Eleven Brazilian cheeses compete at World Cheese Awards in Spain

The Rio Grande do Sul government announced on November 10 that it had dispatched an official SDR delegation to Spain to accompany the entrants. Its itinerary includes the Andalucía Gusto del Sur International Cheese Festival, taking place in Córdoba from November 12 to 15.

Camponês has entered four products. Laticínios Pipo, based in Nova Roma do Sul, and Queijaria Somacal, from Farroupilha, have submitted three apiece. La Serrana is competing with one cheese, Sentinela.

Organisers expect the competition to attract more than 5,000 cheeses, with around 300 judges assessing the entries. The available distinctions are bronze, silver, gold and super gold medals.

At the 2025 competition in Bern, Switzerland, Brazil collected 50 medals, according to the Rio Grande do Sul government. That total comprised five golds, 19 silvers and 26 bronzes.

The state delegation includes Romano Scapin, the SDR’s director-general, and Jonas Wesz, its director of Family Agriculture and Livestock. Counsellor Fernando Onofre received them at the Brazilian embassy in Madrid.

The stated purpose of the visit is to create opportunities in international markets for cheeses made by family farming businesses in Rio Grande do Sul.