Here are a handful of images from the inaugural Festival of Slovenian Cheeses which was held on Tuesday in Brdo pri Kranju, about 30 kilometers northwest of Ljubljana.

Thirty-five cheese-makers took part in the gathering, organized to mark the 20th anniversary of the Association of Rural Cheesemakers/ Združenje kmečkih sirarjev Slovenije. Thirty-five is a drop in the proverbial bucket of the number of producers that make up this rapidly growing food segment in Slovenia, but it was enough to offer an informative –enlightening even!– introduction to what is being produced.

A few standouts and pleasant discoveries: Kmetija Podpečan from Žalec in Štajerska, the organic sheep’s cheese by Ostan from near Bovec, Kmetija Žerjal from Dutovlje in Kras, and the aged Krnčan from Kmetija na Krnicah from Spodnja Idrija in Primorska.