Brazil's cheese industry has experienced unprecedented growth and innovation in recent years. While producers in cheesemaking regions like Minas Gerais work to preserve family traditions, others - particularly in states like São Paulo and Santa Catarina - are revolutionizing how cheese is produced, marketed, and consumed in the country. However, does innovation necessarily come at the expense of tradition, or can cheesemakers find ways to incorporate local heritage into contemporary practices?

Date: Thursday, November 20, 2025
Time: 4:00 PM MT / 6:00 PM ET
Free for ACS members or $25 for nonmembers
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The recording will be posted to the ACS Learning Center after.

Meet Your Speakers!

John Braga is an experienced wholesale cheesemonger with nine years of industry experience. In 2016, he joined Murray's and steadily rose through the ranks over the following years. Braga then took a position at the French Cheese Board before becoming a wholesale cheesemonger at Food Matters Again, all while chronicling his cheese adventures on Instagram (@oqueijonista). Additionally, Braga has written extensively for two prominent Brazilian cheese magazines, Profissão Queijeira and Revista do Queijo, and was recently invited back to serve as a Supreme Judge at Brazil's prestigious Mundial do Queijo cheese competition.

Vanessa Alcoléa is a veterinarian with a master's degree in veterinary hygiene and public health. She began her career focused on quality from farm to table in industries, but soon shifted to artisanal cheese production, her current area of expertise. She completed technical exchanges in countries like France and Italy, is quality manager and FSSC 22.000 internal auditor. Assisting in the cheese grading and their pairings, she has also trained as a sommeliére and chef. She is the technical and quality manager at Pardinho, an artisanal creamery located in the contryside of São Paulo/Brazil. They produce signature tropical cheeses, using their own raw milk from Gir (zebu) and Girsey cows, grass-fed at the top of the Cuesta region, 960 meters high. They combine unique elements and their natural interactions to contribute to the complexity and authenticity of their cheeses, which are aged in caves and recognized in international competitions. It is one of the first farms in Latin America to receive ISO 14001 environmental certification and is the first Brazilian artisanal creamery certified under FSSC 22.000.

Juliano Mendes and his brother Bruno are the owners and head cheesemakers at Pomerode Alimentos, the company behind Vermont Queijos. They have won over 70 awards in just seven years of cheesemaking, including 16 at the prestigious World Cheese Awards in Europe—two super gold, three gold and Best Cheese in Latin America for their Morro Azul. In 2024, they won the overall Best Cheese award at the Mundial do Queijo in São Paulo, competing against 2,000 samples from several countries. In 2025, they launched their first raw milk cheese, marking a new milestone in the company’s story. Before entering the world of cheese, Juliano made a name for himself in craft beer, founding one of Brazil’s most famous breweries. His journey with cheese began in 2017 after studying at the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese at the University of Vermont and acquiring the Pomerode Alimentos dairy, in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil.

Carolina Vilhena, a veterinarian, farmer, and head cheesemaker, runs her own award-winning creamery, Queijaria BelaFazenda in Bofete, near São Paulo, Brazil. Founded in 2017 after extensive study and travel to creameries in America and Europe, the creamery produces at least ten different types of cheese, including bloomy-rinds, blues, and long-aging varieties. All of her cheeses are made exclusively with milk from the farm's own herd of cows that graze on tropical pastures year-round. BelaFazenda's artisanal cheeses have won multiple accolades at prestigious competitions like the Mondial du Fromage and World Cheese Awards, including a coveted Super Gold in 2024. Driven by her deep knowledge of animal welfare and cheese microbiology, Carolina continues to create delightful, captivating cheeses that delight even the most discerning palates.

Event Details

Date: Thu, Nov. 20, 2025

Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Organizers:

• American Cheese Society

Cost: Free for ACS Members; $25 for Nonmembers

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