Wisconsin Cheese Originals: Got cheese? Wisconsin artisan marketplace delivers at November cheese festival

Contact: Jeanne Carpenter, 608-358-7837

MADISON, Wis. – After tasting hundreds of artisan cheeses and gourmet foods during the Second Annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival in November, attendees this year will have the opportunity to purchase a piece of Wisconsin to take home with them at a new Artisan Marketplace.

Set for Sunday, Nov. 7, the first-ever Artisan Marketplace, featuring 50 of the state’s premier specialty food companies, cheesemakers, wineries and artists, will set up shop at the Monona Terrace from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $12, sold only in advance, and are available online at http://www.wicheesefest.com. Each ticket includes a designer black and red insulated grocery tote bag for visitors to take home.

All 50 artisans featured in the marketplace are from Wisconsin. Products for sale include artisan cheeses from a dozen different cheesemakers, local honey, artisan crackers, preserved jellies and jams, gourmet chocolate, toffee, fresh pesto, beer mustards, premier maple syrup, original wooden cutting boards crafted by a Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker, and a variety of art, including watercolor note cards, stained glass and original paintings. A full list of exhibitors is available at: http://www.wicheesefest.com/exhibitors.php

In addition to the Sunday Artisan Marketplace, the three-day Annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival features Friday dairy tours and cheesemaker dinners, Saturday tasting seminars and a Meet the Cheesemaker Gala. Limited quantities of tickets are still available and can be purchased online.

Hosted by Wisconsin Cheese Originals, the festival is becoming a premier destination for cheese enthusiasts and specialty food buyers from across the country, who attend to discover and buy new Wisconsin artisanal cheeses.

Wisconsin Cheese Originals thanks this year’s festival sponsors: Klondike Cheese, World Import Distributors, BelGioioso Cheese, Emmi-Roth Kase USA, Fromagination, Edible Madison, Dairy Business Innovation Center, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Sartori Foods, Uplands Cheese, Organic Valley, Hook’s Cheese, Planning Options, and Widmer’s Cheese Cellars.

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Wisconsin Cheese Originals shares information about artisan cheeses through educational seminars, tours, and its annual festival, all in the spirit of celebrating Wisconsin cheesemakers. It also offers an annual $2,500 scholarship to a beginning cheesemaker to help launch new artisanal cheeses. Learn more at: http://www.wisconsincheeseoriginals.com