The name does require a bit of willful ignorance on the part of you, the reader, since there are no mountains to speak of in Wisconsin. But the cheese is made in the Alpine style of Swiss Gruyère, hence the moniker. It’s produced from raw milk in copper kettles, aged on red pine shelves. In order to select the exact batches of cheese we want, Carlos receives a care package of “plugs” from different days’ productions every few weeks. He samples them all, then picks the batch he likes best.

He hit the mark with these: big sweet intense flavor like a great mountain cheese should have, no matter where it's from.

The wheels we're currently cutting into were made September 30th, 2009. They're earthy, savory and rich with big, fruity flavors and a long finish.