Whitestone creams it at NZ cheese awards

A sheep milk cheddar made in Oamaru has been named New Zealand's best cheese.

Whitestone Cheese's Monte Cristo was the champion of champions and cheesemaker Jonathon Emerson named champion cheesemaker at the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards in Hamilton last night.

Last month, the Oamaru cheese business, founded by Bob and Sue Berry in 1987, secured an impressive 18 medals, including six highly coveted gold medals at the cheese awards.

All the medal winners were then in contention for trophies, which were awarded last night.

Whitestone was awarded five trophies, including the top award. Monte Cristo also received trophies for champion original cheese and best-in-class sheep milk cheese.

Managing director Simon Berry said they were "thrilled" and his father Bob "ecstatic".

Head cheesemaker Jonathan Emerson, who has been at Whitestone for 14 years, received the champion cheesemaker title which was "a testament to his focus on quality and technique and also managing all those complex recipes under one roof," Mr Berry said.

Whitestone’s Monte Cristo had been a "pioneering" sheep milk recipe cheese. It had taken a long time to perfect from the 1990s on.

"It has won gold medals before, but to go through to win the grand champion just shows the quality of it."

Its development came from his parents experimenting with sheep milk supply and working with farmers in Southland and Dr Jock Allison at Invermay.

"He pioneered it by bringing in the first East Friesian Cross to create a cheese with, so Monte Cristo was born out of that," Mr Berry said.

Judges praised Monte Cristo saying it was "the cream of the crop".