Designed just for our industry peeps, the Vermont Cheese Summit includes two days of organized creamery visits, educational programs, and one-on-one sampling sessions! It’s all about connecting cheese wholesale buyers and food professionals to Vermont cheesemakers!

This event occurs at the tail end of Vermont Cheese Week – a weeklong celebration of all things cheesy in the state. Learn more about the whole week here.

Saturday Tours

SEPTEMBER 14, 2024

Wholesale buyers, retailers, and all industry professionals will be able to visit cheese producers at their sites for an industry-only tour day.

See unique spaces first-hand and meet cheesemakers in intimate settings in our 13 tours offered around the state – just for our industry peeps! Tours have limited capacities, and we recommend purchasing your Summit tickets as early as you are able.  VCC does not provide transportation for tours, so that you can pick and choose the sites that most interest you.  We provide guidance on selecting tours, travel planning between sites, and planning visits on our sched.com website that manages tour and Summit registration here.

See full tour site listing

Sunday Sampling & Education Day

SEPTEMBER 15, 2024

Sunday will offer 2 education sessions, 1 interactive group discussion for our whole community, and time for one-on-one sampling and conversation with Vermont’s cheese producers. 

This is a great opportunity for industry buyers to network with each other, cheese producers, and distributors!

Location: The entire day takes place at Basin Harbor Resort, 4800 Basin Harbor Rd, Vergennes, VT 05491

Sunday Schedule

  • 8:45 AM — Arrival and Coffee
  • 9:15 AM —  Welcome
  • 9:30 AM —  Panel Presentation: Sustainable Packaging – Get updates from cheese producers who have received recent grant projects to explore sustainable packaging options. Hear about challenges, successes, and unexpected findings! Presenters:   Eliza Leeper, Vermont Creamery; Jessica Riley, Cabot Creamery Cooperative; Zoe Brickley, Jasper Hill; Lucas Farrell, Big Picture; Facilitator:  Jed Davis, Cabot Creamery Cooperative
  • 10:30 AM — Industry Group Discussion: Collaborations to Help Us All – We’d like to have group discussion about how we can all work together better.  What do you need and want from cheese producers to help you better sell and market their cheese?  What parts of the marketing and distribution system work well right now – and where do you wish it worked better? Are there things that you love about what works for you in your workplace or that you need help with to do better?  What do cheese producers need help with too and how you can be a champion of their products?  Facilitators: Marty Mundy, Executive Director & Claire Natola, Education Coordinator – Vermont Cheese Council
  • 11:15 AM-2 PM — Sampling Tent Open for Tastings, Cheese Buying, & Conversation with Cheese Producers
  • 11:15 AM – 2PM — Lunch
  • 2 PM –  Panel Presentation: Day in the Life Get a peek into the every day life of being a cheesemaker!  We’ll talk kidding and lambing…ice storms…hay choices…and more! Presenters:  Liz Bleakley, Good Hands Creamery; Carleton Yoder, Champlain Valley Creamery; Parish Hill Creamery;
  • 2:45 PM — Closing Remarks

Cost: $120 for the whole weekend. Capacity is limited; we recommend purchasing as soon as you are able!

Scholarships:  We are offering a limited number of full-registration scholarships for this event for those that need them.  These will be awarded on a first-come first-serve basis.  To apply, please submit this form

Saturday Tours

SEPTEMBER 14, 2024

Wholesale buyers, retailers, mongers and all industry professionals will be able to visit cheese producers at their sites for an industry-only tour day.

See unique spaces first-hand and meet cheesemakers in intimate settings in our 13 tours offered around the state – just for our industry peeps! Tours have limited capacities, and we recommend purchasing your Summit tickets as early as you are able.  VCC does not provide transportation for tours, so that you can pick and choose the sites that most interest you.  We provide guidance on selecting tours, travel planning between sites, and planning visits on our sched.com website that manages tour and Summit registration here.

View available tours

Sunday Sampling

SEPTEMBER 15, 2024

Sunday will offer 2 education sessions, 1 interactive group discussion for our whole community, and time for one-on-one sampling and conversation with Vermont’s cheese producers. 

This is a great opportunity for industry buyers to network with each other, cheese producers, and distributors!

Location: The entire day takes place at Basin Harbor Resort, 4800 Basin Harbor Rd, Vergennes, VT 05491

Sunday Schedule Save

  • 8:45 AM — Arrival and Coffee
  • 9:15 AM —  Welcome
  • 9:30 AM —  Panel Presentation: Sustainable Packaging – Get updates from cheese producers who have received recent grant projects to explore sustainable packaging options. Hear about challenges, successes, and unexpected findings! Presenters:   Eliza Leeper, Vermont Creamery; Jessica Riley, Cabot Creamery Cooperative; Zoe Brickley, Jasper Hill; Lucas Farrell, Big Picture; Facilitator:  Jed Davis, Cabot Creamery Cooperative
  • 10:30 AM — Industry Group Discussion: Collaborations to Help Us All – We’d like to have group discussion about how we can all work together better.  What do you need and want from cheese producers to help you better sell and market their cheese?  What parts of the marketing and distribution system work well right now – and where do you wish it worked better? Are there things that you love about what works for you in your workplace or that you need help with to do better?  What do cheese producers need help with too and how you can be a champion of their products?  Facilitators: Marty Mundy, Executive Director & Claire Natola, Education Coordinator – Vermont Cheese Council
  • 11:15 AM-2 PM — Sampling Tent Open for Tastings, Cheese Buying, & Conversation with Cheese Producers
  • 11:15 AM – 2PM — Lunch
  • 2 PM –  Panel Presentation: Day in the Life Get a peek into the every day life of being a cheesemaker!  We’ll talk kidding and lambing…ice storms…hay choices…and more! Presenters:  Liz Bleakley, Good Hands Creamery; Carleton Yoder, Champlain Valley Creamery; Parish Hill Creamery;
  • 2:45 PM — Closing Remarks

Cost: $120 for the whole weekend. Capacity is limited; we recommend purchasing as soon as you are able!

Scholarships:  We are offering a limited number of full-registration scholarships for this event for those that need them.  These will be awarded on a first-come first-serve basis.  To apply, please submit this form

Summit Sponsors

Our gratitude to these sponsors that make our Summit possible!

GOLD SPONSORS

Cabot Creamery
Jasper Hill Farm
Reiser - Built on Trust
Vermont Creamery

SILVER SPONSORS

Spring Brook Cheese

BRONZE SPONSORS

Spring Brook Cheese

DISTRIBUTOR SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS

Cabot Creamery
Jasper Hill Farm
Reiser - Built on Trust
Vermont Creamery

BRONZE SPONSORS

Spring Brook Farm Cheese

DISTRIBUTOR SPONSORS

Food Connects

Lodging Partners

Visit our lodging partners page to explore by region.

Vermont is a small state, but it’s easy to get far a-field here. Be sure to take into account travel time to our Sunday Summit location in Vergennes, as well as Saturday tours, when making lodging reservations.

Contact Us

Questions about the Vermont Cheese Summit?

Haley B. Elkins, Program Coordinator
haley@vtcheese.com