According to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Wisconsin is the largest producer of cheese in the U.S. Throughout the state, visitors will find tours of cheese factories, many of which are family-owned and operated. A number of the factories are makers of award-winning cheese. Most of the factories have observation windows so you can observe the actual cheese-making process, and almost all have a retail store so you can buy cheeses to enjoy at home.
Visitors can prearrange tours of a number of cheese factories in central Wisconsin, including the Union Star Cheese Factory, which features pit stops at key steps in the cheese-making process and cheese tastings at the end of the tour. Alternatively, visit Maple Grove Cheese, which offers prearranged tours. Visitors can also arrange tours by appointment at Nasonville Dairy, a family-owned cheese factory.
Northeast Wisconsin's Simon's Specialty Cheese welcomes bus tours and offers tours where you can watch a cheese-making video and view exhibits in a mini-museum. Free cheese and fudge samples are also given to visitors. Spring Side Cheese Corporation, which produces more than 25 varieties of cheese, offers prearranged tours and has an observation window for visitors to watch the cheese-making process. Both are open daily.
Bass Lake Cheese Factory is open daily, and you can take a self-guided tour and listen to an audio/video presentation. You'll also find a picnic area where you can enjoy items that you can buy at their retail store. See how cheese is made and enjoy free samples of many cheeses in the Cady Cheese Factory's prearranged tours. On weekdays from June through September, tours by appointment are offered by Holland's Family Cheese, where you can learn about dairy cattle and cheese-making.
Widmer's Cheese Cellars is the only cheese factory in Wisconsin that still makes their cheese with real bricks, the same ones used in 1922 to press brick cheese. Weighing down the new cheese is the traditional method of brining the cheese. Guided tours are given from Monday through Friday, by appointment only, from June through October.
Carr Valley Cheese Co. offers free self-guided tours that start with a short video. The tour takes 10 minutes to one hour, depending on how busy the factory is and also features a viewing of the cheese-waxing room. Chalet Cheese Co-op offers tours on weekdays for four or more participants by appointment. Take a tour of Franklin Cheese Co-op, which are offered on weekdays. Decatur Dairy offers prearranged tours Monday through Saturday. Prima Kase, Roth Kase USA, Mid-America Dairymen, Inc. and Morning Glory Farms and Mt. Sterling Cheese Co-op offer prearranged tours and offer an observation window. Other factories where you can enjoy a prearranged tour are the Nelson Cheese Factory and Prairie Hill Cheese Company.
