Uplands Cheese

Nestled in the rolling hills of southwestern Wisconsin’s Driftless Region, Uplands Cheese is a family-run dairy farm and creamery where the land, the cows, and the changing seasons shape every wheel of cheese. Their story began in 1994, when the Gingrich and Patenaude families joined forces to raise cows on pasture and produce exceptional milk. Inspired by traditional Alpine cheesemaking, they began producing Pleasant Ridge Reserve in 2000, determined to capture the distinctive flavors of their farm in every wheel. In 2014, longtime apprentices Andy Hatch and Scott Mericka purchased the farm from its founders, carrying on their commitment to thoughtful farming and traditional cheesemaking. Following Scott's retirement in 2025, Andy and his wife, Caitlin, became the sole owners, continuing to build on the farm's legacy.

At Uplands, great cheese begins with the herd. Their cows graze on the lush grasses, clover, and wildflowers of Pleasant Ridge, moving to fresh pasture twice a day during the grazing season. This careful rotational grazing gives the animals access to fresh forage while allowing the land time to recover between grazings. The farm maintains a unique, closed herd developed through generations of selective crossbreeding, with every cow born and raised right on the farm. Their milk has a distinctive richness and complexity shaped by both the animals and their grass-fed diet. By caring for their herd, managing their pastures, and making cheese all in one place, the Uplands team can bring out flavors that are truly their own.

Rather than making the same cheese year-round, Uplands lets the seasons guide what happens in the creamery. During the grazing season, their fresh, raw milk becomes Pleasant Ridge Reserve, a firm, aged Alpine-style cheese designed to showcase the complex flavors of grass-fed milk. As fall arrives and the herd begins transitioning from summer pasture to winter hay, they make Rush Creek Reserve, a soft, spruce-bark-wrapped cheese with a rich, spoonable interior. By focusing on just two cheeses and making each when the milk is best suited to it, Uplands celebrates the natural variations in their herd's milk. The result is cheese with a true sense of place, shaped by the animals, the land, and the people who care for both.