Woodside Cheese Wrights’ Buffalo Persian Feta has stormed onto the global stage as the only Aussie cheese crowned on Culture Magazine’s Best Cheeses of 2026 list, proving once again, that SA’s local dairy artisans are world-class.
The velvety, creamy cheese is rivalling that of its traditional sheep’s or goat’s milk counterparts, and the rest of the world is starting to notice. The annual list is closely watched by cheesemakers, retailers and serious food lovers around the world.
Rather than a popularity contest, the list is carefully curated from standout cheeses drawn from major international judging experts.
The Buffalo Persian Feta creation process follows a slow, lactic set, allowing the Buffalo milk to gently culture overnight before the curd is hand-cut and drained, creating a soft, velvety base that’s closer in character to yoghurt than crumbly feta.
Woodside Cheese Wrights’ Adelaide-Hills cheesemaker isn’t a stranger to making great cheese.
“To be the only Australian cheese on the list is a huge honour for our team and for Australian artisan cheese,” says Woodside Cheese Wrights founder, Kris Lloyd.
“We wanted a marinated buffalo cheese that’s luxurious, creamy and bright — something you can eat straight from the jar or build into a dish.”
The cheese has a “herbal brightness and savoury depth” made possible by the rich, high-fat buffalo milk, aged for about two weeks. The cheese is then hand-cut by the team and marinated using seasoned oils, including olive oil with fresh thyme and peppercorns.
“This recognition shows what’s possible when you pair great milk with careful artisan work and time,” Kris says.
Kris suggests serving it as part of a relaxed cheese board with bread pieces, olives, roasted capsicum, tomatoes and grilled zucchini – the kind of cheese board that rarely lasts long.
Not sure how you’d work the cheese into your daily snack ritual? Kris gave us a few suggestions that might just end up making their way into your shopping basket.
Try using lightly smashed cucumber pieces, tossed with fresh or flaked chilli and a spoonful of thyme-infused oil, then finish with generous cubes of buffalo cheese for a cooling, savoury hit.
For a light summery snack, you can never go wrong with the sweet watermelon, fresh mint and creamy buffalo cheese combination. The trio come together quite beautifully and is best garnished with a drizzle of thyme oil.
A new breakfast tradition might be on the line, by scattering buffalo cheese over smashed avocado on warm sourdough toasted finishing it up with that thyme oil for a cafe classic, in your own home.
And because nothing here goes to waste, that fragrant marinade oil deserves just as much attention. Used as a finishing touch, it brings instant depth to salads, roasted vegetables, pasta, or grilled meats and seafood.
The Buffalo Persian Feta is available on the Woodside Cheese Wrights website, here.
