By Aaron Estes, Cheese Editor

One of the things I love most about the cheese made in New York state is the diversity. We have cheesemakers all over this great state, from Long Island to the shores of the Finger Lakes,  to the Hudson Valley that strive to bring unique and high-quality products to your cheese board and table.  

Even though we have historically been a large producer of industrial cheese (think Polly-O), it is the smaller and artisanal production that is slowly but surely finding its way to the forefront. 

Whenever I talk or write about New York cheeses, I am invariably asked who I think makes the best cheese. Even though I have mentioned this cheese many times in previous posts, and almost always recommend it when offering suggestions, I took a look and was surprised that I have never devoted a post to what I consider to be one of the best (if not the best) cheese made in New York. 

Kunik from Nettle Meadow Farm is a gorgeous expression that encapsulates a sense of place into a cheese meant to be shared and experienced with family and friends.

Nettle Meadow is a 50-acre farm in upstate New York just south of the Adirondack Mountains that is committed to happy and healthy animals, natural ingredients and hand-crafted, artisan cheese.

An environment with happy and healthy animals is a primary tenet that most cheesemakers embrace and uphold in order to create the best cheese possible. Lorraine Lambiase and Sheila Flanagan, the owners and operators of the farm, even house an animal sanctuary where retired and geriatric animals can live out their years in relative comfort, health and happiness. Animal welfare at Nettle Meadow is not taken lightly