Stonetown Artisan Cheese’s Grand Trunk Wins Best of Show at American Cheese Society Judging
Honourable mention for highest scoring raw milk cheese as well
ST MARYS, ON (July 25, 2025) — Stonetown Artisan Cheese, a farmstead artisan cheese producer in St Marys, Ontario, took top honors in its category at this year’s American Cheese Society competition. Its Grand Trunk earned a 1st place finish in the Open Category – Washed Rind Cheeses – Made from Cow’s Milk. This cheese also received a special Honourable Mention for the highest scoring Raw Milk Cheese, in addition to the Best of Show, 3rd place win out of close to 1600 entries. Winners of the prestigious competition were announced last night in Sacramento at the ACS’s annual conference.
“We are beyond thrilled and incredibly humbled by the results and recognition that the judges honoured Grand Trunk tonight” says cheesemaker Ramon Eberle. “We couldn’t make this cheese as special as it is without the exceptional, high-quality milk produced on our farm. Thanks to everyone on the team, this win is for everyone at Stonetown.”
Earlier this year, the Grand Trunk earned the Grand Champion title at SIAL Canada’s International Cheese Competition. Collectively Stonetown has won 32 awards over the past decade in both regional and international competitions.
Stonetown Artisan Cheese is celebrating its 10th anniversary of farmstead cheesemaking. The founders, Hans and Jolanda Weber immigrated to Canada in 1996 to begin a new life in St Marys and started their own dairy farm with the dream of creating cheeses of the highest quality, reminiscent of those form the Swiss Alps. With the support of family and Ramon Eberle, Master Cheesemaker from Switzerland, this humble dream became a reality. The fresh milk the cows produce is processed into a handcrafted farmstead cheese. The milk is unpasteurized and has no additives, the cheese is pure and natural.
Grand Trunk is a farmstead Gruyere style cheese made with the traditions and recipe from the Swiss Alps. The careful ripening for 15 months includes washing the rind with wine yeasts resulting in both a visually stunning exterior, and a harder, drier interior that becomes rich and creamy in your mouth with a deep complex flavour, balanced, yet pleasantly persistent. Grand Trunk is named after the old railway bridge of the former Grand Trunk Railway in St Marys.