If you’ve ever found yourself at our cheese counter pondering what to buy, there’s a good chance a Cheesemonger sold you a piece of Pleasant Ridge Reserve. Pleasant Ridge comes from the driftless region in Wisconsin, a region that wasn’t flattened by glacial drift. When we think of Pleasant Ridge, we think of rolling hills, strong cows, rotational grazing, raw milk, and the most awarded cheese in America.
It’s a huge deal that the Owner and Head Cheesemaker, Andy Hatch of Uplands Cheese, comes out to France 44 and does a batch selection with us every year. No other shop in the country does anything like this. We’re able to have this relationship because we champion what Pleasant Ridge Reserve stands for: delicious cheese reflective of the land it comes from, made the right (and often hardest) way, with respect for the land, animals, and people who make it.
Our staff (pictured above) and guests at our 2026 batch selection event chose a batch made on July 31st, 2025. Every batch of this cheese is unique: one herd, one day, one batch. Weather, rotational grazing, and old world techniques make each day’s batch unique. We love trying them all and noticing the differences. We think you’ll LOVE this batch.
This week also happens to be the American Cheese Society Judging and Competition. Many folks from our shop are participating and volunteering, and some of the best minds in cheese are here in the Twin Cities! It’s kismet that we’re featuring Pleasant Ridge this week, as it’s the American cheese that’s won Best of Show the most times!
Pleasant Ridge Reserve will be 15% off today-Sunday, we hope you’ll try a piece!
