Australia’s top dairy products announced

Posted by AFN Staff Writers on 30th November 2016

After tasting their way through a record 470 of Australia’s finest dairy products, judges of Dairy Australia’s Grand Dairy Awards have announced the 2017 finalists from across the nation.

This year, 56 producers of cheese, ice cream, milk, yoghurts, dips, gelatos and more have made it to the big stage in the grand final of dairy awards and now wait with baited breath until February 2017 when the champions will be announced.

For the first time, the public also have the chance to play judge to determine the champion cheese of the new People’s Choice Award.

The Awards, now in their 18^th year, celebrate the best of the best in Australian Dairy, recognising quality, excellence and the refined skills of local Australian producers who craft some of the best dairy product in the world.

All products, which qualified for awards by winning gold medal at state competitions, are put through a rigorous, two-day, judging process.

Leading a panel of 24 judges, technical experts, chefs, retailers and flavour specialists, was respected dairy educator, Russell Smith, and recently appointed deputy chief judge, Mark Livermore. Author and food personality, Alice Zaslavsky also joined the panel for a second year running.

From bries to screams, 2017’s finalists feature producers big and small, including supermarket favourites to new-to-the-market, artisan products.

“We’re thrilled to announce the impressive line-up of 2017 finalists and pay recognition to the talented Australians who dedicate their time, passion and skill to producing high quality dairy foods for Australia and the rest of the world to enjoy,” said Amanda Menegazzo, convener of the Australian Grand Dairy Awards.

“The calibre keeps improving year after year. We are rapt to see such a mix between old and new faces for 2017 – from established brands such as Bega Cheese, to new-comers like family owned Little Big Dairy,” said Menegazzo.

Out of the finalists, a winner will be chosen for each dairy category and the highest scoring dairy and cheese products will be crowned as the Grand Champions.

2017 Australian Grand Dairy Awards Finalists

Category	Product	Producer
Fresh Unripened Cheese	Montefiore Trecce	Montefiore Cheese Australia
	That’s Amore Cheese Burrata	That’s Amore Cheese
	La Vera Pure Whey Ricotta	La Vera Fine Cheese Producers
White Mould	King Island Dairy Black Label Double Brie	Lion Dairy & Drinks-King Island
	Emporium Triple Cream Brie	Lactalis Group
	Nowra Farmhouse Triple Cream Brie	Unicorn Cheese
Semi Hard & Eye	Section28 Artisan Cheese Monforte	Section28 Artisan Cheese
	Heidi Farm Tilsit	Lion Dairy & Drinks-Burnie
	Heidi Farm Raclette	Lion Dairy & Drinks-Burnie
Cheddar	Bay of Fires Cheddar	Fowlers Cheese
	Bega Strong & Bitey Cheddar	Bega Cheese Limited
	Westacre Extra Tasty Cheddar	Bega Cheese Limited
Hard Cheese	Ashgrove Signature Parmesan	Ashgrove Cheese
	La Vera Matured Pecorino	La Vera Fine Cheese Producers
	Mil Lel Superior Parmesan Cheese	Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Company Holdings Ltd (Warrnambool)
Blue Cheese	King Island Dairy Roaring Forties Blue	Lion Dairy & Drinks-King Island
	King Island Dairy Bass Strait Blue	Lion Dairy & Drinks-King Island
	Berrys Creek Oak Blue	Berrys Creek Cheese
Washed Rind/Mixed Rind	Emporium Selection Washed Rind	Unicorn Cheese
	Flinders Estate Washed Rind	Unicorn Cheese
	King Island Dairy Stormy Washed Rind	Lion Dairy & Drinks-King Island
Flavoured Cheese	That’s Amore Cheese Diavoletti	That’s Amore Cheese
	Barambah Organics Labna with Fennel and Sea Salt	Barambah Organics Pty Ltd
	King Island Dairy Stokes Point Smoked Cheddar	Lion Dairy & Drinks-King Island
Goats & Sheep’s Milk Cheese	Frolicking Goat Buche	Frolicking Goat
	Meredith Dairy Plain Chevre	Meredith Dairy Pty Ltd
	Prom Country Cheese Venus Blue	Prom Country Cheese
Natural Yoghurt	Mundella Greek Natural Yoghurt	Mundella Foods Pty Ltd
	Mundella Premium Natural Yoghurt	Mundella Foods Pty Ltd
	Ruby and Roy’s Natural No Added Sugar Yoghurt	The Fabulous Fresh Bros. Pty Ltd
Flavoured Yoghurt	Sharma’s Kitchen Mango Lassi	Sharma’s Kitchen Pty Ltd
	Maleny Gourmet Yoghurt Apple & Cinnamon	Maleny Cheese
	George’s Authentic Greek Yoghurt Apple & Cinnamon	The Natural Yoghurt Company
Ice Cream	Dooley’s Premium Licorice Ice Cream	Dooley’s Ice Cream
	Dooley’s Premium Chocolate Ice Cream	Dooley’s Ice Cream
	Timboon Fine Ice Cream Vanilla	Timboon Fine Ice Cream
Dairy Gelato	Maleny Food Co. Chocolate Gelato	Maleny Food Co.
	Cow and the Moon Peanutzilla Gelato	Cow and the Moon
	Milani House of Gelato Dark Chocolate	Milani House of Gelato
Dairy Dessert	House of Riz Traditional Greek Rice Pudding	House of Riz
	House of Riz Passionfruit Rice Pudding	House of Riz
	Pauls Milk Max Dairy Snack Chocolate	Parmalat Australia Ltd-South Brisbane
Milk	Maleny Dairies Farmers Choice Full Cream Milk	Maleny Dairies
	Norco Non-Homogenised Milk	Norco Foods-Labrador
	Alexandrina Pure Jersey Full Cream Milk	Alexandrina Cheese Company
Specialty White Dairy Drink	The Little Big Dairy Co Less Cream Milk	The Little Big Dairy Company
	Misty Mountain Farms Lactose Free Full Cream Jersey Milk	Mungalli Creek Dairy
	Dairy Farmers 2% New Milk	Lion Dairy & Drinks-Malanda
Flavoured Dairy Drink	Oak Chocolate	Parmalat Australia Ltd-Nambour
	Norco Ultimate Chocolate	Norco Foods-Raleigh
	Dare Double Espresso	Lion Dairy & Drinks-Malanda
Cream	Bannister Downs Double Cream	Bannister Downs Dairy Company
	Bulla Crème Fraiche	Bulla Dairy Foods Pty Ltd
	The Little Big Dairy Co Pure Double Cream	The Little Big Dairy Company
Butter	Western Star Salted Butter	Fonterra Brands (Aust) Pty Ltd-Cobden
	Aldi Beautifully Butterfully Salted Butter	Murray Goulburn-Koroit
	Aldi Beautifully Butterfully Salted Butter	Fonterra Brands (Aust) Pty Ltd-Cobden
Dairy Dip	Paradise Beach Purveyors Pesto Swirl Dip	Paradise Beach Purveyors Pty Ltd
	Paradise Beach Purveyors Instant Nachos Dip	Paradise Beach Purveyors Pty Ltd
	Bekaa Dairy Labneh	Bekaa Dairy Products & Ultimate Dairies