Huffington Magazine Issue 50 | Page 109

4 BEST SUMMER EVER HUFFINGTON 05.26.13 MILTON L BURLINGTON NG ROAD TRIP LIFESTYLE FOOD MONTPE NTPELIER 3 WEST CORNWALL Vermont Cheese Trail HANOVER The fact that you can drive through Vermont in just a matter of hours might make you overlook its culinary contributions, but when it comes to cheese, Vermont is where it’s at. If you’re a fan of goat or sheep’s milk cheese, Vermont offers award-winning varieties. And of course, this state has long mastered cheddar. GREEN MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST 2 PUTNEY 1 BRATTLEBORO 1. Grafton Village Cheese graftonvillagecheese. com 400 Linden St. Brattleboro, VT 05301 (802) 246-2221 HOBER/FLICKR If cheddar is the dairy that rules your heart, you need to make a stop at Grafton Village Cheese where they still make their cheddars in the same tradition as when they first started in 1892. It’s handcrafted, perfectly aged and made from Jersey cow milk sourced from small Vermont family farms. 2. Vermont Shepherd vermontshepherd.com 281 Patch Farm Rd. Putney, VT 05346 (802) 387-4473 The cheesemakers that run Vermont Shepherd only make one kind of cheese (also called the Vermont Sheph erd) and it has been completely perfected. This aged sheep’s milk cheese, descended from a variety of Pyrenees mountain cheeses, is more than worth the trip for any cheese lover. 3. Twig Farm twigfarm.com 2575 S Bingham St. West Cornwall, VT 05778 (802) 462-3363 A trip to Twig Farm doesn’t just mean you’ll get your hands on an array of award-winning goat cheeses, but a scenic visit to an idyllic farm. After a taste of the artisanal cheese, and a day at this picturesque spot, you won’t ever want to go home. 4. Willow Hill Farm sheepcheese.com 313 Hardscrabble Rd. Milton, VT 05468 (802) 893-2963 Willow Hill Farm makes award-winning sheep and cow’s milk cheeses. The owners attribute it to their old world technique of aging the cheeses in underground caves. Whatever the trick is, it works. And it’s worth the drive up north to try them all — even if it’s at the Canadian border.