MONROE – A federal judge has sided with domestic cheese in a food fight between U.S. cheesemakers and their counterparts in Europe – about what really constitutes the ‘Gruyere” type of Swiss cheese.

The Swiss and French generally want the Gruyere name protected, in part to prevent counterfeiting. Switzerland grants legal protection to the names of regional foods, but the U.S. doesn’t. And in the midst of that dispute, Monroe’s Emmi Roth USA even relabeled its Grand Cru Gruyere to just ‘Grand Cru’ in 2019.

Now, after a judge ruled against a consortium of European cheese interests, they can call it – and label it – whatever they want.  Such trade disputes are not uncommon, and recall previous fights over what constitutes “Champagne” or even “Bologna.”

But news of the ruling is a victory nonetheless for Wisconsin cheesemakers, says Steve Stettler, President of Decatur Dairy in Brodhead.

“It puts it back on the shelf in terms of fair competition,” Stettler said. “We have some really talented cheesemakers in the US. We can compete worldwide.”

Emmi Roth said in a statement the ruling won’t change a thing when it comes to marketing its cheese.

“At Emmi Roth, we create great products under strong, growing brands and the ruling does not change the way we label and market our cheeses, including our Roth Grand Cru products,” Tim Omer, the company’s president and managing director said in a statement.

Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association executive director John Umhoefer welcomed the court’s ruling, in a statement:

“The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) is pleased to see this U.S. District Court decision reaffirming that gruyere is a generic style of cheese that can be produced in the United States or anywhere around the world,” he said. “Dairy associations from France and Switzerland attempted to trademark the cheese name in the U.S., trying to take the name of a common cheese style away from U.S. cheese manufacturers. But a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruling in 2020 and now this U.S. District Court decision in December have both affirmed the global nature of this popular cheese style.”

Ron Buholzer, of Monroe’s Klondike Cheese Company, said Europe may be turning to protectionism in part due to the high quality of cheese now being produced here.

“They used to not worry about (naming disputes) because they always considered us to be inferior and we’re not,” said Buholzer. “We can compete with anyone.”

Stettler said that even though the US won the latest court fight over naming cheese, there is still a strong bond between cheesemakers on both sides of the ocean; and that increasingly barriers are falling between markets.

“Everybody has respect for art and the craft,” said Stettler. “We just have to have respect for each other worldwide now.”