Cheese origins
28 cheese-producing regions across 9 countries. AOP, PDO, and DOP designations that mean something; the European traditions that define cheese categories; the American specialty regions still building their identity.
French regional traditions
6 originsFrance has more protected-designation (AOP) cheeses than any other country. These six regions cover the most editorially significant zones — Normandy bloomy/washed, Auvergne hard/blue, Savoie alpine, Loire goat, Franche-Comté Comté, and Roquefort (the original AOC, 1411).
Italian regional traditions
5 originsThe DOP system protects regional Italian cheeses. These five regions span the Alps to Campania. Parmigiano-Reggiano, Mozzarella di Bufala, Gorgonzola, Taleggio — all from here.
British Isles & Ireland
5 originsFrom 12th-century Somerset cheddar to Ireland's 50-year farmhouse revival. Diverse traditions ranging from ancient (Cheddar, Stilton) to essentially newborn (modern Irish farmhouse, post-WWII Welsh).
Iberian peninsula
3 originsSheep dairying dominates. The Basque Pyrenees, Manchego on the Castilian plateau, Cabrales aged in the Picos de Europa caves. Less internationally famous than French and Italian counterparts but no less editorially serious.
Alpine & Low Countries
3 originsTwo distinct northern European traditions: Swiss alpine raw-milk hard cheeses (Emmental, Gruyère — both AOP-protected) and Dutch farmhouse Boerenkaas Gouda. Both meaningfully different from their globally commodified imitations.
American specialty regions
6 originsThe 1980s-2000s American specialty cheese awakening, mapped. Each region has a distinct identity built largely in the last 40 years — Vermont's communal aging at Jasper Hill, California's Humboldt Fog tradition, Wisconsin's Master Cheesemaker program, Oregon's 2019 World Cheese Awards champion.