Wisconsin, Oregon and California share some important similarities, especially when it comes to cheese, dairy and wine.
The three states are also linked in the 2020 Rose Bowl, with the University of Wisconsin-Madison playing Oregon University in California’s Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
According to Wisconsin Public Radio, while California has the greatest number of wineries and produces the most wine in the U.S., a 2016 study shows that people spent almost $50 million in wine tourism in Wisconsin in 2015 and the state boasts at least 100 wineries. Oregon, meanwhile, has nearly 800.
In Wisconsin, “we are seeing growth in wineries and we are certainly seeing larger operations get established” says Nick Smith, UW-Madison instructor of wine science and an outreach specialist, who also has lived in Oregon and California. “And there is a growing interest in people going to visit wineries. In the West, the wineries are in pockets but we are spread all over the state.”
The dairy industries in Wisconsin and California “have had many parallels over the years,” says Mark Stephenson, director of the Center for Dairy Profitability at UW–Madison. However, today that means California and Wisconsin dairy farmers share in the pain of low milk prices.
That’s why, at the recommendation of the state’s dairy farmers, UW–Madison recently launched the Dairy Innovation Hub to help the dairy industry thrive for the next several decades. The hub will bring together dairy and food scientists, economists and environmental scientists to help create the next generation of sustainable, healthy and profitable dairy farms and vibrant rural communities.
In 2016, Wisconsin was second only to California in the amount of milk it produced: a whopping 30 billion pounds. And the state reigns in cheesemaking, producing more than 3 billion pounds of it in 2016, according to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. That’s more than any other U.S. state.
Not to be left out, Oregonians are quick to point out that its Rogue River Blue was just named the best cheese in the world at the 2019 World Cheese Awards.Yet Wisconsin remains the most awarded state year after year, thanks in part to the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Program, the only one of its kind in the U.S.
We’ll see who wins the cheese wager after the football game.