One whole wheel at a time

John's Cheese Goals

The goal: to take on a whole wheel of every kind of cheese there is — a proper wheel, a kilo or heavier, no tiny rounds and no half measures. Not a taste, the whole thing. Here's how far he's got, and how each one went.

2%
of the goal tasted
4 kg
of wheel cleared
44
types still to try
TIER 0 Training wheels

The little ones to start on — small-format wheels and rounds, gentle and easy to like. Nothing to hunt down; a soft landing before the bigger wheels.

  • Camembert not yet
TIER I On the shelf

The everyday wheels — counter regulars at good delis, Woolworths, and most supermarkets. Several are made right here in the Cape, like the local rounds from Dalewood (Paarl) and Klein River (Stanford).

  • Aged Gouda local tasted
    Jul 2026 Bonita (Stellenbosch) Lactalis 4 kg wheel
    Dang tasty, soft. Very centre had almost a milky taste, but overall it was a solid Gouda, not a pain to cut
  • Boerenkaas (farmhouse Gouda) local not yet
  • Huguenot local not yet
  • Klein River Gruberg local not yet
  • Langbaken Karoo Crumble local not yet
  • Cloth-bound Cheddar truckle not yet
  • Manchego sheep not yet
  • Gruyère not yet
  • Emmental not yet
  • Parmigiano-Reggiano not yet
  • Grana Padano not yet
  • Pecorino Romano sheep not yet
  • Gorgonzola blue not yet
  • Jarlsberg not yet
  • Havarti not yet
  • Brie (large wheel) not yet
TIER II The cheesemonger's counter

A step up: wheels you mostly meet at a proper cheesemonger. In Cape Town that means counters like Culture Club Cheese and The Real Cheese in Observatory, Vom Fass at the V&A, or Giovanni's in Green Point.

  • ComtĂ© not yet
  • Beaufort not yet
  • Raclette not yet
  • Tomme de Savoie not yet
  • Saint-Nectaire not yet
  • Morbier not yet
  • Ossau-Iraty sheep not yet
  • Cantal not yet
  • Appenzeller not yet
  • Fontina Val d'Aosta not yet
  • Asiago not yet
  • Roquefort blue not yet
  • Stilton blue not yet
  • Munster (large format) not yet
  • Wensleydale not yet
  • Lancashire not yet
  • Caerphilly not yet
  • Red Leicester not yet
  • Double Gloucester not yet
TIER III The hunt

The hard-won ones, rarely on a Cape Town shelf at all. These get ordered in, tracked down through an importer, or best of all, tasted where they're made.

  • Abondance not yet
  • Vacherin Fribourgeois not yet
  • Fourme d'Ambert blue not yet
  • Bleu d'Auvergne blue not yet
  • Cabrales blue not yet
  • Idiazábal sheep not yet
  • Zamorano sheep not yet
  • Pecorino Toscano sheep not yet
  • Toma Piemontese not yet