Cheesemaker Joe Burns next to the 'Wisconsin Whey' book cover.
The Driftless Area has given us beautiful views, fascinating limestone outcroppings and trout fishing in spring-fed streams. A new book out March 1 tells us about something else the Driftless Area has — cheesemakers. The Wisconsin Whey: Cheesemaking in the Driftless (Little Creek Press) highlights 12 cheesemakers who come from southwest Wisconsin.
The book’s genesis came after Joe Burns, co-owner and cheesemaker at Brunkow Cheese in Darlington (and no relation), hosted a cheese discussion and cooking event at The Book Kitchen in Mineral Point. The space, owned and operated by chef Nicole Bujewski, is part of The Republic of Letters bookstore, co-owned by Keith Burrows and Leslie Damaso. Bujewski and Burrows are two other collaborators on The Wisconsin Whey.
“Keith had mentioned that books about the Driftless sell well, so I said someone should do a book about Driftless cheesemakers,” Burns says.
Bujewski and Burrows took the idea and ran with it, working with Kristin Mitchell at Little Creek. They consulted with Burns to choose 12 cheesemakers to profile, with contributions from former Wisconsin State Journal business reporter Judy Newman Coburn and food photographer Paul Strabbing.
“You get a pretty diverse mix of cheese making in the Driftless,” says Burns, whose factory is best known for its Brun-uusto baked cheese. “From goat to sheep to cows, it’s a lot of small-batch, artisanal cheese from pockets and valleys.”
The book travels as far north as Westby, home of Nordic Creamery, and south 100 miles to Shullsburg, home of Roelli Cheese Haus. It includes stories of cheesemakers who create a wide range of flavors, like Sid Cook of Carr Valley, and Andy Hatch, who has won international awards at Uplands Cheese making just two cheeses.
The stories of the cheesemakers vary, too. There’s Tony Hook, whose 50-year career has seen every trend in the industry right up to his own 20-year cheddar. There are those who are continuing long family traditions such as Chris Roelli or Willi Lehner of Bleu Mont. And some came to it in entirely different ways, like Anna Landmark making a switch from politics or Felix Thalhammer of Capri Cheese milking goats because his son was lactose intolerant.
The hilly Driftless means more grazing pastures and fewer huge swaths of row crops, creating a unique food environment and terroir.
“In France, they set it up so individual cheesemakers can take advantage of geographic indication, they can basically trademark it,” says Michelle Miller, senior researcher with UW-Madison’s Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. “The Driftless definitely has several cheeses that are renowned and have those special flavors.”
While Wisconsin has a specific, designated wine region through the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trademark Bureau, there is no official way to designate a Driftless Area cheese. “There’s been no system set up for it,” Miller says. “There’s nothing to apply for.”
Until there is, consumers have to do the research themselves, and The Wisconsin Whey will help.
The Wisconsin Whey: Cheesemaking in the Driftless will be released on March 1 with a launch party and tasting event at The Republic of Letters and The Book Kitchen in Mineral Point featuring six cheesemakers from the book.
