to gear up in hats, coats and shoe coverings. They have a great hand-washing station safety system that makes you wash your hands before the door will unlock and let you in the production area. We stood and watched the guys that toss the cheese to be stacked for aging. They toss them in twos so quickly we could not believe they didn’t drop one piece of the slippery cheese. After the tour we were escorted to their education room for tasting No. 7—Swiss cheese fondue and several other cheeses with a shot of Kirsch and a glass of wine to help it all down.

We stayed in Monroe and moved on to Chalet Cheese Co-op. This is the one stop that some of us were unsure about—Limburger cheese. Surprisingly, a majority of us came out adding a new cheese to our list of favorites. We also learned about Swiss cheeses and the differences between regular and baby Swiss processing. Did you know that the leftover scraps of Limburger are used in the nacho-cheese sauce that you get at many sport events? Interesting fact the owner shared with us.

Our final stop of the day took us to Bleu Mont Dairy in Blue Mounds—Willi’s place. Due to the landscaping and roads, the bus had to drop us at the end of the road and we took a pleasant walk up to the dairy and Willi’s home. He not only makes cheese, but he grows a lot of other things, as well: figs, garlic and sunflowers to name a few. We took a short hike to the back of his property and visited his cave, which he built in the ground. After, tasting No. 8 was upon us. Willi makes some awesome aged cheddar and aged blue. Many of us bought slices to take back home with us. Of course, having beers with the cheese and the great conversation with Willi on his porch added to the enjoyment. The sun was starting to go down and the breeze was as cool as the beer! We wanted to stay, but the bus was calling us to head back to Madison for dinner at Quivey’s Grove Stone House. The meal was delectable, putting a filling yet satisfying finish to our day. Knowing that tomorrow was our last day together, it was almost as if we were sharing our last supper before getting back to our lives at home.

On day three we all checked out of our rooms and loaded the bus to the Sassy Cow Creamery in Columbus. Although unusual, we were excited to be having milk, cheese and ice cream for our mid-morning tasting. The shop was decorated with hundreds of different glass milk bottles. We watched through the window as they processed the milk. Tasting No. 9 was fun. They had many flavors of ice cream and mini glasses of regular and chocolate milk. They gave us long pieces of string cheese made fresh that day and some cheese spread with crackers. Yummy.

The last tour of our trip was to Carr Valley Cheese Co. based in La Valle. The store was large and filled with every type of cheese you could be interested in. We were greeted by our hosts, Lisa and Julie. They led us to the back room, where they were preparing quite a spread for brunch. Shortly after we were seated, Sid, the owner, came and gave us tasting No. 10. We tasted 20 different cheeses as he described the processes and ideas behind creating each. Lisa and Julie served our meal, which consisted of pulled short-rib sliders with blue-cheese coleslaw, blue-cheese/tomato pasta salad, wine-poached pear salad, several different quiches and a wonderful bread cheese and blackberry-jam dessert.

On our way out, they brought out the cheese curds. These, we were told, is a must to try. They actually squeak when you bite into them. We all tried the cheddar curds and the shop sounded like it was filled with mice with all the squeaking going on. How fun was that! Needless to say, after this last cheese we were filled to the brim! They gave us some time to shop before heading to the bus to the airport.

The group said our final goodbyes to Sara and thanked her for the most amazing three days with a bouquet of flowers. We shared hugs all around at the airport, and everyone went their separate ways to return home to our students and families. We could not wait to get back and talk about our 10 cheese tastings in three days, share some of our favorite cheeses we brought home, and start thinking about more recipes to create with our newfound cheese knowledge.

Lisa M. Ramsey, CEC, is an instructor at The International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Tennessee, Nashville.